If you have been following my blogs, especially those stories about my sons, you already know that my Niko had dengue twice. I am an over-protective mom, but there are things that can really get out of our control. As I have mentioned before, being a blogger mom and having access to a lot of information don’t exempt me from experiencing how dreadful it is to deal with this illness. Just like you momshies, I can only do so much.
Since then, I have been participating in spreading awareness about dengue. I have learned from my previous experience that we can’t be complacent, but we have to trust our instincts as parents in making the right decisions when dengue strikes.
Dengue is a serious viral infection transmitted from one person to another by the Aedes mosquito, principally Aedes aegypti. Symptoms include high fever, headache, vomiting, joint pains and skin rashes. If not addressed right away, it can develop to severe dengue hemorrhagic, which is life-threatening.
We may not realize it, but dengue is the number one health concern in the Southeast Asia region, outranking Zika and HIV. It is considered as the fastest spreading viral disease in the world. Roughly 500,000 people a year require hospitalization from a severe form of the disease, 2.5% of whom die.
Southeast Asia has the highest prevalence of dengue, with 2.9 million sufferers and 5,906 deaths.
According to the SEA Dengue Survey commissioned by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer Healthcare, 73% worry about dengue, but only one-third feel prepared and in control. Majority still thought that dengue is curable, and that antibiotics are needed to manage symptoms. Sadly, only 28% of Filipino respondents are aware that paracetamol is the only recommended medication for dengue fever management as stated by the World Health Organization (WHO). And a low 19% know that dengue can be detected on the first day of infection and that most parents would only visit the doctor when fever persists up to 3 days. On the other hand, more than half of parents are confident that they would be able to diagnose their children with dengue, which may lead to misdiagnosis and place children at greater risk. The survey revealed that 95% of Filipinos are interested to learn more about dengue, and almost all parents feel schools should play a role in educating students about the disease.
* The survey involved over 3,000 respondents aged 18 and above from across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Philippines.
“It is alarming that a large proportion of the population are misinformed about dengue management. This emphasizes the greater need for education,” says Debjit Rudra, Area General Manager for Southeast Asia, GSK Consumer Healthcare.
GSK founded Allied Against Dengue (AAD), an open movement initiated by public and private institutions with a mission to reduce the impact of the disease on society. The results of the survey are the same reasons why AAD has been continuously doing and promises to intensify initiatives and information drives to educate several communities, to combat this rampant misunderstanding, and to mitigate the impact of dengue. In the country, Department of Health (DOH) and Mercury Drug Corporation partnered with Philippine Pharmacists Association in the members of AAD to provide their expertise in support of these programs.
May these numbers serve as an eye-opener to us. We may not have participated in it, but we know for sure in which part of the population we belong. The key learning I would like to impart from this is how we manage it when we’re faced with the situation. Trust your instinct. Calpol, a paracetamol brand, is doctor-recommended and proven safe and efficient in relieving pain and fever among our children who are most vulnerable to the disease. Let’s be dengue warriors!
If you want to know more about Calpol and its dengue campaign, you can visit www.calpol.com.ph and like their Facebook page.
To contact Allied Against Dengue, call 1800-8908-8275 or email ph.customer-relations@gsk.com.
Much Love, Rochelle
