Dengue Fever

It begins with a fever that feels as though your body is burning from the inside. High fever, headaches that feel like a vice, pain behind the eyes, in the joints, in the bones — so intense that dengue is also called breakbone fever. Your body hurts to its deepest fibre. Medically, dengue is a viral infection transmitted by mosquitoes in tropical regions, ranging from mild cases to life-threatening bleeding and shock.

And that is exactly what needs to be said first: dengue fever is a potentially fatal illness. Anyone who falls ill with it needs immediate medical care — not psychosomatic reflection instead of an emergency room. What this text offers is a complementary perspective. A question that is allowed to have its place beside the IV needle, but that never takes its place.