About the Dengue

Dengue also known as Breakbone Fever has been called the most important mosquito-transmitted viral disease in terms of morbidity and mortality. The mosquito mainly breeds in fresh water stored in uncovered container. It lives in dwelling and bites during the day. Dengue fever is a benign acute febrile syndrome occurring in tropical regions. In a small proportion of cases, the virus causes increased vascular permeability that leads to a bleeding diathesis or disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) known as dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) (Source: Internet).

In simple terms, it occurs through a bite of a mosquito which has bit another person carrying the dengue virus, this mosquito act as a carrier.

There are three types of Dengue fever
a) Classical Dengue
b) Dengue haemorrhagic fever
c) Dengue shock syndrome

Classical dengue presents with fever, headache, backache with severe myalgia so it is also called BREAK BONE FEVER.

Dengue hemorrhagic fever is the start of complication and as the name suggests there is internal bleeding leading to fall in blood pressure and shock, platelet count is reduced and ultimately lead to shock causing Dengue shock syndrome. ( Indiastudychannel.com)
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I woke up with a headache I had never felt in my life. It felt like my head was the World Cup FIFA ground and all the players were stampeding on it. I had a fever of about 101 degrees. Oh my head! I took Tylenol. I must have just come down with the flu or something – a seasonal thing.

Two days and about 10 Tylenols/Panadols later, my head still hurt and fever had risen up to 103. A doctor cousin started me on Cefspan antibiotic course. That is how it works in Pakistan when you have a family doctor. You call them and they advise you over the phone. That is exactly what I did. And on most occasions, it works out fine for very regular viral or infections. This time round little did I know that it was not just an ordinary viral infection.
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It has been about a year and a half since we moved back from the US to Pakistan. A family of 5, 3 young children (5, 3 & 6 months), the immediate fear of moving to Pakistan with American born children and the thought of the dry summer heat was what if my 5 year old says: Ammi there are too many mosquitos (machar) in this country or how come we never have any light. I was pleasantly surprised and a little relieved when my 5 year old’s reaction when summer came was: Man, these mangoes are great. And every year after that she kept waiting for the “aam” season to arrive again and every few months we would hear a holler of: is it aam season yet! The heat and problems of the summer in Pakistan on one side and mango season on the other, the latter enveloping the prior.

Once again it is the mango fiesta season. We see streets filled with crates and piles of sweet luscious mangoes.
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Midlife Crisis – Are you Having One?

More than just a cliché, midlife crises is experienced between the ages of 40-60. Psychologist Carl Jung was the first to identify it and calls it a normal part of the maturing process. Most people will experience some form of emotional transition during that time of life. Traditionally seen as a male domain, (I can just hear the women say: thank God, men are humans also. They “feel” also!) it can happen to women also.

“We call it a midlife crisis, but actually it can happen at any age, to any gender,” says Anne Devlin, a Sydney-based clinical psychologist. It could be triggered by divorce, a serious illness, redundancy, an empty nest, the loss of a parent. Or it can just occur out of the blue. The important question is: why does it occur? What are the deep-rooted factors that cause many of us, between the ages of 35 and 55, to go through what can be a long, frightening and isolating transformation? Read more…

“He who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything.” -Arabian Proverb

1. Move extra: Make it a daily challenge to find ways to move your body. Climb stairs if given a choice between that and escalators or elevators. Play with your kids; throw balls with friends, trim the lawn. Anything that moves your limbs is not only a fitness tool, it’s a stress buster. Think ‘move’ in small increments of time. It doesn’t have to be an hour in the gym. But that’s great when you’re up to it. Meanwhile, move more.

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