A young doctor decided to take on some common perceptions about dengue on Twitter as numbers climbed across Pakistan, with her biggest takeaway: papaya leaves can cause terrible diarrhoea.

@sketchymisery, wrote, “I have seen patients going into shock after taking a bucket full of papaya leaves. It DOES NOT work.”

She said she was attending to around ten patients with dengue every day.

These are precautions people must take:

• Use mosquito-repellent lotion • Wear full sleeves clothes

The doctor recommended getting a blood test (CBC) if you have had a high-grade fever for over three days. People should not take antibiotics on their own and should consult a doctor.

People should keep properly hydrated (around 3 litres of water everyday, preferably ORS). She emphasized that the only goal for people should be “hydration, hydration, and hydration.”

If a person is suffering from dengue they should not use a toothbrush but instead use mouthwash and avoid razors, she added.

According to the CDC these are the symptoms of dengue: • Fever • Nausea, vomiting • Rash • Aches and pains (eye pain, typically behind the eyes, muscle, joint, or bone pain) These symptoms can last for a week and most patients recover after it.

A slight drop in a patient’s platelet count is “generally not very worrisome”. An increase in your hematocrit levels is, however. “This means your blood is super thick. I would suggest you rush to the ER if your hematocrit is above 44-45 and your fever isn’t settling,” she said.

Repeat your CBC after two or three days. Dengue usually shows up as a fever but sometimes people can get a terrible pain in their stomach and an itchy rash. Betamethasone lotions help with the rash.