(My Mom doesn’t know about this, but I guess she’s about to. Sorry, Mom.)
It was the first Saturday that I was not sick. I felt like I had been sick for months, but I knew that couldn’t be true because it didn’t add up if I looked at the calendar. Just four weeks ago I was at a party and I remember feeling great. As I was trying to piece together the dates and duration of my illness, the phone rang. I looked down to see my neighbor’s name appear on the screen.
“Hey Ina, what’s up?” I answered.
“Hey Erin, do you have plans for tonight?”
“I’m working on a project, why?” I responded.
“Do you think you could watch my kids? I need to go to the hospital because I think I have Dengue.”
I told her of course I would watch them. She started telling me how I needed to be sure because I had to watch them every second or they would do “weird things like mix the shampoos and conditioners all together.” At this point I’m wondering why she even cares about her shampoo – doesn’t Dengue kill you?!
I get off the phone and immediately google Dengue. It doesn’t kill you. Well, it doesn’t kill everyone. In fact, according to Wikipedia, 80% of Dengue cases are asymptomatic or only have mild symptoms. I continue to read about the terrible fever that comes and goes, the decrease in cognitive ability, the headache, and the rash.
I had a rash. On my chest and back. I thought it was an allergic reaction to a new laundry detergent. Ina arrived home and I went outside to greet her – she had the same rash that I had.
She went to the hospital and came home with a pain reliever and the doctor’s advice to drink a lot of fluids. She had Dengue Fever.
I had Dengue Fever.
There are a lot of symptoms for Dengue Fever and what I have learned since is that it’s not the same for everyone and symptoms vary among different people. There is a health alert for Dengue in Costa Rica. Apparently the stupid drought has a lot to do with the increase in cases this year. That drought is messing everything up.
What Dengue Fever was like for me
There was a lot of mucus, a bad headache, a rash on my chest and back, and a terrible fever. I lost my appetite. I know for sure there were 3 days in which I only ate 1 bag of popcorn and some bananas. I never threw up and don’t remember any abdominal pain.
It wasn’t the sickest I’ve ever been, but I don’t really remember much of it, so maybe it was. I do remember a couple of times I was sitting in front of the computer and trying to work – the end result was one email being sent. In one day. One email. And I remember trying to remember why it took all day, but I couldn’t progress my mind beyond that initial thought. Hey, at least I was up.
My other neighbors told me about a previous Saturday when my dog, Mocha, came to their house and brought them to my treehouse, like Lassie. They say she came in to their house and nudged them with her nose, which she had never done before. They followed her because according to them “she looked scared.” I was passed out on the bed and they woke me. I don’t remember this.
I went to the doctor when I was feeling a little better, feeling like I could leave the house. All I told him was that I was having a really hard time concentrating. I forgot to tell him my other symptoms. He prescribed “Geriatric Farmaton,” seriously.

I did NOT fill this prescription.
I started feeling better, but still really low on energy. I thought maybe I was not feeling well because I had eaten too much fruit this year. I actually thought this. I had my appetite back, so I went out and ate plate after plate of meat to try to balance things out.
Then I got another fever. After the fever broke and I felt like I could leave the house again, I went back to the doctor. This time I told him I had had a fever, but still failed to mention the first fever or the rash or anything else. He prescribed five days of antibiotic shots in the butt. After a few days of antibiotic shots, I started to feel better. I don’t think I needed them, but maybe an infection had developed and I did need them. Who knows.
I’m better now and apparently immune to all types of Dengue for a bit. I feel great, food is awesome, and so is leaving the house. My neighbor is on the mend. We had all of the same symptoms except her eyes turned black like she had been punched. She looks fine now.
I wonder what my experience would have been like if I had known it was Dengue. I think I probably would have freaked out and who knows what I would have done since I couldn’t think straight. It probably would not have helped.
Bonus: Since I went through Dengue and didn’t know it, I thought I’d put together this extremely useful illustrated guide in case anyone finds themselves in a similar situation.
Wow, how crazy! Sometimes I wonder how many strange illnesses or very prolonged food poisoning type symptoms might of actually been “something.”
Glad you figured it out and put this out there for everyone else to learn!
Thanks! Yeah, I easily would have written that off as some random terrible flu if my neighbor had not come home with a diagnosis and the same symptoms. Crazy.
Sometimes when I consult ‘Doctor Google’ it sets me off in a panic as more often than not you get lead somewhere that’s full of comments that what you’ve got is not just bad, it’s the final big bad.
Luckily it seem you got the right information and spoke to the right people.
Yeah Google is the worst doctor lol.
How awful! Glad you’re finally getting out of it. I’ve watched my neighbors go through it and they were shells of who they were.
Thanks Scott. It does turn you into a zombie. I hope you can avoid it!
Glad you feel better and on your feet again! Ah, life in the tropics!
Thanks Dave!
Thanks for the post! Realigns my understanding of dengue. Good to know it isn’t always torture. We have a friend on the Ballena Coast who got both dengue and malaria. Dengue wasn’t so kind to him. He’s fine, but had it rough. Figures. He seems unlucky to begin with :-).
ugh Dengue AND Malaria? That sucks!
I don’t want to give the impression that Dengue is no sweat – the mental part felt like torture and the fever was really painful. But it doesn’t progress to the scary organ-failing, bleeding everywhere phase for everyone. …I guess I might revise my definition for torture if I ever had to go through that, though.
What is Geriatric Farmaton? And can you get some for Mom?
Lily you are hilarious. Geriatric Farmaton (actually, he spelled that wrong – it should be Pharmaton) is a multivitamin with ginseng and minerals. Tragic name.
Great to read that you are feeling much better! Can you recollect when you got bit? Do you have mosquito netting in your residence? Is this dengue fever something new to Costa Rica as I don’t ever recollect hearing about it when I lived there from birth to 1960, and then 1962, and then in 1968 for a few months when I lived with one of my mom’s sister and family in Los Yoses.
I remember that my aunt would place these round thingies that would give out a smoke to drive out the mosquitos.
Hey, I do remember going to a festival with my cousin that took place at Parque Morazan, and he was also 18, and had just entered the University as he was forced to shave his head. Anyways, they had this stall where we bough a bottle of guaro, and lo and behold after a few minutes I just passed out. Next morning there were buckets and pans all over the floor. Ugh! I learned my lesson.
Thanks for the comment, that’s a funny guaro story 😀
I don’t know when I got bit and I don’t have netting. Mosquitos hardly ever bite me and when they do, I don’t get a bump or any itching. The only way I notice is to actually see them bite me. Dengue isn’t new, but I’m not familiar with the history from the 60s. Wikipedia might know.
glad you’re feeling better!
i really do have to watch it here… have been keeping the screen doors opened here and we now have a family of mosquitos living with us. 🙁
your post reminded me of an article i read on discovery news(this is where i go when I’m supposed to be working on my projects lol) and found that mosquitos can actually maneuver their needles while inside the skin.. pretty gross… but i figured its good to know … and its all good fun… not when someone gets sick though … really glad you’re all well!
pura vida
eeeewwwwwwww!! I’m glad I hardly ever get bit!!
You should get rid of the mosquitos living with you, you don’t want Dengue. It sucks. I’m finally feeling 100% again, thanks! 🙂
Boy did we get rid of those mosquitoes!
i don’t know if they do this in your area too, but they fumigated us costa rican style where they literally fumed our whole area with pesticide and it was like a cloud of fog and inhaled some lol they did this too when we crossed nicaragua… except they fumigated inside the bus… then they said, ok, time to go in! lol
Anyway, thanks for your life stories living in the forest… gets a bit too quiet living on the beach! pura vida!
Yikes that can’t be healthy! I hope you didn’t breathe too much of it :/
I just found your blog yesterday and love it. Keep up the posts I find them super helpful. I’m a single 23 year old looking to move to central america next year so this has been great in my research on what it is really like to do it.
awesome, thanks! 🙂
For years growing up in Naples Fla., they used to use a DC-3 to spray the town in the morning for mosquitoes. Remember lot’s of times riding my bike to school and watching a plane dip down low to spray cris-crossing the sky endlessly. At night a jeep would fog the neighborhood. But
as kids we would ride our bikes in it and play in it. We now tease each other that if we die early, it because of the fogger!~lol
oh man the fogger is crazy. They fog everyone out in CR. I don’t know what’s worse – Dengue or chemical fog…. probably the latter 🙁
I’m curious about the doctor visits and cost. I’m moving to CR next month and looking into health care. Do you pay into anything or just pay as you go? I saw your gyno groupon post from a few months ago, so I’m really excited about finding some deals. Thanks!
Also, I get totally destroyed by mosquitos here in Kentucky. It’s like the one thing I think might be a problem for me after the move. Yikes…
Mosquitos will definitely be a problem for you. You gotta watch out for Dengue – it’s getting worse. I know more and more people who have had it.
You pay into CAJA (gov’t health care system) if you get a legit job here, but most people end up going to private docs if they can afford it. Cost depends on location and reputation. You can shop around and find a range of prices. For example, my doc in Heredia costs $7. My friend’s doc in San Jose costs $50. (a regular visit when sick)
Thanks so much for your response! Reasonably priced medical care for the uninsured, what a concept. I will pass the info along to my fellow travelers and load up on bug spray. Pura Vida!!
Oh, Erin, holy shit! That’s so scary. Though it sounds like something I would do.
I always avoid going to the doctor unless I’m on the floor, dying. :/
So glad you’re better now though.
Thanks! I actually notice mosquitoes now whereas before I didn’t care. I don’t want to get Dengue twice. :/
Dengue is awful! It was for me. I had fever, my whole body was sore, migraines all the time. I hated it and had to spend 1 whole week in bed. Glad to hear you did relatively ok,
I just moved to Costa Rica and I had to cover myself in bugspray after reading this. Scary stuff!!