Manage dengue right with proper hydration

MANILA, Philippines - For most people, hydration can be as simple as ensuring that we drink six to eight glasses of eight ounces of water daily. What we sometimes miss is how important it is to keep our bodies hydrated.An equally important question is: Is water enough to re-hydrate the body?

Sixty percent of our body weight is made up of fluids, composed of water and ions.Cells, tissues, and organs in our body need fluids to function properly.As we go through our everyday routine, we can’t help but lose some of our body fluids.This happens when we perspire or go to the bathroom, or even when we breathe.Loss of fluid is more rapid when we have fever or experience vomiting and diarrhea.

That is why patients diagnosed with dengue, a mosquito-borne infection which leads to a flu-like illness, are reminded of the importance of hydration.Dengue patients feel an abrupt onset of high fever accompanied by severe frontal headache, pain behind the eyes which worsens with eye movement, muscle and joint pains, loss of sense and taste and appetite, measles-like rash over chest and upper limbs, nausea and vomiting.With no treatment available to cure the disease, patients are treated with paracetamol to bring down the fever and this is supported with sufficient supply of fluids.Keeping the body hydrated manages the disease and keeps it from getting worse and advancing to dengue hemorrhagic fever or the complicated stage when the blood vessels start to leak and cause bleeding.

Water, unfortunately, is not enough.The fluid lost by the body is composed of water and ions, and should also be replaced by the same.Pocari Sweat, an ion supply drink brought to the Philippine market by Otsuka(Philippines) Pharmaceutical Incorporated (OPPI), is an ideal fluid replacement.Aside from water, it contains the right amount of electrolyte minerals such as magnesium, sodium, potassium, and calcium.These are the same minerals found in our body’s natural fluid and the combination of these minerals allows the timely absorption of replacement fluid, which is critical to prevent spontaneous dehydration.

“In dengue, it is important that we manage it properly to keep it from getting worse.Keeping the body hydrated is one key factor in achieving this,” says Leopoldo Dimerin, president and general manager of OPPI.“Pocari Sweat is not a replacement of any medicine or treatment for dengue; rather, it supplements the medication and treatment of patients.”

This ion health drink is derived from the same concept of the IV solution, which is a salt-sugar mixed solution.Pocari Sweat just differs in usage and purpose.IV solution is already directed for medical treatment, same with the oral rehydration solution, which is more associated with chronic condition such as diarrhea.Pocari Sweat is a health beverage one can enjoy anytime of the day and is your at-home rehydration remedy.

According to a recent report released by the Department of Health, Metro Manila recorded 21,695 dengue patients from January to October 15, 2011, with 123 deaths.This indicates an 18.2- percent increase, compared to 18,349 cases with 117 deaths last year.