You might have Dengue Fever if you have a 39 - 40.5°C fever
If on the start of your fever you suddenly have a very high temperature, that could probably be a hint that you have Dengue Fever. My initial temperature when I had the illness was hovering around 39°C more or less. I was so cold in fact that I had to sleep in the living room sofa with totally no electric fans or air conditioners on. And even with that I was still shivering.
If you suffer the above, better get to your nearest hospital and get a CBC. Sometimes though, CBCs just don't cut it. Some Dengue positive patients are sent home because their CBC results were normal, only to find out later that they're already at Stage 3 Dengue. So ultimately I'm telling you to be extra wary. If your CBC results cleared and you still suspect you have Dengue, go back to the hospital the very next day and let yourself be re-examined. Better yet, admit yourself to your nearest hospital. Your life is important.
Dengue Fever will run its course through your body in 7 days
More or less 7 days - it totally depends on how strong and tolerant your body is to illnesses. I heard from a nurse in VRPMC that two Dengue Fever patients got discharged in just 3 days. That means that some people receive Dengue really well. As for me, I had to run the full 7-day cycle of Dengue.
Anyway, I made a mental note of something my doctor told me. That is, if your Dengue Fever extends to 8 or 9 days, your doctor would probably reconsider your Dengue as another illness, say Typhoid fever or something.
Drink lots of water (or Gatorade or Powerade) when infected with Dengue Fever
You probably keep on hearing this one. Maybe it's just to underscore how important it is to drink fluids when infected with Dengue.
When I was confined in VRPMC, I consumed more fluids than I did solid meals. My stomach was always filled with either water or Gatorade. One reason for this fluid binge is to avoid dehydration. Another one is that doctors want you to support the IV fluids they're forcing into your body because they don't want to rely solely with the IV fluids. It's their way of saying better be sure than sorry.
So even if your stomach hurts, make it a point to consume lots of water while you're in that hospital bed you badly want to get out of.
Tawa Tawa Leaves and the like could help you recover
Halfway through my treatment in the hospital, our family friends from Pangasinan mailed us Tawa Tawa leaves. We boiled it the next day and what we got was a C2-colored liquid. Yes, it looks like those commercial teas you see in bottles on TV when boiled. It tastes nothing like the commercial teas though. Tawa Tawa tea tastes like tainted water. I guess you should just add some sugar to the concoction and you're good to go.
After drinking Tawa Tawa tea, I consumed Vitaplus juice. It's something of a citrus powder, you just need to add water. Tastes like orange juice.
Well, the two items I described above are supposed to help you recover your platelets. There's plenty more of drinks that would help you recover your platelets but the two above were the only ones I've tried.
Wear OFF! Lotion and Mosquito Coils and anything that can shoo away Dengue-carrying mosquitoes
Now that I've suffered first hand what the Dengue Fever can do, I'm not planning to get infected with it again.
While I was out in the hospital, my father and brother bombarded the house with insecticides. Now I also wear anti-mosquito lotions. I should've done this a long time ago considering prevention is always better than cure.
So with these tips I hope I helped you with something. If there's any data I forgot to mention there's always those specialist sites which will describe to you in detail what you need to know about Dengue. Don't let yourself be infected. I promise you, getting sick is not worth all the trouble if you have just prevented it instead.
'Till my next installment.
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