[njbchbum]

'The Florida Department of Health says the three patients are residents of Martin and St. Lucie counties. Officials say the patients acquired dengue from mosquitoes in Rio, near Jensen Beach. None have traveled internationally recently.'

Read more: Three cases of dengue fever in Florida - New York News

be careful my friends!

[manaboutown]

This is seriously bad news!

[casita37]

I had dengue a few years ago, while living in the Virgin Islands. It was NOT fun! My sister-in-law was recently in Costa Rica. She got an extremely severe case of dengue and was in the hospital for several days with a temp of 104, spiking to 105. It was really scary for a while. She's OK now, but I doubt she'll ever visit a tropical country again. I did not realize FL was such a danger zone.

[DougB]

Originally Posted by casita37

I had dengue a few years ago, while living in the Virgin Islands. It was NOT fun! My sister-in-law was recently in Costa Rica. She got an extremely severe case of dengue and was in the hospital for several days with a temp of 104, spiking to 105. It was really scary for a while. She's OK now, but I doubt she'll ever visit a tropical country again. I did not realize FL was such a danger zone.

I don't think a relatively small amount of cases in the last three years makes Florida "such a danger zone" 40 in Florida last year compared to 5000 in Puerto Rico. I think about 100 million world wide

[casita37]

You are right Doug. Danger zone was probably an exagerated and poor choice of words. I often forget how totally literal one's words can be taken on here. BTW, if you happen to be one of those 40 people, it's a very big deal.

[DougB]

Sure would be. I hear it is miserable. Was there any treatment for you, or do you just need to keep hydrated until it runs it's course?

[casita37]

Originally Posted by DougB

Sure would be. I hear it is miserable. Was there any treatment for you, or do you just need to keep hydrated until it runs it's course?

Mine was a fairly mild case. I was down for about 10 days-2 weeks. Temp, but not as high as my sis-in-law. It basically just HURT.....all over. Honestly, even my eyelids. The only thing I could eat was popsicles and jello. First thing my sis wanted was popsicles, too. It's like the flu on steroids!!

It's fairly common in the VI, so the doctor diagnosed it fairly easily, plus there was an epidemic of it at the time. My sister in law was in northern Minnesota. Doctors up there really had to struggle to figure out what it was. Not something they see all that often.

Best I can remember there was no real treatment for me, just pain pills. My sis-in-law was in intensive care for several days and being pumped full of fluids. I don't know what actual meds. She was hallucinating and very confused for days.