Wanderlust: Expat Life & Style in Thailand April / May 2015 - The Health & Wellness Issue | Page 28
HEALTH & well-being
Repellant
containing
DEET is
the most
effective
against
mosquitoes
himself to the office against
my protestations. In the end,
it was his loyal staff who sent
him packing. “Go home boss.
Go to the hospital!" Perhaps they
envisioned he might be the first Ebola
case in Thailand?
Off to hospital he goes. By this
stage, he not only had a rash
but he also felt very poorly, much
like having a bad dose of the flu.
My husband must have felt terrible
because under normal circumstances,
he would never voluntarily cross
the threshold of any hospital.
He’s previously suffered an injury
that required over 25 stitches,
yet I still had to drag him kicking
and screaming to the ER.
Phase 4:
THE DIAGNOSIS
In hindsight, he looked so clearly
“dengue” that we are now somewhat mystified that it took an entire
day until he was diagnosed. He might
have been tested for every other
disease or affliction in the Encyclopedia of Tropical Medicine first.
But now that we had the definitive diagnosis, my husband was sent home
26 WANDERLUST
Patients who are infected with
the dengue virus can transmit
the infection (for 4–5 days;
maximum 12 days) via Aedes
mosquitoes after their
first symptoms appear.
Source: World Health
Organization
with a few sage words of advice from
the doctor:
1. There is no medication or vaccine for dengue. For pain relief,
take acetaminophen (Tylenol).
Do not under any circumstances
take pain relievers that contain aspirin or ibuprofen since they have
blood-thinning attributes. This
is to avoid dying a slow and painful death due to internal bleeding.
2. Drink a lot of water or any fluids, eat healthy food, and rest.
Husband asked if wine and beer
counted as beneficial fluids
to which he was advised, “No.”
Too bad. Dengue is so very boring.
3. In around two weeks, you’ll probably be over the worst and will
likely feel as happy and bouncy
as a new born.
4. Every three days, come back
to the hospital so we can test your
blood platelet levels to further
ensure that you are not about
to worsen significantly.
Oh and FYI—your liver is currently
cactus, but that is the norm when
you have dengue.
5. Take your body temperature
on an hourly basis. It is normal
to experience extreme highs
and lows in temperature. If your
temperature gets too low,
you’ll likely go into shock. Make
sure that doesn’t happen—
if it gets bad, pop by the clinic
for a consultation.
Phase 5:
PEELING SKIN
AND NON-STOP
ITCHINESS
Some unlucky dengue sufferers
experience the indignity of random
skin loss, especially on the hands.
I saw my husband hug himself
and weep a little at the freakishness
of the peeling skin factor. No amount
of Shea butter body cream could
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