So Dengue Fever is what I self diagnosed myself with after matching my symptoms to a list of possible diseases or ailments. I had text book Dengue Fever signature, Headache, muscle stiffness, pain behind the eyes, extreme fatigue, a bright red rash that initially develops on the abdomen and lower back and on the lower extremities. Some people call the disease "bonecrusher disease"...but I didn't feel that bad. Besides I've broken my leg, arm, foot, dislocated my shoulder and bodyslammed myself multiple times snowboarding that I'm sure the muscular pain was no comparison. Dengue Fever is a virus that is spread by mosquito's. As the mosquito is an organism that carries the virus but is not affected by the virus it is referred to as a vector for the disease. The WHO estimates that 2.5 billion people are at risk of becoming infected ever year and annually 50 million cases are reported.
The classic dengue fever lasts for 2- 7 days with a small fever peak at the end of the disease known as a "bi-phasic pattern" Typically the patients platelet count will continue dropping until the fever/ temperature returns to normal. I guess this is why some people die from this.
In the end the patient is left with little red dots under the skin where the old blood is pooled. In some cases the disease progresses to Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS) where the risk of mortality is significantly higher. Thankfully I was healthy enough avoid this stage of the disease.
