Dengue Fever and 2 weeks of Hell

[TotallyOz]

I had Dengue Fever for a bit and boy, did it take the life out of me. I wasn't sure I was even in Paradise sometimes. For over 10 days, the fever persisted and my body just had zero energy. High Fever, followed by chills and body aches were constant. Once the Fever broke it took several days just to get my body to feel up to walking down the stairs.

 

Last night I went out for the first time in a long time. I was exhausted after only an hour of walking around.

 

Bangkok Pattaya Hospital was great but they mis diagnosed me the first time I went and said it was food poisoning. After a return visit when the Fever had not subsided, it was correctly diagnosed as Dengue Fever. There is not much they can do other than liquids and tylenol so I stayed at my place and tried to recover. I went back to Bangkok Pattaya a few times for IV of liquid and some anti inflammatory.

 

For those that don't know, Dengue is a mosquito born virus that is very easy to get in the tropical areas. This was my first bout with this and hopefully my last. I have stocked up on mosquito spray and will be much much more careful in the future. I missed Songkran and Thanksgiving and ordered more Door2Door delivery than I care to mention.

 

I was very lucky that I didn't have the worst kind of the Fever and that mine broke after 10 days.

[PeterRS]

I missed Songkran and Thanksgiving

 

Are you sure you are completely cured? Songkran was many moons ago!

 

Seriously, sorry to hear about your illness and delighted you are on the mend (I know you meant Loy Kratong). Do you think you got infected in Pattaya? What is the incubation period?

[Bob]

Glad to hear you're back on the mend.

 

I've been concerned about dengue fever here but luckily haven't had it as yet.

 

Those pesky mosquitos here in Thailand are irritating and, other than carrying around nasty things like malaria and dengue fever, I'm surprised at the ferocity (effect-wise) of their bites. In the states, when I get bit by one of those bastards, it itches for a day or so but that's about it. Here (I've only gotten bitten 3-4 times in the last 2 months), the damn bites itch a lot more and the irritation seems to last a couple of weeks.

[Guest]

Are you sure you are completely cured? Songkran was many moons ago!

 

Seriously, sorry to hear about your illness and delighted you are on the mend (I know you meant Loy Kratong). Do you think you got infected in Pattaya? What is the incubation period?

 

LOL Yes, I did mean Loy Krathong. I was active for Songkran (my favorite holiday).

 

I did get it in Pattaya. I only go a few places here and was never outside of the city. I am not really sure the incubation period. I got stuck in the rain one day and ducked inside a bar for a few hours. I remember being bitten then but can't say for sure it was there.

 

Brazil is the number 1 place in the world for Dengue Fever and Thailand is number 6. I love both places but never go off the beaten path too much.

[Guest lvdkeyes]

Glad you are back to normal (whatever that is).

 

The mosquitoes that cause dengue fever are not limited to rural areas like the malaria borne ones tend to be; they are prolific in urban areas too.

 

It's beyond me how they could mistake dengue for food poisoning. Food poisoning causes profuse vomiting and diarrhea, dengue does not. I know dengue can be hard to diagnose, but to confuse it for food poisoning is crazy.

[Guest]

It's beyond me how they could mistake dengue for food poisoning. Food poisoning causes profuse vomiting and diarrhea, dengue does not. I know dengue can be hard to diagnose, but to confuse it for food poisoning is crazy.

 

Well, I had diarrhea the entire time. Maybe a side effect of being dehydrated? I don't know for sure. All I know is what I had and I got the test results from the hospital.

[2lz2p]

It is my understanding the incubation period is around 5 to 7 days - medicinenet.com mentions that it can be up to 15 days.

 

In Thailand, there are 4 strains - the worst being the Dengue hemorrhagic fever. I had dengue fever about 2 years ago - started with a severe headache and high fever. Aspirin didn't work, so sent bf to pharmacy and he brought back ibuprofen which did relieve the headache - this was on day two.

 

On day three, I did a Google search on symptoms, suspecting by now it might be dengue fever. One symptom mentioned was developing a rash - I didn't have that. Day 4, yes a rash appeared on my chest. I arranged for a friend to drive me to Bangkok Hospital Pattaya the next morning as I thought I would have to spend some time in the hospital as I didn't want to drive myself(previous news articles I had read indicated a hospital stay would be involved).

 

Asking the friend to drive me turned out to be an absolute necessity, because on that morning (day 5) I couldn't stand or walk without pain (that is where dengue fever gets its other name - break bone fever). Sitting, I had no pain, only when standing or walking. I had to use a wheelchair when we arrived at the hospital because the pain was too severe for me to walk. Arriving at the internal medicine section, I said I thought I had dengue fever. After a short wait, I met with Dr. Apachai (I recommend him highly). He agreed it was probably dengue fever, but said a blood test was needed to confirm it. That came back in about 20 minutes and it did confirm it was dengue fever (low white blood count).

 

I spent 3 days in the hospital being treated with IV and other medication for the pain - a blood test was done daily to see if it had run its course - Dr. Apachai told me it normally lasts 7 to 8 days. He also sent a blood sample to Bangkok to test for the strain (apparently don't have that capability here in Pattaya). He also chastised me for taking ibuprofen or any other blood thinner, explaining that it it was the hemorrhagic strain and internal bleeding occurred, they might not be able to stop it if you are taking ibuprofen, etc. He said Tylenol was the medicine to take.

 

The 2nd day in the hospital, he told me the test from Bangkok showed I did have the hemorrhagic strain (although this is the strain that can cause death, this usually affects children and those with poor immune system). My 3 days in the hospital, I actually felt fine with no fever or pain. I was released after my white blood count was found to be okay. Overall, I had a moderate case, but even so, it was not a pleasant experience. Also, according to Dr. Apachai and some material I have read, I am now immune to the hemorrhagic strain, but can still get any of the other three.

 

Also, the Hospital was required to report the case and my address to the local government. A few days after getting out of the hospital, a card was left in the mailbox - had both Thai and English - it was a notice that the City had sprayed the area for those dastardly mosquito.

[Guest lvdkeyes]

Well, I had diarrhea the entire time. Maybe a side effect of being dehydrated? I don't know for sure. All I know is what I had and I got the test results from the hospital.

I certainly am not questioning that you had dengue; I question how the hospital could mistake it for food poisoning. If you have ever truly had food poisoning you know that the diarrhea and vomiting are persistent until all the poison is out of your system.

[Guest RichLB]

I'm gad you are back to normal. As an aside I've been told that the mosquitoes that carry Dengue Fever are the ones that fly around in the daytime, not the night time variety. I'm not sure my "authority" is correct, but it's what I've been told.

[Guest beachlover]

I had Dengue Fever for a bit and boy, did it take the life out of me.

Ah, glad to hear you're better. 10 days! Must've been horrible.

 

I had dengue fever about 2 years ago...

Thanks... That was an interesting account.

 

Is Dengue Fever always this bad?... Lasting 7-10 days? Or can it sometimes be mild?

[kokopelli]

A friend just recently came down with dengue fever when in Pattaya. It did put a crimp in his vacation.

[Guest]

Is Dengue Fever always this bad?... Lasting 7-10 days? Or can it sometimes be mild?

 

My BF got Dengue earlier this year. He was in the hospital for 3 weeks.

[Guest lvdkeyes]

There have been 100 deaths in Thailand this year due to dengue fever.

[2lz2p]

I'm gad you are back to normal. As an aside I've been told that the mosquitoes that carry Dengue Fever are the ones that fly around in the daytime, not the night time variety. I'm not sure my "authority" is correct, but it's what I've been told.

 

Extracted from Thailandguru.com information on dengue fever:

 

 

The mosquito which carries this virus is most common in urban areas around human dwellings, and is most active during the daytime. The Aedes mosquito breeds in clear water.