A SCOTS student became so poorly after catching dengue fever on holiday that her pal almost ‘called a priest’ – after filming her acting ‘possessed’ while ill in bed.
Cara Pyper, from Edinburgh, had been in Bali, Indonesia, for two weeks when all of a sudden she began to feel ‘deathly unwell’ as if she had been ‘hit by a bus’.
4
4
4
The 22-year-old developed a high temperature, headaches, muscle pain, and extreme fatigue, all common symptoms of dengue.
Dengue, also known as dengue fever, is an infection spread by mosquitoes.
In a video taken by her friend, Abbi Whorriskey, the student can be seen waving her arms about looking ‘possessed’ as if she was swatting flies while asleep.
Abbi, also 22, even joked she thought she might need to ‘phone a priest’ after seeing her friend’s ‘scary’ sleep movements.
At the time, Cara didn’t realise it was dengue fever and thought it could just be a hangover so pushed herself to continue sight-seeing.
Cara said: “It was hell at the time. I felt deathly unwell.
“About two weeks into our holiday I literally just got overcome with this random sickness.
“I literally felt like I had been hit by a bus. My whole body just felt heavy and sore.
“I thought I was just run down because of the time difference or that it was maybe from drinking.
“I thought it was maybe just a hangover.
“I was in shock when I woke up and saw the video Abbi took. It does scare me.
“I don’t know if I was hallucinating in my dream or whatever but that was one of the first days that I got this illness.
“I don’t know if I was imagining flies in my dream but I’ve never moved in my sleep like that before. It was really bad.
“My friend was terrified obviously, she thought she was going to have to call a priest.”
4
Cara, who is currently studying education at university, states that she put herself through ‘hell’ as she tried to continue enjoying and exploring her holiday.
Cara said: “I needed to sleep for 24 hours a day but because I was in Bali I wanted to push myself to go to the monkey forest and all that.
“It started to get better five or six days after but it probably lasted around eight days.
“Even when I thought I was getting better, I looked so bad that a waiter asked me if I was okay because I looked so sick.
NHS advice on dengue fever:
If you’re in a country where dengue is found, the best way to prevent infection is to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes.
You can do this by: wear long-sleeved clothing and trousers to cover your arms and legs, particularly during early morning and early evening; use insect repellent on your skin (ideally one that contains the ingredient DEET); close windows and doors whenever possible, or use blinds or screens; sleep under a mosquito net treated with insecticide, including during the day.
There is no treatment for dengue, but you can help ease your symptoms by: resting, drinking plenty of fluids, taking paracetamol to help bring down your temperature and ease any pain.
Do not take anti-inflammatory painkillers like ibuprofen or aspirin. These can cause bleeding problems if you have dengue.
“I still tried to do the most I could when I was sick. I was just in a lot of pain and sleeping everywhere I could.
“The rest of my time was unreal though, it was completely smooth.”
Cara is now hoping to warn other holidaymakers and backpackers to layer up, wear mosquito spray and rest as much as possible if they think they have dengue fever.
Cara said: “I think dengue fever is at its height right now.
“It doesn’t just happen in Bali though you can get it in lots of countries, it was just from a mosquito bite and mosquitoes love me.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
“I’m no stranger to mosquito bites so I was wearing mosquito spray but I’d definitely warn others to maybe just put on a few extra layers.
“If you do feel like you have it, maybe look into getting an IV and try to rest up as much as possible.”