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Sep. 17th, 2019 12:57 pmGuess who had dengue!
I am now mostly recovered, but my goodness that was unpleasant. I had had a day of fever and shivering under a duvet last Sunday, but on Monday was feeling mostly better. I went to the clinic more to double check that I was okay, but it turned out to be dengue, which triggered everyone to panic slightly and send me down to Yangon. At the time, I was feeling well enough to feel rather guilty about this, and to be making plans for cinema going in the evenings. Unfortunately, it turns out everyone else was very right about dengue coming in waves, and I soon felt absolutely terrible.
Disappointingly, the treatment for dengue is paracetamol, water and rest. If you have a properly interesting disease (especially one from which a non-zero amount of people ACTUALLY DIE) then it should at least have its own special medicine. I did also get to drink some revolting oral rehydration salts, which may have had something to do with me later vomiting all over the nurses who took my blood (from my wrong arm) and then all over myself after I insisted I needed to lie on the floor immediately. The nurses were absolutely lovely, in contrast to the doctor, who came and stood next to my head and bleated "ooh, are you okay". After that incident I always got my blood taken while lying down, from the arm that works, and got to have a little rest afterwards. Sadly, I only discovered the free hot chocolate machine in the corner of reception the day before I was discharged.
I am mostly okay now, still a little itchy, but my platelets are back up to the appropriate level and I haven't had any fever for days. I am very tired though. I'm in Yangon still (though I've transferred from the swish hotel next to the clinic to the perfectly pleasant one near the office) and just doing inductions with the country office staff in between running out of things to read on Buzzfeed (I recognised 8/9 celebrity moustaches).
I am now mostly recovered, but my goodness that was unpleasant. I had had a day of fever and shivering under a duvet last Sunday, but on Monday was feeling mostly better. I went to the clinic more to double check that I was okay, but it turned out to be dengue, which triggered everyone to panic slightly and send me down to Yangon. At the time, I was feeling well enough to feel rather guilty about this, and to be making plans for cinema going in the evenings. Unfortunately, it turns out everyone else was very right about dengue coming in waves, and I soon felt absolutely terrible.
Disappointingly, the treatment for dengue is paracetamol, water and rest. If you have a properly interesting disease (especially one from which a non-zero amount of people ACTUALLY DIE) then it should at least have its own special medicine. I did also get to drink some revolting oral rehydration salts, which may have had something to do with me later vomiting all over the nurses who took my blood (from my wrong arm) and then all over myself after I insisted I needed to lie on the floor immediately. The nurses were absolutely lovely, in contrast to the doctor, who came and stood next to my head and bleated "ooh, are you okay". After that incident I always got my blood taken while lying down, from the arm that works, and got to have a little rest afterwards. Sadly, I only discovered the free hot chocolate machine in the corner of reception the day before I was discharged.
I am mostly okay now, still a little itchy, but my platelets are back up to the appropriate level and I haven't had any fever for days. I am very tired though. I'm in Yangon still (though I've transferred from the swish hotel next to the clinic to the perfectly pleasant one near the office) and just doing inductions with the country office staff in between running out of things to read on Buzzfeed (I recognised 8/9 celebrity moustaches).
