Dengue the very word scares me. I have had Dengue once last year, I remember I was in Hyderabad on a consulting project and suddenly felt drained and had this terrible pain in the back of my eyes. I decided to go to the hotel room and rest for a while, only to wake up to raging fever of 104, upon doing a blood test next day dengue was confirmed. I remember the killing 15 days that followed, the body pain and the platelet count dropping, the test everyday and in the end when I was fine, I still remember being tired and drained for months. Immunity down and catching cold at the drop of a hat.

I know of people who have lost their lives to Dengue and a friend’s son got dengue second time and was so critically ill. Few people know that second and third episodes of dengue could be worst. In the words of my friend Suman

“If you have ever suffered from dengue in the past (even if it was many yearsago), the second episode can be much worse and extremely dangerous. If you have had dengue previously, you MUST take any fever very seriously, and inform the doctors immediately that you have suffered a previous episode. In a second episode, blood pressure drops dramatically because blood vessels burst, and all organs become inflamed due to the excess fluid. Without very strong antibiotic treatment, this fluid has a high risk of becoming infected – leading to often-fatal septicaemia or pneumonia. You could also go into shock (dengue shock syndrome), for which the mortality rate is very high. The progression from platelet drop to death happens with stunning speed – a matter of hours. This happens because the antibodies developed during the first episode actually enhance the entry and replication of the virus – a phenomenon called Antibody-Dependent Enhancement, or ADE. The antibodies in your system from a first dengue attack can remain in your system for up to 20 years.”

It is important for all of us to take dengue seriously and that is why I think this initiative from SC Johnson is noteworthy. The site talks about Payal, a 12 year old from Jaipur who wants to become a doctor and fight dengue. Lets all come together to encourage kids like Payal and make sure we are soon a dengue free country. Check the website for details on what you can do at your home to prevent and call at 1800180181818 to show your support.

You can check out this video as well for more details : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbTa4IG9Nww

prevent and call at 1800180181818 to show your support.

You can check out this video as well for more details :