Dealing with Dengue

It was a challenging week for the family. Ahiya was diagnosed with dengue and had to be confined at the hospital. His fever started on February 12 and continued for five days. We first thought it was roseola and felt relieved when pinkish rashes appeared on his skin. Unfortunately he continued to have high fever, around 39.8 degrees.

We finally decided to take him to the hospital on the third day, with the intention of getting a blood test. It was a grueling experience for all of us. He screamed and kicked as we struggled to extract his blood. We waited for another hour in the emergency room, waiting for the results. In the end the doctors told the bad news. Our son tested positive for dengue.

Ahiya's pedia had him confined in the hospital. The ER doctors suspected that he was probably infected at school, since they reported a lot of students getting dengue a couple of months ago.

We stayed at the hospital for six days and the entire family's routine was disrupted. I had to skip work just to stay with him in the hospital. Good thing the hospital has WIFI and it helped me get some of my office work done.


I never imagined how dengue can be so deadly. The only treatment was to keep the patient hydrated and drink paracetamol to manage the fever. Good thing Ahiya's fever subsided on the third day at the hospital, but we had to monitor his platelet count and wait till it reached a healthy level. We tried giving him some herbal concotion (tawa-tawa and camote leaves) to raise his platelet level, but he hated it.

We were finally able to leave the hospital on Friday. Ahiya's latest blood test showed improved results. The entire ordeal cost around twenty-seven thousand pesos. Good thing PhilHealth and my company's HMO package shouldered all the expenses.