It isn’t always fatal !
December 10, 2010 – 11:50 pmAfter an extremely busy day, I was relaxing with my family when I started laughing madly on something and with that got a fit of cough. I attributed it to the mad laugh and went to sleep but got up in the morning feeling feverish and with a bad throat. Work is a killer these days so I ignored the *feverish feeling* and went about doing daily chores. By night while I was still at work, I started feeling extremely dizzy, I could barely focus on anything and felt quite disoriented. I’d keep looking at the screen and couldn’t recall the password that I use several times a day daily. After a while I started walking just to stop feeling lost, I knew something was wrong with me but didn’t like the idea of whining about it at office.
When I came back home, I had about 100 F fever and I thought I have got some sort of viral infection. Took a pain killer and went to sleep. The next morning I again woke up with a fever; I usually avoid going to office when I get viral flu and fever so as to avoid infesting others but this day was different. I had a client side visit scheduled that could not be delayed, i was feeling sick but dragged myself to work after taking meds. Fever went down for some time but it was back again by evening with redness and burning sensation in eyes. As the fever was not high , I still considered it usual viral fever and took a pain killer.
That night, however, was spent in agony. I kept getting chills and felt extremely weak. When checked fever in the morning, it turned out to be 102 F but I still depended on pain killers. However, it kept shooting up and when it hit 104 F mark despite my being on paracetamol, I had no choice but to run to the doctor.
Doctor after examination asked me to get a few usual blood tests done, gave me some anti-biotics and asked me to take lots of fluids and proper rest. He even asked me what I thought I had and I casually replied, “Usual flu and fever”, I was feeling totally disoriented anyway so couldn’t think of any other reply 
However, blood reports indicated some infections and decreasing platelet count. These were clear signs of nothing but the notorious Dengue Fever. I was asked to be careful and avoid getting any cuts and bruises.
My family and friends freaked out when they heard about this but I on the other hand felt quite surprised. Dengue is something that is often referred to as a deadly disease and I did not quite expect getting over it soon, but I have. Fever has not shot up again, throat feels better now even though lethargy and nausea continues.
I have been taking proper rest and have increased my fluid intake a lot. Blood tests have been repeated after a few days and they show platelet count increasing and infections disappearing. It has been about a week now and I am back on my feet again Alhamdulilah. Headaches and weakness still persists as doc says it will take me another couple of weeks to be completely fine, however, i am al most fine otherwise.
I even went to office yesterday and many were surprised to see me this soon. General perception about dengue is that of a serious disease but thankfully I got mild dengue Alhamdulilah and perhaps also a chance to let others know that it does not always KILL you so you do not have to freak out if God forbid you are diagnosed with it. The few things that you need to keep in mind are:
1. In case of high grade fever and throat irritations, seek medical attention immediately.
2. Increase your fluid intake so you stay well-hydrated.
3. Get plenty of rest and avoid exertion even when the infection is over. It takes few weeks for you to be completely fine.
4. Get proper home cooked and healthy meals.
I found this nice article that talks about mild and severe forms of dengue, their symptoms, treatment options and preventive measures that can be taken.
Image credit: South Asia Rocks
