If you follow
my tweets, you probably would have noticed that I had been having a difficult week
since my husband got
hospitalized. His
doctor initially foresaw that my husband would need to stay in the hospital for
3-4 days to cure his
Dengue fever. However, the fact was, after 4 days in the hospital, my
husband’s condition dropped so his stay in the hospital had to be extended. Spending 6-11 hours a day in the hospital to look
after him was my new routines when my husband was sick. I fully
understood that I am currently pregnant and not supposed to be too tired, but seriously, it’s
just not easy to leave my husband alone in the hospital for most of the time.
To begin the story,
let’s talk about the mosquito that is the one and only culprit of Dengue fever. I first learned the rocket science of Dengue fever and its carriers when I was in
primary school. Then, I was told that the name of the mosquito that can kill
humans or animals with its Dengue virus is called Aedes aegypti and I still vividly remember its name until now. So, when we spot mosquitos
with black and white stripe legs and a lyre-like marking on their thorax, we
ought to exterminate them immediately. They are Aedes aegypti!
As in my husband case,
it seems like an infected Aedes aegypti
mosquito (which had just bitten a person with the disease) bit him when we were
in Indonesia. The first symptoms of dengue occur about 4-7 days after being
bitten and my husband showed all the symptoms exactly on the first day after we
were back to Malaysia.
When my husband first showed
the Dengue fever symptoms, I thought he was just having flu like me because I myself
had been nursing flu since I was in Indonesia. However, as the clock ticked,
his acute-flu like high fever worsened. On top of that, he had body aches,
chills, diarrhea, vomiting, lower stomach pains, zero appetite, rashes all over
his body and red eyes. Pain killers from the doctor in the neighbourhood didn’t help him much
and the appearance of the rashes was still strong.
On day 3 since we returned
from Indonesia, my husband’s condition was not getting any better at home so his parents made him go to the hospital. When his blood test revealed that the Dengue virus
in his blood was reactive and his blood platelet count (thrombocytes) was below normal
(150-450); we had to let him get treated in the hospital because dengue fever
can be lethal if not treated fast and properly.
During my husband's hospitalization, every day my parents, his parents and I hoped and tried to make his platelet
count escalate. As much as we were aware that Dengue virus would make his
platelet count drop to some possible lowest points, we attempted to manage the
fall to be above 50; otherwise my husband would need to be put in ICU or given
blood transfusion. Also, while his doctor had put IV drips on my husband’s to
give him enough fluid, we had to force him to drink plenty of liquids to keep
his blood cells intact or his blood capillaries would break and he’d bleed.
We had one time when my
husband’s condition turned pretty bad in the hospital – his platelet count
plunged to its lowest level at only 57 and he had a sudden on-set of high
fever. By then, asking my husband to drink plain water or other drinks was like
nailing jelly to a wall. Furthermore, his doctor said there is no exact cure
for dengue fever but pain killers, total bed rest and lots of water. His body
has to fight the dengue virus by itself. When my parents in Indonesia figured that my husband condition went from bad to worse, they thought of taking the first flight to Malaysia on the next day to see him but luckily, I managed to assure them that I still could handle this alone.
Believe it or not, my
Mother-in-Law and I tried to find, make and give all of the following natural
remedies and alternative Chinese medicines to my husband to administer his plummeting
platelet count. My husband rejected consuming most of the following
alternatives because some of them were just too hard to gulp or presented him
with some adverse effects post consuming. We learned the below information from
my parents, relatives, friends and even the hospital’s nurse as they had successfully
treated dengue fever with one or few of the below alternative solutions on top
of doctor’s clinical treatment.
- Pink Guava Juice – This juice is believed to have properties in cells
repairing and high in iron as well as vitamin C. It has been traditionally used for treating
dengue fever in Indonesia. I personally think the juice taste is nice but somehow, my
husband hates its taste.
- Red Dates (hong
zhao) and Red Yeast Rice (angkak)
Tea – Our family doctor in Indonesia himself suggests
us to consume plenty of this tea when battling dengue because this tea can
increase platelets. My husband drank red dates’ and honey tea for two days before he refused
to drink this tea any more.
- Coconut Water – This drink is cooling and replenishes electrolytes,
minerals plus other trace minerals lost by the body due to dehydration.
- Isotonic Drink – My husband’s doctor and nurses themselves advised my husband repeatedly to take
isotonic drink to keep his body dehydrated but he always declined the idea and asked me to bring home or throw away the isotonic drinks I bought for him.
- Papaya Leaves’ Juice – It is believed that papaya leaves contain
substances responsible for the production of platelets. Papaya leaves' extract is usually
used to treat severe dengue fever and possesses incredibly bitter taste. My husband took
few sips of this and his platelet counts increased a little bit on the
following day.
- Bitter gourd and Frog Leg Soup – I am not so sure on the health benefits of this soup
but this soup is well-known in Chinese community in Malaysia for controlling dengue
fever. This soup is bitter and not easy to
drink. My husband vomited twice after consuming this soup.
- Crab Soup (Sup
Ketam) – One of the hospital nurses suggested us to make this soup for my husband as this soup is rich in protein
and commonly used by Malay community here to overcome dengue fever. My Mom-in-Law
boiled this soup for my husband but he did not even bother to give it a taste because it’s obviously
one smelly soup.
- Palm Dates (Kurma) – Dates are high in sugar, zinc, vitamins and cure intestinal
disturbances. My Dad suggested me to introduce this to my husband especially
since my husband once complained that he had gastric pain due to his poor
eating patterns in the hospital. My husband ate dates like a snack and I am not
sure if eating these actually contributed to his recovery from dengue fever but
my husband got better after eating few dates. In my opinion, food that has been consumed
for thousand years, or potentially since the Bible era, like dates - are not eaten for
nothing. There must be tons of health benefits from them. Thus, I made my husband eat
dates as much as he could.
- Fu Fang Compound E-Jiao Jiang – This is a traditional
Chinese medicine used for nourishing blood. Based on my Indonesian friends and relatives’
testimonies, their platelet counts when contracting dengue fever almost immediately
increased after drinking this medicine - so we tried this medicine on my husband too. This medicine is easy to purchase in most Chinese
herbs shops in Indonesia but was not so easy to find in Malaysia. In Seremban, my Mom-in-Law and I eventually found it in Hai-O shop at RM 35.50/box.
Although it was hard
to make my husband drink lots of water or eat his food, as his condition
improved, he actually drank more water on his own will and could request for
specific food when he felt hungry. On the sixth day in the hospital, my husband
platelet count was already above 100 but his doctor did not want to release him
from the hospital just yet as my husband’s body, especially his hands, were so swollen
and reddish. Seemingly, my husband had experienced bleeding underneath his skin
which normally only occurs to people with platelet counts below 50. Therefore, his
doctor said that he needed to carefully observe my husband in the hospital longer and make sure he
doesn’t bleed from his lungs, mouth, nose, etc..
At last, after total
of 7 days of hospitalization, my husband platelet count was back to normal range
and his fever, chills and body pains lessened. The swells and redness on his
hands had somewhat reduced (but not gone at all) and his doctor gave him the
green light to rest at home with a note that he has to take his medical leave
for at least one more week.
This said I am beyond excited to announce that my sleepless nights and routines of running in and out plus standing by in the hospital for
hours were put to an end as of yesterday night. I got my husband back at home with
me now, even though at this point he is still not fully recovered yet. He is
still red, weak and clearly, much thinner.
Seeing our partner
sick and in so much pain was indeed painful but I am glad that everything
turned better now. Thank you to my parents, relatives and friends’ for the prayers,
advice and well wishes during those difficult times.
To finish this post, as
per the advice from an officer of the local Ministry of Health (MoH) who visited us
in the hospital on Monday, do remember to remove stagnant clean water in your premises at all times and use
mosquitoes spray in your house twice a day to prevent the Aedes Aegypti mosquitos from breeding. Don’t get bitten! By the way, a day after this government officer's visit in the hospital, there was a team sent by MoH spraying mosquito's pesticides around our Seremban house's residential area. Isn't this good?
