First of all, thanks everyone for your warm wishes and words of encouragement; they are much appreciated when you are feeling miserable. Many readers found our previous blog helpful and asked us to share any further findings. So, this is an update on my progress and some more info we’ve found.
Really good news 1: I’ve heard say that once you have had the chikun nugget virus, unlike dengue, you can never get it again. So I’ve been trying to track down an official statement to make me feel there is some sort of reward for going through all this and, voila, it’s there in black and white on the WHO website. I can’t tell you how good that makes me feel 🙂 however, I think membership of this particular club is on the rise. 😦
Recovery from an infection will confer life-long immunity.
Even though I have now joined the life-long immunity club, I need to prevent further bites during this acute stage as an uninfected female mosquito can bite me and then pass it on, and on, and on. She only needs to bite me once and she then carries the virus for her life. Even though people are saying the mosquito is a daytime biter, they can also be active like other mozzies in the early morning and early evening. Tonight we’re going out to a beachside bbq and I’m going to wear long light cotton pants plus I’ll spray with our DEET repellent.
In the previous post I shared an image from WHO of the areas of chikun gumbo infestation across the globe but it didn’t include The Caribbean. I have now a found a map of more relevance from PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
The authors of the article this image comes from, believe there is no form of effective control to be had in The Caribbean. 😦
My Progress:
Really good news 2: I’ve continued my progress and, as at day 5, I haven’t developed a rash and my joint pain is minimal. Trying to go to sleep at night is now my biggest issue. I toss and turn, get hot, bloody irritable, I get restless legs, I get up and read a chapter, I go back to bed, I try to meditate, I scream into my pillow, I get up and have a quick shower. I just can’t lie still and fall asleep. This has been the case every night since Sunday, except when I had the lethargy and fever. It drives me insane and I’m very conscious of not trying to wake Mal, who is sleeping contentedly, snoring away and probably experiencing lovely dreams. I WISH! After about 3 hrs I normally drift off but, up until then, I’m agitated and you wouldn’t want to cross me – I’m seriously mean! Thank goodness for nana-naps during the day.
I stopped taking the ibuprofen on day 4 as both the fever and inflammation had passed. I’ve also cut back on the electrolytes but ensure I keep up my fluids with cold water and iced tea. Complications and hospitalisation seem to occur when the person is dehydrated so we really think this is the key and getting on to it quickly. My morning coffee routine has now been restored so I’m feeling some sort of normalcy again 🙂
I probably should touch wood because this all seems too good to be true. I had better not count my chickens just yet, but finger’s crossed, this is the end of it and my last post on the matter.
Best wishes and I hope you don’t join the club, Sue. xx