Encountering Dengue

However healthy a lifestyle one has...

...that complete freedom from illness is incompatible with the process of living. Uncommon Wisdom - Fritjof Kapra

Recently, i experienced continuous fever, blood in the urine, tiredness, rashes, and nausea. Thought it to be common viral fever and ignored. At the end of the fourth day, the fever was gone, but it left me completely drained out.

This seemed peculiar as i had never experienced such behaviour post viral fever, so thought of consulting a physician. The tiredness was so much that even during the consultation, i requested the doctor to allow me to rest my head on his table. He hinted at hospitalisation once the reports arrive.

The next day, since there was no fever, i continued working. And then in the afternoon, my wife knocked on the door. She looked perplexed and told me to shut down the laptop and we rushed to the hospital. The platelet count according to the report had dropped to 30K and this in medical terms is a bit of an emergency. The report also confirmed dengue! i remembered the three mosquitoes, who during morning hours had bitten me.

From the emergency ward, i was shifted to the ICU and the doctor suggested plasma transfusion. i feel blessed to have people who helped out of the way and supported me.

As there is no medicine for dengue, all that we can do is keep the body hydrated and eat food (in this case force-feed yourself) that supports platelet formation. Heard that kiwi, papaya, and goat's milk, etc. are helpful. The body fights back the antigens on its own by producing antibodies.

In the process, got to know that the dengue mosquito Aedes Aegypti (one in the article's cover image) is a daytime feeder and its peak biting periods are early in the morning and in the evening before dusk. The virus finds an easy path if the mosquito bites near the areas of bone joints. The hospital bill was shouldered by the medical insurance.

Prevention is better than cure! Keep yourself and your near and dear ones safe and never lower the guard. Stay healthy! Stay safe!

Thanks for being an amazing reader, hope this article helps in some way or the other.