Dengue
I got dengue fever in September 2016. With dengue, one cannot sleep because of the intense acidity and foul taste and smell you get from the fever and also the burning sensation on palms and soles of feet. My blood platelets count had gone below the normal levels and my acidity on the first day was so intense that I had visited the hospital to take the antacid and anti-nausea medicines through an injection. The following day too I wasn’t well and people had advised me to eat Kiwi fruit but on eating that, I threw up because my body was too acidic. My health had deteriorated and I returned to the hospital to get admitted but there was no place for admission as the hospital was flooded with dengue patients. They once again gave me an injection of antacid and sent me home.
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On returning home, I thought of acting wisely and taking things in my own hands. I read about it online and also many of my friends advised me things which I followed for 3 days and I was out of it.
In this post, I shall tell you the symptoms of dengue and share with you the details about the medication and food that helped me overcome the illness.
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Symptoms
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High fever 99-101°C
Urge to drink water every few minutes
Headache
Sleeplessness due to uneasiness in the body
Burning of the palms and soles of feet
Nausea
Hyperacidity
Remedies
To recover from dengue, I took some medication and supported it with the right food. While I took medication to control the fever and supplements to boost energy, eating the right food helped me to cleanse the body of the virus.
I have listed down the remedy.
Medication
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The medicines that helped me recover from dengue were:
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Paracetamol (and later Combiflam - half each time)
Antacids (Pan D)
On the first day, I took antacid thrice a day, Paracetamol thrice times a day, anti-nausea medicine twice or thrice. On day two, I needed anti-nausea medicine only once in a day, Paracetamol twice, and antacid thrice. Day three, I needed antacid twice, I had a body ache more than fever so took half a Combiflam tablet and no anti-nausea medication. For the next 3 days, I reduced antacid to once a day and took Combiflam on the fourth day half tablet each time I needed it. From the 5th day onwards, I did not need Combiflam.
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Food
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Pomegranate (just chew the juice and throw the seeds away)
Sweet lime (eat the pulp and juice by cutting the fruit in 4 pieces)
Immediately after waking up in the morning, I would peel one full pomegranate and chew it and only drink the juice and throw the seeds away. This would help me to settle the acidity from my mouth till my abdomen. I would normally take an antacid before that. Then, I would have one whole sweet lime, again, chewing the fruit but drinking its juice and then throwing the thick part out. To eat the 2 fruits, I would spend half an hour. You must drink or eat really very slowly, otherwise your body throws it up.
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Avoid all citric fruits other than sweet lime because they will add more fury to the acidity. If the country you stay in doesn’t have the fruits I mentioned, then you can eat watermelon and other non-citrus fruits.
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Tender coconut water - I would follow the sweet lime with coconut water and sip on it for another half hour.
Mint leaves and basil (tulsi) leaves - During the day, I would also suck on basil (tulsi) leaves because apart from helping your immune system, basil also helps revive the taste buds.
Papaya tree leaves juice, 2 tablespoons twice a day for 3 days. These days the papaya leaf extract is also available in capsule form. I would take 2 tablespoon of papaya leaves juice in the morning and also at night after dinner. Papaya leaf juice I took only for 3 days (too much of it can have side effects)
Soft rice with clear soup (vegetable or chicken or meat) with turmeric but no other added spices or porridge - On the first day, I couldn’t have any solid food due to acidity. From day two, I could start with light solid food like porridge in the morning, but let the porridge cool at room temperature and then have it. For lunch and dinner, I would take soup and rice. I avoided oily and spicy food and only had food that clears acidity.
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Note: Sometimes, one needs to judge if a particular food is acidic or not to your body system. Avoid sour things altogether otherwise it increases your acidity.
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On day 1 or on days when acidity is high, you may eat something like
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Chocolate
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Dry puffed rice
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For the first 4-5 days one needs to have the pomegranate, sweet lime and coconut water constantly throughout the day as it helps fight the virus. Day four I was absolutely fine and my platelets had got back to normal though the acidity remained. I continued the food pattern for more than 2 weeks and I was absolutely fine. (It is very important to continue the diet and regime for 2 weeks or till you feel better)
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