It's hurtful to read news on Dengue took so many lives, that made me decided to write on this post which I didn't plan to.
I had (suspected) dengue few months ago, around November last year. Why I kept emphasizing on the word suspected? I had my blood test done, but I never manage to get my blood platelets result. I will explain why later.
At first, I was like other patients, I thought that I was having a bad fever, the symptoms are SO SIMILAR. Went to the clinic, and the doctor didn't notice anything. My fever was high and it kept coming back, I had to take paracetamol 4 times a day, continuously for about 3 days. Things only get a little better, but I still feeling weak and sick. I dragged my sick body to work and class after 3 days or so, since I only got a student to teach on that day, and followed by my own lesson, I told myself that I could handle it. Thanks to my determination to work and learn, my piano teacher actually was the one told me that I looked like a Dengue patient, she asked me to go to hospital to have blood test done ASAP.
I was definitely in shock, but instead of going for a blood test, I drove to my regular Chinese physician at a recognized hospital who I trusted with. After he checked on my pulse (把脉), body temperature and the little rashes on my arms, he confirmed that it was a virus attack (Dengue is considered as a virus infection and given my symptoms, it was high possibility that the virus I carried was Dengue).
On the same night, Xiang dragged me to General Hospital UM to have my blood test done. I was refused at first cause my physician told me there's no need to do so (but he did say even if I worried, I could still go for a blood test). Ok fine, I went there, waited for an hour, done the blood test, and I VOMITED few minutes after that. Gosh! I always have this phobia for blood test.:( So seeing me unwell, Xiang sent me home for a rest. We were supposed to wait for 3 hours to take the result but we thought we could come back after that. Guess what, we didn't. We went to take the test result the next day instead, but...we can't take the result anymore. Great la you Government, it was less than 24 hours then I can't have my result anymore? I MUST STAY THERE TO WAIT EVEN I'M IN SUCH CONDITION?!?
Never mind, I had my Chinese medication to cure this. I was prescribed with 5 days medication, and I went back for another consultation after that, just to make sure the virus is fully gone from my system. Yes, it was gone, thankfully. Total medication I took was 10 days. First 5 days while I was still sick, another 5 days after that.
What were my symptoms?
1. High fever
- Strangest thing about this fever, it kept coming back and didn't recover for days.
2. Feeling cold and hot
- Sweating all over body and chill to the bone the next moment.
3. Feeling nausea all the time, vomited most of my food intake
4. Unbearable nerve pain
- My bone didn't pain, my nerve did
5. Headache
6. Rashes
- Few days after my fever, little bit of red rashes started from my arms.
7. Exhaustion
- Hardly get out from bed, didn't have the energy to do anything.
*Symptoms may varies from person.
Cure???
If you're searching for one, there's no specific cure.
1. Papaya leave juices
- scientific proof? not sure, but it's well-known for dengue. Didn't take it myself cause couldn't find it here in the city.
2. Lots of fluid intake required
- my teacher shared her experience in hospital, what the nurses and doctor did was only body temperature measurement, monitoring blood platelets, and IV drips (to make sure there's enough supply of water in the patient's body).
- it's hard for me to even "swallow" any drinks, I forced myself to. I bought lots of drinks (100 plus, juices, etc.) to help me with this.
3. Herbs
- some villages selling the herbs as a dengue cure, effective or not, I didn't know.
4. Chinese medication
- try to get a certified physician, my physician is from a recognized hospital.
What I learnt from my physician:
I was definitely in shock, but instead of going for a blood test, I drove to my regular Chinese physician at a recognized hospital who I trusted with. After he checked on my pulse (把脉), body temperature and the little rashes on my arms, he confirmed that it was a virus attack (Dengue is considered as a virus infection and given my symptoms, it was high possibility that the virus I carried was Dengue).
On the same night, Xiang dragged me to General Hospital UM to have my blood test done. I was refused at first cause my physician told me there's no need to do so (but he did say even if I worried, I could still go for a blood test). Ok fine, I went there, waited for an hour, done the blood test, and I VOMITED few minutes after that. Gosh! I always have this phobia for blood test.:( So seeing me unwell, Xiang sent me home for a rest. We were supposed to wait for 3 hours to take the result but we thought we could come back after that. Guess what, we didn't. We went to take the test result the next day instead, but...we can't take the result anymore. Great la you Government, it was less than 24 hours then I can't have my result anymore? I MUST STAY THERE TO WAIT EVEN I'M IN SUCH CONDITION?!?
Never mind, I had my Chinese medication to cure this. I was prescribed with 5 days medication, and I went back for another consultation after that, just to make sure the virus is fully gone from my system. Yes, it was gone, thankfully. Total medication I took was 10 days. First 5 days while I was still sick, another 5 days after that.
1. High fever
- Strangest thing about this fever, it kept coming back and didn't recover for days.
2. Feeling cold and hot
- Sweating all over body and chill to the bone the next moment.
3. Feeling nausea all the time, vomited most of my food intake
4. Unbearable nerve pain
- My bone didn't pain, my nerve did
5. Headache
6. Rashes
- Few days after my fever, little bit of red rashes started from my arms.
7. Exhaustion
- Hardly get out from bed, didn't have the energy to do anything.
*Symptoms may varies from person.
Cure???
If you're searching for one, there's no specific cure.
1. Papaya leave juices
- scientific proof? not sure, but it's well-known for dengue. Didn't take it myself cause couldn't find it here in the city.
2. Lots of fluid intake required
- my teacher shared her experience in hospital, what the nurses and doctor did was only body temperature measurement, monitoring blood platelets, and IV drips (to make sure there's enough supply of water in the patient's body).
- it's hard for me to even "swallow" any drinks, I forced myself to. I bought lots of drinks (100 plus, juices, etc.) to help me with this.
3. Herbs
- some villages selling the herbs as a dengue cure, effective or not, I didn't know.
4. Chinese medication
- try to get a certified physician, my physician is from a recognized hospital.
What I learnt from my physician:
If your nose, mouth, gums started to bleed/ bruising (possible internal bleeding), you're in a dangerous state.
Found a detail article on this topic - http://www.wikihow.com/Recognize-and-Treat-Dengue-Fever
