Student became so unwell on holiday her friend almost ‘called a priest’
22-year-old Cara Pyper has detailed her harrowing experience of catching dengue fever, and how it led to her acting 'possessed'.
Pyper was supposed to be enjoying a holiday in Bali, before she was struck down by illness.
Describing how she felt during the incident, Pyper said: "It was hell at the time. I felt deathly unwell.
"About two weeks in to our holiday I literally just got overcome with this random sickness.
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"I literally felt like I had been hit by a bus. My whole body just felt heavy and sore."
Things went from bad to worse when Cara assumed her dengue fever symptoms - high temperature, headaches, muscle pain, and extreme fatigue - were just indicative of a bad hangover, and carried on sight-seeing.
She said: "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."
Cara's travel buddy, Abbi Whorriskey, captured a video of Cara waving her arms in the air during her sleep, as if 'possessed', during the health battle.
Cara continued: "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."
Cara added: "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.
"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 issuing a warning to other keen travellers to not skimp on layers, always carry mosquito spray and rest as much as they can if they suspect they may have dengue fever.
Cara stated: "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.
"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."
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.
Kya Buller