A YOUNG woman moved to a paradise island six years ago to live a luxury lifestyle on little money, but recently found herself in hospital with a nasty illness.
Back in May, Claudia, a content creator who is originally from the UK but now lives in Koh Samui, Thailand, and her boyfriend, ended up in hospital after experiencing a fever, chills, vomiting and a nasty rash that spread “all over” their bodies.
Not only did they have to have “daily blood tests”, but they were also whacked with a £2,000 hospital bill.
Eager to inform others about dengue fever, which is not found in the UK and cannot be caught from another person, Claudia, who quit her corporate job to move abroad, took to social media to reveal all.
She acknowledged that she and her partner both spent time in hospital after they treated themselves to a luxury hotel stay for their anniversary.
Whilst at the “incredible” hotel, Claudia recognised: “We both started experiencing extreme symptoms like fever, chills, nausea and vomiting and after a couple of days of this and barely leaving the room because we felt awful, we went to the doctors and they confirmed it was dengue fever.”
Dengue, also known as dengue fever, is an infection spread by mosquitoes.
According to the NHS website, dengue fever is “not usually serious and often gets better on its own.”
The NHS also recognised that “some people get a more severe type of dengue, but this is rare.”
Dengue fever is often found in tropical areas such as parts of Africa and Asia, Central and South America, the Caribbean, the Pacific islands and some southern areas of North America.
There is also a risk of getting it from spring to November in parts of southern Europe, including Croatia, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Madeira.
There is a vaccine that helps protect against dengue fever and it is recommended for people who have had, or might have had dengue in the past and are travelling to a part of the world where dengue is common.
You can get advice from a travel clinic if you’re travelling to a part of the world where dengue is common, but if you need the vaccine, you’ll have to pay for it privately.
Opening up on their dengue fever experience, Claudia, who now has cheap rent and reduced living costs thanks to living in Thailand, added: “We had to get daily blood tests and eventually they told us we had to be admitted to hospital because our platelets dropped into critical condition.
“We were in hospital for three nights being monitored and had more symptoms like muscle aches, extreme fatigue and a crazy itchy rash all over our bodies.
What are the symptoms of dengue fever?
Dengue won’t always cause symptoms, according to NHS guidance.
But if you do experience some, they’ll usually come on four to 10 days after an infected mosquito bites you.
The symptoms can be similar to the flu and include:
- Fever
- Severe headache
- Pain behind the eyes
- Muscle and joint pain
- Nausea and vomiting
- Widespread rash
- Abdominal pain
- Loss of appetite
There is no cure or specific treatment.
Patients can relieve their symptoms via painkillers, staying hydrated and resting.
In rare cases, dengue symptoms can develop into severe dengue.
Elderly patients, or those with other medical conditions, are most at risk.
Severe dengue fever symptoms can include:
- Severe skin bleeding with spots of blood on and under the skin
- Blood in the urine and stools
- Respiratory distress – when the lungs cannot provide the vital organs with enough oxygen
- Organ failure
- Changes in mental state and unconsciousness
- Dangerously low blood pressure
You should call 999 or go to A&E if you experience any of the severe symptoms.
“The hospital was so nice, it was like a five star hotel and we had our own room and nurses on call 24/7 looking after us.”
The 31-year-old travel enthusiast, who was just 24 when she first ventured to the “paradise island”, shared her concern about how big the hospital bill was going to be, and later confirmed: “The hospital stay cost around £2,000 total, but luckily we were insured – we only paid £100, the insurance covered the rest directly with the hospital.”
Shortly after posting the clip, Claudia confirmed that she hadn’t received a dengue fever injection in the past, as when she left the UK six years ago, the vaccine “didn’t exist.”
Social media users react
The TikTok clip, which was posted under the username @islandlifewithclaudia, has clearly left many open-mouthed, as it has quickly racked up 417,200 views, 9,331 likes and 227 comments.
Social media users were stunned by Claudia’s experience and flocked to the comments to share their experiences with dengue fever.
Urgh mosquitoes love me… I have new fears
TikTok user
One person said: “I caught dengue in Bali. Worst week of my life, the fever and headache was on another level.”
Another added: “I feel for you, I had dengue in Costa Rica. Was horrific.”
A third commented: “Dengue is the worst.”
Meanwhile, someone else wrote: “I had it in Argentina. Again good insurance covered me but was horrid thing to have. Glad you’re both ok.”
Not only this, but another user gasped: “Urgh mosquitoes love me… I have new fears.”
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