Tuesday, Sept. 3 was my last day in Mexico. My daughter and son had come to help me with the move. My son left on Sunday, and my daughter and I flew out together on Tuesday.
But an interesting development occurred at around noon on Tuesday. All three of us developed symptoms of Dengue Fever, the body aches, fatigue and fever. Apparently we had all been bit by the same mosquito 4 or 5 days previous. This photo was taken about an hour before our symptoms hit.
Dengue lasts about 7 to 10 days. By day 10, I felt pretty well back to normal, with the leftover rash and brain fog being the final symptoms. My son, however, was still suffering with body aches. I felt so bad since my kids had come to Mexico to help me and they both ended up with worse cases than what I had. Fortunately, they are both better now.
This is the second time for me. I had Dengue ten years ago in Guatemala. It is like a really serious, long-lasting case of the flu. Your head and eyes hurt, your entire body aches-- bones, muscles, everything. Even the skin hurts. Fever comes and goes. The danger is high fever and internal bleeding. When that happens, it can be life-threatening and you better rush to the hospital. Fortunately, none of us had these symptoms.
Then when you think you're getting better, a rash shows up, that can create burning, prickly skin in random locations. My daughter's hands turned red and swollen and felt like they were on fire. She submerged them in ice to get relief.
There is really no medicine for Dengue, antibiotics or such are ineffective. You basically take aspirin or other pain meds to reduce swelling and give some relief. That's about your only option.
The year 2023 had one of the highest levels of Dengue Fever ever reported in Mexico, and 2024 was even higher. I guess it's no surprise that I got it as my goodbye present from Veracruz.
