Dengue in kids

• Severe Headache.
• Fever up to 102 degrees Celcius or more.
• Chills during fever. Chills mean shaking or vibration of the body due to cold.
• Sudden or full sweating after the temperature comes down.
• Red rashes on the body parts if the disease becomes severe.
• Severe Itching on hands and legs after fever.
• Severe eye pain or itchy eyes.
• Dizziness.
• Low appetite.
• Vomiting.
• Drop in platelets count.
• Muscle and joint pains.

It was in October, the year 2022. This is my favorite month as I was born in this month. Around this time, I was just 6 and a half months pregnant. My pregnancy symptoms like nausea, headaches, leg cramps, etc reduced a lot. I was having a happy routine with my family. My 3-year-old son was going to nursery and I was busy with my work and household chores. It was rainy season at that time in Hyderabad and we all know how mosquitos enjoy their life at this moment by entering everyone’s home and playing with food, water, and people around. My house was a bit small and had no proper ventilation, so there were more mosquitos in the daytime. At night we used a mosquito net and a mosquito bat while sleeping so we didn’t have any problem. My mom was also with me at that time as she came to help me with my household chores as I had low-lying placenta complications in my pregnancy.

Every morning when I sit on a chair in the hall, I feel mosquitos biting my legs and toes. I didn’t bother as I thought dengue is something that we don’t get easily. No one in my family ever got dengue fever. So this was totally out of my mind and I ignored it. One fine afternoon after having my lunch, I started feeling sick. I had a headache and full weakness. I thought these were pregnancy symptoms and was still doing my work. As time passed, my body temperature slightly increased by 99 to 100 degrees Celcius. My son was in school at that time and I was waiting for him for lunch. When he came home, he was crying and getting irritated. His body temperature was a little warm, so I checked his temperature and to my surprise, he also got a fever of around 99 degrees Celsius. I thought we might have gotten a viral fever as these were common during the rainy season. I gave him paracetamol and lunch.

After giving paracetamol he slept and the fever came down. After 6 hours, his body temperature slightly increased again. He didn’t have any other symptoms like a cold, cough, or low appetite. He just had a fever and was still playing around. But my fever was becoming uncontrollable at night and in the morning I was admitted to the hospital. My son was also with me in the hospital with my mom. At that time he still had a slight fever and was getting irritated. I was very tense about the time. I thought it was a normal viral fever and would go away after 3 days. We had a pediatrician in the hospital where I was admitted. So we had a follow-up with him to see if everything was normal with my kid. He also gave paracetamol and was told to wait for 3 days. If the fever doesn’t go away, he told us to start antibiotics for 5 days.

So I was admitted to the hospital for 5 days as my blood tests showed dengue positive and my son was suffering from high fever at our home with my mom. We started his antibiotic course as the fever didn’t go away after 3 days.

I just wanted to go home as soon as possible to see my son. But my doctor didn’t allow me as I was pregnant and full recovery from dengue is very necessary for the unborn baby. If dengue gets worse, it can pass on to the child and can also cause the death of the unborn baby. So I had to sacrifice my time for my baby. Since I was not there, my son didn’t get proper treatment at home and he fell very sick. When I came home after 5 days, I was shocked to see him. He had a full cold and a light cough. His eyes were swollen and red, but still, he was smiling and playing around when I saw him. My son is always the same. Though he had so much pain inside, he didn’t easily express it outside. He always wants to smile and make others happy. That is why everyone loves him so much.

But as time passed by his fever increased again and symptoms became worse. He started vomiting and his temperature was not coming down though we gave him paracetamol and antibiotics continuously. So I decided to admit him to hospital as there was no other way he could recover at home. That night at 10 pm we went to the hospital and admitted him for 2 days. After admission, he started feeling good and healthy. He got discharged after one day but he had to take injections for 5 days twice daily. So we had to come to the hospital day and night for his injections. We went continuously to the hospital for 3 days. On the 4th day, since his cantaloupe became loose due to the continuous movement of his hand, the nurse tried to remove it and apply a new one. But this time, my son didn’t allow them to do it. He was crying a lot and getting irritated. I was sent out as the nurses thought that children don’t listen to anyone if their mother is with them. I was waiting outside the room and listening to his cries. Those nurses were very rude to my son and at last, they didn’t succeed in putting that. We were also tired of watching our son cry and called the pediatrician.

Since my son didn’t have any fever for 3 days, the doctor told me to stop injections and told me to give antibiotic syrup for 5 days. So we happily came back home and started his antibiotic course. On the 5th day of his antibiotic course, he got a high fever again. Now we didn’t understand anything. We thought the doctor didn’t give proper treatment and went to another pediatrician that same day. He changed the antibiotic syrup and the dosage. He told me to give this for 5 days and if the fever didn’t come down after 3 days, he told me to come to the hospital. Within two days, the fever came down to 99 degrees Celsius. We were happy that he doesn’t have any fever now. But his antibiotic course was still going on.

And now suddenly my son started feeling fatigued and dizzy. He stopped eating and drinking and was always on my lap. He didn’t even pass the motion for more than 3 days. He was only drinking water or juice or some chocolate. Whenever I used to feed him food or give him water he used to say no, no, no. He just used to lay on my lap and watch cartoons. I was crying seeing all this. Never imagined my son would suffer like this. He is so small and can’t even talk or express the pain that he is feeling inside. He kept on murmuring something but I couldn’t understand.

 One afternoon, he was trying to say me something. He was fully constipated and was trying to potty but, it was not coming out as it became hard inside. He took me to the bathroom and showed me the toilet. I was also trying to make him potty but he didn’t understand anything as he was not potty trained yet. He cried a lot telling me that he wanted to potty in his words but I was so foolish that I didn’t understand him. I should have used a stool softener as it was already available at home. I didn’t know that we can use it along with antibiotics or when your kid has a fever. I thought he was not feeling well and thatswhy he was crying and getting irritated. So I took him outside and bought juice and chocolate for him. He was happy after seeing his favorite juice and had some chocolate and juice. But he didn’t have food though I forced him to eat. He slept for some time and after waking up, again the same process started. No food, no water, feeling weak, etc. Now I was 100 percent sure that he needed to be admitted to the hospital.

We called the doctor, but he was on vacation. So we took him to another hospital and told him all his symptoms. They told maybe he had dengue took a blood test to confirm and started giving glucose that same night. He tested dengue positive and his platelets count started decreasing. We all know how it feels when your son is going through so much suffering at such a small age. Whenever those memories come to me, I still cry a lot and pray that this shouldn’t happen again to my son or anyone. He was kept in the hospital for 3 days with glucose and antibiotics. Since he didn’t do the motion for 3 days, they did edema to him. In this process, a liquid medicine is sent inside the bump hole with the help of a suction tube. This liquid softens the stool and it comes out all of a sudden.

His health started improving slowly after one day of admission. The doctor told us to give more liquids so we used to give him fresh fruit juices and fresh hospital canteen food little by little. On the third day, he was fully active and his platelet count also started increasing slowly.  We came home on the fourth day happily. By now, my son lost so much weight and he was looking very weak. We thought everything was over now and he was completely cured. We took him to a barber Shop to get his haircut as his hair grew long and was dirty. He cried a lot during the haircut and headbath as he hated these two things. Due to so much crying and weakness, he got a high fever again at night. I called his pediatrician and asked him if I should come to the hospital. He told me to give him paracetamol and wait for 3 days. So we waited and after 2 days, he was normal again.

He started gaining a little weight after 2 weeks and was feeling healthy and active. I gave him Bevon syrup to boost his immunity for 2 months.

• If your kid is not eating or drinking anything since morning.
• He didn’t pass stool or has constipation for more than 3 days even after giving him stool softeners like Duphalac syrup or MuOut powder.
• He has a fever of more than 103 degrees Celsius.
• He is Continuously crying and getting irritated.
• His Fever is not coming down after giving paracetamol.
• He is continuously vomiting.
• He has loose motions or diarrhea.
• He got red rashes on his body and face.

1. Use mosquito nets or beds for babies and kids during their nap time which are very easily available in the market nowadays.
2. Try to stay in a mosquito-free area. This means the area around your house should be clean.
3. Closed houses or tiny houses without any ventilation have more chances of mosquitos coming inside. Always try to stay in a spacious house that has trees and proper ventilation around.
4. If you are living in a mosquito-prone area then please make sure that all your windows and doors have a mosquito net.
5. You can also use mosquito repellent creams like odomas if you are going to a mosquito-prone area or while sleeping at night.
6. Many people also use mosquito rackets, and coils to keep mosquitos away from their homes.
7. Always keep your home neat and clean. Don’t allow any standing water in your home or near your home.
8. Let your kids wear full clothes at night and in the morning if there are many mosquitoes.
9. Use air conditioning or full-power fans to avoid mosquito bites.
10. Avoid keeping a bunch of clothes on sofas, beds, chairs, or in any other room. Always keep them in closed cupboards after folding and ironing.

Useful home remedies to treat dengue:-