chuvaness

There's a bug going around and chances are you or your family members are affected.
My entire family has been sick in various degrees. Jeroen feels sick right now. Christian had fever for a day; Markus two days but able to go to school. Ben did not go to school for nine days, due to four days of fever and five days of weekend/holiday.

I'm extra vigilant when Ben is sick because at the age of 8, he has already been confined to the hospital three times. When Ben is sick it's hard for him to keep the medicine down. Once he starts vomiting, even a sip of water can turn into a gush of vomit within minutes. Dehydration is not to be downplayed. Because hospitalization is costly and not fun, we try our best to care for our kids at home.
When I was a new mom every little symptom would send me into panic. Now because of experience I've learned to be less panicky and become a discerning mommy. We look for remedies that are safe, tested and affordable.

Two weeks ago, Jay and I went out of town to visit the sprawling Unilab plant in Mamplasan, Laguna.
There with other bloggers we listened to Dr. Royce Mangubat, Medical Director for Unilab Pediatric Division, talk about that which alarms many of us moms—fever. And most moms I know are afraid of the D-word: dengue.



Dengue is a virus that circulates in the blood of infected humans for two to seven days—about the same time they have fever. It is transmitted through the infective day bite of low-flying female mosquito.



Here are the symptoms you should look out for:

• sudden onset of high grade fever (39°C to 41°C) that lasts from two to nine days.
• mild to severe headache
• weakness and fatigue
• joint and muscle pain
• pain behind the eyes (retro-orbital pain)
• abdominal pain
• bleeding
• skin rashes like measles, tiny red spots on the skin, or generalized redness of the extremities with intervening white spots



Treatment:
• Complete bed rest.
• Oral rehydration salts are recommended if the patient can tolerate oral fluids.
• No antibiotics.
• Paracetamol to bring down fever.
• AVOID Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Mefanimic Acid as they can increase the risk of bleeding.

Unilab has helpful sites to keep you up-to-date on health and wellness, health news, products, promos, events, advocacies and events.
Go to http://www.unilab.com.ph/, follow them on Twitter or see the latest ads on their YouTube channel.