I’ve had dengue fever twice now(maybe three times) and unless you are so severe you need blood transfusions or the like there is nothing to be done.
The fatigue is almost unbearable, weeks of feeling exhausted.
I’ve noticed recently everyone is advocating papaya leaf mush basically, you put the leaves in a juicer or blender and drink the green juice(looks and tastes like wheatgrass).
The stated rationale is raising your platelet count, I’m not even sure I’m seeing anecdotal evidence for that(maybe).
Is there any sicence behind this? There is no obvious profit motive I can see(our yard has two papaya plants, as do most people) so it isn’t like people are selling papaya juice…yea.
Where do you live? Papaya trees and dengue fever are both also plentiful where we live. However my wife has never heard of the papaya leaf juice preventative. (Maybe it’s a very new idea.)
Dengue fever is taken pretty seriously here in rural Central Thailand. Just one case in a village and every house in the village will be sprayed with some mosquito-repellant fumes. Aspirin (which is contraindicated for dengue) isn’t even sold except at the biggest pharmacies. I’ve heard dengue called “break-bone fever” and “the fever that doesn’t kill you but makes you wish it did.”
Trinidad&Tobago, unless DF progresses to DHF like with bleeding etc the public health system ain’t interested in helping you. You could go to a private facility but why would you want to stay in a bed when you could basically be doing that at home you know?
Recently the papaya leaf juice treatment has been all the rage, even medical professionals advise to try it. Seems to be a case of can’t hurt might as well, but I am seeing one study that sounds like it had terrible methodology(it wasn’t even double blind!).
Here’s a paper from 2009 describing a preliminary study showing that papaya leaf suspension in mice significantly increased thrombocyte counts and recommending further study.
That’s a handy link to have next time someone argues that science refuses to investigate so-called “natural” cures because there’s no money in them.
The Dengue-Papaya hoax stated way back in 2005 when chain emails spread claiming that leaf extracts can be used in the treatment of Dengue except it was making the claims for a completely different plant:
Pegaga Juice - Cure for Dengue.
In due course Pegaga was changed to Pepaya. Since then many scientific investigations were made but scientists neither were able to identify any substance with pro platelet properties nor was it tested in laboratories. Not to speak of any placebo controlled double blind studies.
The advocates of Papaya juice harp on the scientific fact that 100% of Dengue patients will have a dramatic rise of platelet counts starting from the 6th day of their illness. This is a documented physiological phenomenon only.
The scientific reasons are many.
Hyperactivity of bone marrow in response to the low platelet count
Appearance of IgM antibodies which will neutralize the antiplatelet effect of the virus. This happens around the 6th day of the illness.
In the recovery phase of dengue, there is rapid resorption of the leaked fluid into the bloodstream which causes a dramatic increase in platelet counts and improvement in the health of the patient.
If you take papaya juice or pine apple juice or any other juice the effect will be the same.
What I’d like to know is “how do you suspend papaya leaf in mice”, and “do you have to eat the mice (with papaya leaf suspended within)” to get any pharmacological effect?"
I had dengue fever in northern Thailand in 1989. It is fucking terrible. Never heard of papaya leaf juice as a treatment. Never heard of papaya leaf juice period.
However my wife has never heard of the papaya leaf juice preventative. (Maybe it’s a very new idea.)