Dengue....

[william webster]

If anybody noticed, I have been AWOL.

The intent was to enjoy the US holiday in Philadelphia with family.
The actual result was to be flat out with yet another ( 3x in 6 yrs) dengue attack.
It began on the POP-EWR flight Nov 21.

I am sorry to report that I am quickly becoming an unwilling expert on the subjectgre:.

Let me recap the disease a little.
Gringo , I post this here because I feel residents are at greater risk by dint of the number of days spent annually.
I realize it takes one mosquito, one bite and just a few seconds to infect anyone.
If at the end of my post, you feel others would benefit (Living Forum, eg) please paste and post it forward.

There are 4 serotypes of dengue.
Each subsequent attack increases in intensity.
In my case , the 1st incident was a non-event....subsequent attacks, very severe.

http://www.searo.who.int/entity/world_health_day/2014/SEA-CD-277.pdf

Fever is the 1st sign , then headache or joint pain or both.
Very high fever to start... I was 104.5F for a day, cooling off to 101-102 for the remaining 7 days.
No cure is available... need fluids and bed rest

Head pain is atrocious...think a big Jai Alai game in your skull.

The skull is sore to the touch.... and remains so 30-36 hours after the fever subsides.

As the body fights the fever, the liver is in overdrive - white blood cell counts plummets, plaquette count as well.

This time, I tired to be anticipatory.......
I drank fluids and Pedialyte and Ensure in an attempt to stave off the loss of the White blood cells.

As soon as the fever broke, I read up on 'Ten Foods Your Liver Loves'
Drank lemon water to flush toxins ( grapefruit works too).
Green vegetables, squash...... it's a big list.

I was back on my feet quickly.... faster than the 2nd attack.

1st event was Monday through Saturday/Sunday
2nd event was Saturday to Thursday.

Although it is said that the serotypes cannot repeat, my two were remarkably alike.

I read an unnerving article that challenged the theory that each strain of dengue immunizes you for life -
This article suggests a 3-4 month immunity period.
Just shoot me..........
http://yucalandia.com/science-health-issues/dengue-what-to-do/

I return to RD Wed , Dec2 and will have my cell counts taken to see where I stand.
Hopefully, the preemptive measures I took will assist the recovery.

No drinking is one of the after effects..... for liver recuperation.

I hope this helps somebody.
I assure you, this is no cakewalk.

 

[william webster]

Forgot to add............

for pain relief and fever reduction.....ONLY acetaminophen based drugs...Tylenol
No Advil, ibuprofen, etc... they thin the blood and can be dangerous.

NO ANTIBIOTICS.... they can cause a coma

 

[Matilda]

Sounds horrid. Glad you are back on your feet. My first attack was age 8 in Singapore - headache, bone ache, fever lasted a week. My second I picked up in St Lucia aged early 30s and started with the fever on the way home. No doctors knew what it was. Bleeding into the eyeballs, high fever and aches and headache. Hands and feet bright red and all the skin peeled off. That lasted six weeks. Never had it here and really don't want to again.

Matilda

 

[Cdn_Gringo]

Glad to hear you are on the mend. I was out in the campo this afternoon and with the rain comes the mosquito rebound. I encountered lots today but only a few bites as I had repellent - it only takes one as you say. How long after infection before the symptoms start?

 

[melphis]

I was wondering where you went. Thanks for the information on the effects of the dengue. It sounds horrible. Glad to hear your on the mend.

 

[william webster]

Glad to hear you are on the mend. I was out in the campo this afternoon and with the rain comes the mosquito rebound. I encountered lots today but only a few bites as I had repellent - it only takes one as you say. How long after infection before the symptoms start?

Reports vary as to incubation....
4 -10 days

 

[beeza]

Glad to hear you're on the mend WW.

Very good info btw. I didn't know about the affects on the liver and what to do to help it.

I had it three years ago. The thing that scared me the most is that I'd just had laser eye surgery and the pain behind the eyes was excruciating. At the time I didn't know it was dengue, I thought my eye operation had gone wrong.

 

[william webster]

that would give you a scare , beez.....

eyeballs hurt like hell during this

 

[bronzeallspice]

WW, glad to hear that you are recuperating from the second round of dengue. With no other pain relief
allowed except acetaminophen, it's no wonder those who have contacted dengue experience such excruciating headaches.

 

[william webster]

Following up,

I had my blood checked y'day upon arrival in Cabrera

All vital signs in order - red & white blood cells and platelet count.

To me, this supports my theory of augmenting/helping my liver and immune system during the fever period .
It seems to have saved my white cell and platelet count from going to dangerously low levels.

Two years ago, I was 2 weeks in rebuilding those statistics.... which the doctors see as a critical measure of recovery.

A pre-emptive strike as I see it.

Still, I don't feel strong enough to resume normal activities.
I'll give that 10 days more.

But it's a good feeling to know the immune system is loaded and ready for work again.
God forbid...........

 

[Cdn_Gringo]

I'm sick today. Started last night actually. Sleep an hour wake up, fall back to sleep wake up an hour later. Head a little foggy, no fever, very weak and I have zero ability to concentrate on anything more complicated than putting one foot in front of the other.

A little bit of joint/muscle pain. Frequent urination. First time with an illness for me since arriving. Probably most resembles the flu.

I'm thankful it's not WW's trial and tribulation.

 

[waytogo]

Get well soon......

 

[william webster]

Gringo,
you reported you were out & about Dec 1...... 9-10 days later you don't feel well.

If, if this is your first Dengue attack it will be mild.
I hope it isn't Dengue.

They can't test for it until after several days.
The fever may not come until day 2 - if at all w/ Dengue #1

Mine was a non-event.... just general malaise for a week or so

Fluids, Ensure...Powerade/Gatorade if you can't get Pedialyte.

No Advil

 

[william webster]

This is how I understand the Dengue issue -

The four strains are all similar in structure,
Like 4 long sentences except the last few words are different.

1st attack, the body spots the problem and starts to fight fast..... minimizing the anguish

Subsequent attacks are different-
The sentence starts, the body says 'we got this one already' and does little

When the final words of the sentence present themselves , the damage is done
The fox is in the hen house

Anguish is much worse in the other 3.

This is why they say that a person is more susceptible to subsequent strains and that subsequent are more severe.

Layman's terms, but that's the gist of it.... as I read it.

 

[Cdn_Gringo]

Feel better today. Still no significant fever. Head a little heavy, slight headache. Leg, arm and neck muscles not as sore. Definitely have more energy and concentration. Slept lots off and on yesterday during the day. Was in bed really early last night. Sleep, awake, sleep awake repeated.

Drinking lots of jugo, aqua, and had an envelope of re-hydration salts. Stomach growling but I don't feel much like eating. I still get tired easily and perspire quite a bit about the head when I exert myself. I don't feel bad enough or believe I am getting any worse so probably won't make a trip to the clinic just yet.

Definitely seems viral in nature and I have been told there is a "flu like" illness circulating. Going to try and force myself to eat some toast a bit later. Yesterday, I felt like 10 lbs of sh--t in a 5 lbs bag. Today, just like 5 lbs. We'll see how the day progresses

 

[william webster]

I struggled with my 1st one..... bed rest but we had visitors......

thought it was gripe or a type of a mild flu.....but you're not really incapacitated

 

[waytogo]

I'm just getting over my first bout (a month) with Dengue. No fever to speak of, dizzy, fatigued, really bad pain in the muscles in my arms and joints.
Hurt like hell the first 2 weeks and yesterday was the first day I started to feel a little normal again.
I can only imagine what it's like the 2nd and 3rd time around.

 

[william webster]

Shorter Barry, is all I can say......

more intense but less duration.

I found supplementing with electrolytes and ENSURE helped significantly
took me until my 3rd time to figure that out ...duh !!

 

[waytogo]

Gatorade is loaded with sodium and glucose. Do you know of anything that has considerably less that is for sale here.
Never drank Ensure, is it palatable.

 

[Cdn_Gringo]

Dissolve 6 teaspoons of white sugar + 1/2 teaspoon of salt into 1 liter of water.

Consume the mixture throughout the day. Eat a banana for potassium.

It is the sodium and the glucose that you are trying to replace if you are suffering from ongoing diarrhea or are not eating enough solid foods to keep some salt and sugars in your system.

Ensure is a ready to drink meal replacement with lots of vitamins and minerals added. The same can be found at most grocery stores in a powdered form, add to a glass of milk and consume. Usually comes in at around 250 calories per can/glass. If you can't keep food down, you might have the same problem with the meal replacements. Water/sugar/salt may be better tolerated until the tummy settles down.