🦟Dengue Fever 🦟 Hospital Diary

It was quite a while ago, but I want to share about the time I was hospitalized after being infected with dengue fever in 2019. It was quite a tough experience 💦, so I don’t have any photos, but please read while imagining it 😅.

Dengue fever is a frightening infectious disease that can be transmitted through mosquito bites, and even the locals are very wary of it.

Dengue fever typically starts with a sudden high fever and may be accompanied by rash, headache, joint and bone pain, nausea, and vomiting. In severe cases, it can be fatal, so if dengue fever is suspected, you should go to the hospital immediately.

Actually, I have also been infected with dengue fever. And it happened while I was pregnant… This was even more difficult than giving birth. Both Eric and I went through a tough time. Looking back, it was the hardest experience I had in my 37 years (at that time). I never imagined I would get dengue fever. Dengue fever is not something that only happens to others.

It was at the end of April 2019. I was six months pregnant and taking photos for my blog at a hotel in Malacca when I suddenly started feeling dizzy. Since I had anemia, I thought my condition had worsened because of the pregnancy, so I stopped taking photos and rested in my room for a while. However, my condition kept deteriorating. I vomited the dinner I had eaten, and during the night, my whole body ached from the bone marrow, I had a high fever, and I couldn’t sleep at all. In Chinese, dengue fever is written as “骨痛热症” (bone-pain fever), and it truly feels as the name says—the bones feel hot and painful.

The next morning, I went to the hospital immediately and was tested for both influenza and dengue fever. The result came back positive for dengue fever, and I was hospitalized right away. Being admitted to a hospital in Malacca… it was my first time ever being hospitalized. When I asked the nurse when I could be discharged, she said she didn’t know. When you’re hospitalized for dengue fever, blood tests are done every day, and you can’t be discharged until your results return to normal, so there’s no set date for discharge. Usually, hospitalization lasts about a week.

There is no specific medication for dengue fever, so during hospitalization I was continuously given IV fluids that were basically just water. They keep giving them until your blood returns to normal and you can be discharged. While hospitalized, the frequency of trips to the toilet increases, so every time I went, my urine was collected and the amount measured. It was really tedious…

At the hospital in Malacca, I didn’t know when I could be discharged, but Eric had work in KL, so I couldn’t stay in Malacca for many days. It takes about 2 to 2.5 hours by car one way from Malacca to KL. I was hospitalized in Malacca for one night and two days, then semi-forced to discharge myself and transferred to a hospital in KL.

At that time, I was made to sign a consent form stating that if anything happened, the Malacca hospital would not be responsible. By the way, the cost of hospitalization at a private hospital in Malacca was about 60,000 yen for a 1-night, 2-day stay in a 4-person room.

I thought I would feel safe if I transferred to the hospital in KL where I normally go for my prenatal check-ups, so I went there. But after waiting for over an hour, they told me they couldn’t admit me… I never even imagined that they wouldn’t accept me, so I thought, “What should I do now? Do I have to go back to Malacca?” By then, it was already 8 p.m.

Fortunately, I was referred to Kuala Lumpur Hospital, a government hospital near that clinic, which has a ward specialized for dengue fever.

It was a place full of emergency patients, almost like wounded people being brought in from a battlefield. The scene was so terrifying that I cried and screamed like a child, wanting to go home. However, Eric persuaded me that there was no other hospital that would accept me, so I had no choice but to be admitted here, carrying an enormous sense of anxiety.

At that time, Erik’s family was traveling abroad, so I couldn’t rely on them. But when I told my high school best friend that I had been hospitalized, she immediately packed a hospital kit and rushed to help me 😭😭😭. I didn’t even know what was needed for being admitted, so her help was truly a lifesaver 😭😭😭. Erik said, “I’m lucky to have such a good friend!”

I’ll write below what you need to prepare for hospitalization.

First, among patients who looked like they had been injured in a war, I had long needles, about 10 centimeters for IVs, inserted into both arms for blood tests. It was really painful and tough, but I endured it thinking, “I have to do this for the baby in my belly!”

When the blood test results came back, my hemoglobin levels had dropped, so I might need a blood transfusion. Since an ICU bed was available, they told me I would be admitted to the ICU. I couldn’t believe it—I was going to ICU…

I didn’t even have the chance to check the time while completing the admission procedures, but I happened to notice a clock in the room. When I looked, it was 2 a.m. Wait, what?! Is this clock broken??

Everything was so overwhelming that I had no sense of time passing. Even Erik, who normally says he’s tired, said he was exhausted and wanted to sit down 💦. There were no chairs for him either, so he had to stand the whole time. He must have been really tired… And on top of that, we hadn’t eaten anything 😭.

I kept thinking, “I’m actually quite energetic!” while also feeling scared, wondering how much ICU care would even cost. For some reason, I first paid RM1 and was admitted to the ICU for the first time. There were no other patients as energetic as me 💦.

In the ICU, both my arms were connected to tubes, electrodes were attached to my chest to monitor my heartbeat, and I had to stay seated the whole time, unable to move. My buttocks became sore, and lying on my back was also uncomfortable because of the baby in my belly.

The doctors came every 2–3 hours each day to check on the baby, and they monitored whether the baby moved more than ten times each day. Fortunately, the baby kept moving, which encouraged me to keep going. Not only my friend who came on the first day, but also other close friends came to visit me. Although visiting wasn’t allowed in the ICU, they brought me coconut water, which is said to help cool the body during dengue fever. I was really moved to tears 😭😭😭.

Erik! You really have way too many good friends!!!

This is a bit off-topic, but something really surprised me while I was in the ICU… The patient in front of me needed an X-ray, so a large X-ray machine was brought in. Then the nurse told me to wear that heavy protective vest that you wear during X-rays…

Wait, what?! In Japan, X-rays are handled extremely carefully because of the radiation, but is it really okay to be this lax here?? The patient in front of me couldn’t move, so I understood that, but I wasn’t comfortable just wearing the radiation protection vest. I told the nurse, and they moved me in a wheelchair to a place where I couldn’t see the X-ray machine, and I waited there until the X-ray was finished. I was really shocked. I cried out of both surprise and anxiety 😭.

I was in the ICU for about three days, and once my condition stabilized, I was transferred to a general ward. The general ward was very old, had no air conditioning, and accommodated seven patients per room. The approximately seven patients in the neighboring room shared only two toilets and two showers. The beds were the manual type that recline by turning a handle, and surprisingly, there was also one metal pipe bed, though nobody used it 💦💦.

There were many ceiling fans spinning, and I felt like an injured soldier again. I wanted to be discharged as soon as possible. Every day, nurses came to do blood tests, and I repeatedly asked when I could leave. But they said it would be after my blood values returned to normal, so I still didn’t know the exact discharge date. In the end, I stayed in the general ward for three nights and four days. When you’re hospitalized, there’s really nothing to do, so you just wait for time to pass… and during that time, it felt like time was moving so slowly 😰. I kept thinking about how much the ICU must have cost—it was a terrifying feeling.

Finally, when it was time to discharge and I checked the bill, they said there was no charge… Wait, what?! How could I be admitted to such a fully-equipped modern ICU and not have to pay anything?? Apparently, because it was a government hospital and I had permanent residency, I was treated the same as a Malaysian, and the cost was only RM1. But I never want to be hospitalized again.

If I had been hospitalized in a private hospital in Malacca, the first day would have involved various tests and costs. For a 1-night, 2-day stay costing 60,000 yen, dividing by two gives about 30,000 yen per day. For a one-week stay, 30,000 × 7 days = 210,000 yen.

If you were admitted in KL in a single room, it would probably cost even more. A Japanese friend who lived in the same condo said that staying one week in a private hospital in KL cost 300,000 yen. For foreigners, hospitalization is usually in a private hospital, so one week would cost around 300,000 yen. But I think the private hospitals are much cleaner than the government hospital I stayed at, so you can feel reassured.

Malaysia does not have a national health insurance system like Japan, so Erik’s friends and family, who are ethnic Chinese Malaysians, all have life insurance. Of course, I and Erik also took out insurance for our son during my pregnancy. In Malaysian international schools, having insurance is mandatory, so if anyone is having trouble with insurance, we can also provide guidance and recommendations.

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Prevention: To avoid being bitten, use insect repellent and wear long pants when going to areas with many mosquitoes. Mosquito coils are sold, but even if you use them, they only keep mosquitoes away from the immediate area—they don’t kill them. I tried all the mosquito coils sold in supermarkets, but the mosquitoes didn’t die, so they are pretty much useless. Moreover, mosquito coils are chemicals, so they aren’t good for your body. I used them before, but now that I have a child, I don’t use them.

Dengue fever and other illnesses tend to occur when your immunity is low, so it’s important to maintain a regular daily routine. Drink plenty of water, get enough sleep, and eat well. Items needed for hospitalization: Wet wipes, tissues, plates, forks, spoons, small towels, underwear, small snacks, something to pass the time, etc. Clothes were not necessary, as the hospital provides patient gowns. I’ll write another blog soon! See you~ 👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻

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