Dear Editor,
I see (S/N April 5 –Pg 12) that there has been an increase in reported cases of dengue fever in the region and that we are advised by the Ministry of Health to take the necessary precautions.
Of course, many cases never get reported, so the official figures may be very misleading, and the outbreak could be far more serious than they suggest. For various reasons it is likely that victims of dengue will be treated at home with the help of over-the-counter medicines, so only a few cases will reach those officially reported statistics.
Two members of my household were ill with dengue fever over the past few weeks – one extremely ill. We would like to share with the public some important information we gleaned along the way.
The symptoms can easily be confused with flu; they include fever, severe headache, back ache, joint pain, a rash and vomiting.
In some cases bleeding occurs typically from the nose and gums, vagina or rectum.
*Because of the possibility of bleeding, the patient should not be given aspirin or ibuprofen since these increase the tendency to bleed. In fact, taking either of these could prove fatal. Tylenol is safe.
*You should not depend on laboratory results. They can be wrong – ours were.
All of us need to use nets and spray our homes, but truly, Mr Editor, the individual household can do only so much. In the final analysis this is a public health problem, and we wait anxiously to see what will be done by the Ministry of Health to safeguard our health.
Yours faithfully
Joyce Jonas
