Why the Days After a Dengue Fever Breaks Need Close Monitoring: Warning Signs Doctors Look For

On the fourth morning, the thermometer finally reads normal. The person who spent three nights sweating through the sheets sits up, asks for toast, and says the worst is over. Then a family member remembers what the doctor said at the clinic: call me on day five, whatever happens, even if the fever is gone.

That instruction puzzles a lot of households. With most viral illnesses, a falling temperature is the finish line. With dengue it is closer to the start of the trickiest stretch, which is why the dengue warning signs hospital teams watch for are timed to this moment rather than to the height of the fever.

This explainer walks through what is happening inside the body when the fever breaks, which changes prompt clinicians to admit someone, how blood counts are read, and what a typical recovery looks like. It is written to help you follow your care team’s plan with confidence, not to replace it.

Why does dengue get dangerous after the fever breaks?

Dengue runs in three broad acts. The first is the febrile phase, when the virus multiplies and the body answers with high temperature, headache, pain behind the eyes, and the deep muscle and joint aches that earned the illness its old nickname of breakbone fever. The World Health Organization notes that symptoms usually begin 4–10 days after a bite from an infected Aedes mosquito and last 2–7 days.

The second act starts as the fever falls. Clinicians call this the critical phase, meaning the window in which complications are most likely. The immune response that is clearing the virus also changes the walls of the smallest blood vessels, the capillaries. For a short period they become leaky, and plasma, the straw-colored liquid part of blood, seeps out into the tissues and body cavities.

Two things follow. Less fluid circulates, so blood pressure can drop and organs may receive less oxygen. At the same time the blood that remains becomes more concentrated, which is why a rising hematocrit (the proportion of blood volume made up of red cells) is one of the earliest laboratory clues doctors look for. Platelets, the cell fragments that plug small leaks, are also at their lowest around now.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes this timing plainly: warning signs of severe dengue typically begin in the 24–48 hours after the fever goes away. The virus is retreating, yet the vessel changes are peaking. That mismatch between how a person feels and what their circulation is doing is the whole reason the days after defervescence, the medical term for the fever settling, deserve close attention.

The third act is recovery, when leaked fluid returns to the bloodstream and counts climb back. Most people reach it without incident, but nobody can tell in advance who will and who will not.

What are the dengue warning signs hospital teams watch for?

WHO and CDC use a shared list of warning signs, and it is worth understanding why each one matters rather than memorizing it as a checklist. Each sign points to one of three processes: fluid leaking from vessels, the gut and liver becoming congested, or the blood losing its ability to clot.

• Severe abdominal pain or tenderness. Leaked fluid collects around the liver and gut, and the liver itself can swell. Pain that is constant and worsening is a different signal from the vague queasiness of the fever days.
• Persistent vomiting. WHO flags repeated vomiting because it both signals gut congestion and prevents the person from replacing fluid by mouth.
• Bleeding from gums or nose, or unusual bruising. Low platelets and vessel fragility show up first at delicate surfaces.
• Blood in vomit or stool. Vomit that looks like coffee grounds or stools that are black and tarry suggest bleeding inside the digestive tract.
• Rapid or difficult breathing. Fluid accumulating in the chest cavity or lungs leaves less room to breathe.
• Restlessness, irritability, or unusual drowsiness. A brain receiving less oxygen changes behavior before it changes anything you can measure at home.
• Cold, clammy, or pale skin, and feeling very weak or very thirsty. These are the body’s compensations for falling circulating volume.

Hospital teams add measurements a household cannot make: a narrowing gap between the upper and lower blood pressure readings, falling urine output, a climbing hematocrit alongside dropping platelets, and fluid visible on an ultrasound of the abdomen or chest. The CDC also describes the tourniquet test, in which a cuff is inflated on the upper arm for a few minutes to see whether tiny bleeding points appear on the skin, as a bedside indicator of capillary fragility.

One warning sign is enough to prompt urgent assessment. Waiting for a second is not part of any guideline.

How long does the dengue critical phase last?

Timelines help families plan, so it is worth being precise about what the evidence says and what it does not. WHO places the critical phase at roughly 3–7 days after the first symptoms, which lines up with when the fever usually breaks. CDC narrows the highest-risk window to the 24–48 hours after the temperature returns to normal. Put together, the period of closest watching for most people spans about two days, occasionally three, starting from the moment the fever settles.

The catch is that the day count has to begin from the correct starting point. A parent who remembers the child seemed off on Tuesday but did not check a temperature until Wednesday may be a day out. Clinicians often ask you to reconstruct the timeline carefully for this reason, and it is one of the most useful things you can bring to an appointment.

Fever patterns can also mislead. Some people have a brief return of temperature after the first drop, and a dose of fever-reducing medicine can mask a reading for several hours. Care teams therefore tend to anchor the critical phase to the overall pattern and to blood results, not to a single thermometer reading.

Once the leak stops, it stops fairly abruptly. Fluid that moved into the tissues is drawn back into the circulation, and the hematocrit that had been climbing begins to fall. Platelets usually start recovering a day or two later. Many hospital protocols keep patients under observation until this turnaround is clearly visible in the numbers, which is why a stay may extend past the point where someone feels well.

None of these ranges is a guarantee. They are typical patterns drawn from large numbers of cases, and your treating team will judge where an individual sits within them.

What does a dengue platelet count tell doctors, and what does it not?

Ask anyone who has had dengue in a place where it is common and they will probably remember their platelet numbers better than their temperature. Daily counts become a family ritual. The attention is understandable, but platelets tell only part of the story, and clinicians read them alongside other values.

Platelets are small fragments of larger bone marrow cells that circulate in the blood and clump together to seal damaged vessels. In dengue the count falls for two reasons: the virus suppresses production in the marrow, and the immune response destroys platelets already in circulation. The drop usually tracks the illness, reaching its floor around the critical phase and climbing again in recovery, as Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic both describe in their patient guidance.

What the number does not do is predict, on its own, who will develop severe disease. Some people run very low counts and never bleed; others develop plasma leakage while their platelets are only modestly reduced. That is why the hematocrit is watched just as closely. When plasma leaks out, the red cells left behind are packed more tightly, so a hematocrit rising from a person’s own baseline is a direct marker of the leak. A rising hematocrit with a falling platelet count is the combination that raises concern most.

Doctors also look at the white cell count, which typically dips in dengue, at liver enzymes, and at the trend from one draw to the next. A single value means little without the one before it.

Platelet transfusions are not given simply because the count is low. WHO guidance reserves them for specific situations involving significant bleeding, and the decision sits with the treating team. If your numbers are being discussed, the most useful question is not what the count is but what direction it is heading and whether the hematocrit is stable.

Who is most likely to develop severe dengue, and who can usually be watched at home?

The CDC estimates that about one in four people infected with the dengue virus becomes ill, and that roughly one in twenty of those who fall ill goes on to severe dengue. The majority, in other words, recover with rest, fluids and monitoring. The task for clinicians is to spot the minority early enough.

Certain groups are more likely to be admitted for observation from the outset rather than sent home to be reviewed. WHO and CDC guidance point to infants and young children, pregnant people, older adults, and anyone with a chronic condition such as diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, or a bleeding disorder. People who have had dengue before are a further group of concern, for reasons covered in a later section.

Practical circumstances count too. Someone who lives alone, cannot keep fluids down, cannot easily return for daily blood tests, or lives far from emergency care may be admitted even without warning signs, simply because the safety margin is thinner.

At the other end, an otherwise healthy adult who is drinking well, passing urine normally, has stable blood counts and has nobody at home who is unwell is often managed as an outpatient. The usual arrangement involves a review every day, or every other day, through the critical phase, with clear instructions on what should trigger an earlier return.

Who is asked to wait? In practice, nobody is asked to wait out warning signs. The waiting that does happen is at the front end, when a person with early fever and no complications is monitored rather than admitted. That is a judgement about resources and risk that the treating clinician makes, and it can change from one day to the next as results come in. If your situation shifts, the plan should shift with it.

The three phases of dengue at a glance

Seeing the phases side by side makes the logic of monitoring clearer. The timings below are typical ranges from WHO and CDC clinical descriptions, not fixed rules, and individuals vary.

Phase	Typical timing	What is happening	What clinicians watch
Febrile	Days 1–3, sometimes to day 7 (WHO)	Virus multiplies; high fever, headache, eye pain, muscle and joint aches, sometimes an early rash	Confirming the diagnosis, baseline blood counts, fluid intake, ruling out other infections
Critical	Around the fever break, usually days 3–7 (WHO); highest risk in the 24–48 hours after defervescence (CDC)	Capillaries leak plasma; hematocrit rises, platelets fall; risk of shock, bleeding and fluid in the chest or abdomen	Warning signs, blood pressure and pulse, urine output, repeat hematocrit and platelets, fluid balance
Recovery	Begins once leakage stops, over the following days	Fluid returns to the bloodstream; counts recover; a second itchy rash and marked tiredness are common	Signs of fluid overload if intravenous fluids were given, return of appetite and urine output, falling hematocrit

The table also shows why the same symptom can mean different things on different days. Vomiting on day two is usually part of the viral illness. Vomiting that begins or persists on day five, after the fever has gone, is a warning sign because of where it sits in the sequence.

It also explains why a hospital may keep someone whose fever has been gone for two days and who feels almost normal. Discharge decisions tend to follow the laboratory picture into the recovery phase, not the calendar. WHO clinical guidance describes waiting for a stable hematocrit, a rising platelet count and good urine output before sending a patient home, and your team will apply their own protocol on top of that.

When do dengue warning signs mean hospital admission, and what does a stay involve?

Admission is not a verdict that something has gone wrong. Often it is a precaution: the dengue warning signs hospital teams act on are early indicators, and the aim is to have monitoring and fluids in place before circulation is compromised rather than after.

Once admitted, the rhythm is one of measurement. Blood pressure, pulse, breathing rate and temperature are checked frequently, sometimes hourly during the critical window. Blood is drawn several times a day to track hematocrit and platelets. Nurses record every drink and every trip to the bathroom, because the balance between fluid going in and urine coming out is the most reliable everyday indicator of whether the circulation is holding.

Intravenous fluids are the mainstay when a person cannot drink enough or when the hematocrit is climbing. They are given in carefully measured amounts and adjusted against the numbers, because too little leaves organs short of blood and too much can pool in the lungs once the leak reverses. Getting that balance right is the core skill in dengue care and one reason self-management with unlimited fluids is not a substitute.

Severe dengue, the term WHO uses for the most serious form, is defined by any of three features: plasma leakage severe enough to cause shock or fluid in the lungs with breathing difficulty, severe bleeding, or organ involvement such as significant liver damage, heart inflammation or altered consciousness. Patients with these features are cared for in higher-dependency settings with closer monitoring.

Oxygen, blood products and other supportive measures are used according to the clinical picture and are decided by the team on the ward. Antibiotics are not part of dengue treatment, since the illness is viral, unless a separate bacterial infection is suspected. Most stays are short, and many end with the same instruction the patient arrived with: keep drinking, rest, and come back if anything changes.

How is dengue treated when there is no specific antiviral?

People are sometimes unsettled to learn that no medicine kills the dengue virus directly. MedlinePlus, NHS and WHO all state this plainly. Treatment is supportive, which sounds passive but is anything but: it means keeping the body’s systems working while the immune response clears the infection over a few days.

Fluid is the first pillar. In mild illness, drinking regularly through the day, including oral rehydration drinks, soups and water, replaces what is lost through fever, sweating and reduced appetite. When leakage is under way or vomiting prevents drinking, fluids are given through a vein, in amounts set and revised by the clinical team.

Pain and fever control is the second pillar. Guidelines from WHO and CDC note that acetaminophen (known as paracetamol in many countries) is the class clinicians usually turn to for fever and aches. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen, and aspirin, are avoided during dengue because they interfere with platelet function and irritate the stomach lining, raising bleeding risk at exactly the time platelets are low. This is one of the most consequential pieces of everyday knowledge about the illness. Which medicine is appropriate for a given person, and how it should be used, is a question for the prescribing clinician, not something to work out from a cabinet at home.

Rest is the third. There is no evidence that pushing through the illness shortens it, and fatigue in dengue is considerable.

Things that are not part of evidence-based treatment include antibiotics, steroids as routine therapy, and herbal preparations promoted for platelet counts. Some of these have been studied in small trials with mixed or low-quality results, and none is recommended in WHO or CDC guidance. If you are considering any supplement alongside prescribed care, telling your team is more useful than deciding alone.

What does dengue recovery time usually look like?

Recovery has its own signature, and knowing it spares a lot of worry. As the leak reverses and fluid returns to the bloodstream, appetite comes back, urine output picks up and energy improves. The hematocrit falls toward normal and platelet counts begin to climb, typically a day or two behind.

Around this time many people develop a second rash, quite different from the flushed skin of the fever days. It is often described in textbooks as islands of white in a sea of red: widespread redness dotted with small pale patches, frequently on the legs and arms. It can itch intensely and may peel. Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic both list this convalescent rash as a normal part of recovery rather than a sign of trouble.

Tiredness is the symptom that lingers longest. NHS guidance notes that although the acute illness usually passes within about a week, feeling drained for several weeks afterwards is common. A slow heart rate during recovery is also frequently observed and usually settles on its own. Low mood and poor concentration are reported by some people and tend to lift as strength returns.

A few points of caution belong to this phase. People who received intravenous fluids in hospital are watched for signs that the returning plasma has overfilled the circulation, such as breathlessness or swelling, which is one reason the last day of a stay is still a monitored day. Bruising from blood draws may look dramatic while platelets are still rising.

Return to work or school is usually guided by energy rather than a fixed date, and vigorous exercise is generally reintroduced gradually. Your team can advise on a follow-up blood count if one is needed. Beyond that, most recovery is simply time, food and sleep.

How to monitor someone with dengue at home without guesswork

When a clinician sends someone home to be reviewed daily, the household becomes part of the monitoring team. A few habits make that role far easier and give the doctor better information at each visit.

Start a simple log. Record temperature two or three times a day, what and roughly how much the person drinks, how often they pass urine and whether the color is pale or dark, and anything new they report. A notebook or a phone note works. When you arrive at the clinic, that record is worth more than a memory of a difficult night.

Fix the timeline. Agree as a family on the day the first symptoms appeared and write it down. The care team will count the critical phase from there.

Keep fluids steady rather than heroic. Small amounts often are easier to keep down than large volumes at once, and steady intake through the day matters more than any single drink. If the person cannot keep fluids down, that itself is a reason to call rather than something to push through.

Watch behavior as well as numbers. A child who is unusually quiet or clingy, or an adult who seems confused or oddly restless, is showing a sign that no thermometer captures.

Protect the rest of the household. Dengue does not pass from person to person, but a mosquito that bites someone with the virus in their blood can carry it to others. Bed nets, screens and repellent for the patient during the first week protect the neighborhood as much as the family.

Finally, know exactly how to reach the team out of hours and where you would go if you needed to. Working that out at midnight is harder than working it out over breakfast.

Why does a second dengue infection carry more risk?

Dengue is caused by four closely related viruses, called serotypes and numbered one to four. Recovering from one gives long-lasting protection against that serotype but only brief protection against the other three. WHO notes that a second infection with a different serotype raises the risk of severe dengue, and the reason is one of the more counterintuitive stories in immunology.

Antibodies left over from the first infection recognize the new serotype well enough to attach to it but not well enough to neutralize it. The virus, now coated in antibodies, is taken up more efficiently by the immune cells it infects, and the resulting immune response is larger and more inflammatory. This process, known as antibody-dependent enhancement, is thought to be a major reason second infections are more often associated with plasma leakage.

The practical consequence is that a history of dengue, or of living for years in an area where it circulates, is something your clinician wants to know at the first visit. It may tip the balance toward closer monitoring even when the current illness looks mild.

Infants born to mothers who have had dengue can carry maternal antibodies for months, which is one reason very young children are treated with particular care.

Vaccines against dengue exist and are licensed in a number of countries. Their use depends on age, on whether a person has had a confirmed prior infection, and on local approval and recommendations. Because of the serotype interactions described above, eligibility is assessed individually, and whether a vaccine is appropriate is a conversation for a clinician who knows your history and location. Nothing about vaccination changes the monitoring plan during an acute illness.

What people often get wrong about dengue

Some misunderstandings about dengue are harmless. Others send people home at the wrong moment or toward the wrong medicine cabinet. These are the ones clinicians correct most often.

The fever is gone, so the danger is gone. The opposite is closer to the truth. CDC guidance ties the highest-risk window to the 24–48 hours after the temperature normalizes. Feeling better is welcome; it is not the signal to stop watching.

It is all about the platelet count. Platelets matter, but the hematocrit trend, blood pressure and urine output tell clinicians more about whether plasma is leaking. Chasing a single number misses the picture.

Any painkiller will do. Anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen and aspirin are avoided in dengue because of bleeding risk. Which alternative is suitable is a question for the prescribing clinician.

Antibiotics will speed things up. Dengue is a virus. Antibiotics have no effect on it and are used only if a separate bacterial infection is suspected.

A traditional remedy will raise the platelets. Leaf extracts and similar preparations have been tested in small studies of variable quality. The evidence does not support presenting them as effective, and neither WHO nor CDC recommends them. They should never delay assessment when warning signs appear.

You can catch dengue from a sick relative. The virus travels through mosquitoes, not through coughs, touch or shared meals. Protecting the patient from bites protects everyone else.

Once you have had it, you are immune. Immunity is serotype-specific. A later infection with a different serotype is possible and tends to carry more risk.

More fluid is always better. In hospital, fluid is measured precisely because the leak reverses and excess can end up in the lungs. Steady, sensible drinking at home is right; unlimited volumes are not the goal.

Questions to ask your care team

Consultations during dengue are often brief and happen when the patient is tired and the family is anxious. A prepared list turns a rushed exchange into a plan you can act on. These questions are ones patients and relatives commonly find useful; pick the ones that fit your situation.

• Based on when my symptoms started, which days do you consider my critical phase, and when will it most likely be over?
• Am I being monitored at home or admitted, and what would change that decision?
• How often do you want to repeat blood tests, and what trend in the results would concern you?
• Which specific signs should make me come back before my next scheduled review, and where should I go if it is night or a weekend?
• Roughly how much should I be drinking through the day, and what should I do if I cannot keep fluids down?
• Which medicines are safe for fever and aches in my case, and which should I avoid until you tell me otherwise?
• I take regular medicines for another condition; does anything need to be adjusted while I have dengue?
• Have I had dengue before, as far as my records show, and does that change how closely you want to watch me?
• What signs of recovery should I expect, and how will I know the phase has passed?
• When can I return to work or school, and is a follow-up blood test needed?
• How do I protect the rest of my household from mosquitoes while I am still unwell?

Write the answers down or ask permission to record them. Ask, too, who to contact if you have a question between visits; knowing a name and a number lowers the temperature of a worrying night.

Every one of these decisions, from admission to discharge to which pain reliever is appropriate, sits with the treating team. The value of the questions is that they let you follow that plan precisely rather than filling gaps with guesswork.

When to call your doctor: dengue red flags after the fever settles

Because the highest-risk window opens as the fever closes, the instruction is simple: any of the following signs in the days after the temperature returns to normal, or at any point during the illness, needs urgent medical assessment. Do not wait for a second sign, and do not wait for the next scheduled review.

• Severe or worsening abdominal pain or tenderness
• Vomiting repeatedly, or being unable to keep fluids down
• Bleeding from the gums or nose, unusual bruising, or heavy menstrual bleeding
• Vomit that looks like coffee grounds, or black, tarry stools
• Rapid, labored or difficult breathing
• Unusual drowsiness, confusion, restlessness or irritability, especially in a child
• Cold, clammy or pale skin, a weak pulse, fainting or near-fainting
• Passing very little urine over several hours
• Feeling profoundly weak or intensely thirsty

These are the warning signs listed by WHO and CDC. Cold skin, fainting, severe breathing difficulty or heavy bleeding suggest circulation is failing and warrant emergency services rather than a clinic visit.

Some situations justify a call even without a classic warning sign: fever that returns after it had settled, a person who cannot be roused easily, a pregnant patient or an infant with dengue whose condition changes in any way, or a gut feeling that something is different from the day before. Clinicians would far rather hear from you about a false alarm than not hear about a real one.

When you call or arrive, bring your log of temperatures, fluids and urine, the date symptoms began, a list of regular medicines, and any recent blood results. Those details let the team see the trajectory rather than a snapshot.

The final word on what happens next, whether that is reassurance, an earlier blood test or admission, rests with the doctor examining the patient. Your job is to make the call promptly; theirs is to decide.

Frequently asked questions

What is the dengue critical phase and when does it start?

The critical phase is the window, usually around the time the fever breaks, when fluid can leak out of small blood vessels and complications are most likely. WHO places it roughly 3–7 days after the first symptoms, and CDC identifies the 24–48 hours after the temperature normalizes as the period of highest risk. Its timing is counted from the day symptoms began, so an accurate start date helps your care team plan monitoring.

What are the severe dengue symptoms doctors are most concerned about?

Severe dengue involves shock or breathing difficulty from fluid leakage, significant bleeding, or organ involvement such as liver injury or altered consciousness. Before that stage, clinicians watch for warning signs: severe abdominal pain, repeated vomiting, bleeding from the gums or nose, blood in vomit or stool, rapid breathing, unusual drowsiness or restlessness, and cold clammy skin. Any of these requires urgent medical assessment rather than waiting for a scheduled review.

How low can a dengue platelet count go before it is dangerous?

There is no single platelet number that decides whether dengue is dangerous, and clinicians do not judge risk on the count alone. Platelets typically reach their lowest point around the critical phase and recover a day or two after the leak stops. Doctors read the count alongside the hematocrit trend, blood pressure and urine output, and the direction of change matters more than one result. Transfusion decisions are made by the treating team in specific circumstances.

How long is the typical dengue recovery time?

The acute illness usually settles within about a week, according to NHS and Mayo Clinic guidance, but feeling tired for several weeks afterwards is common. Recovery begins once fluid leakage stops: appetite and urine output return, blood counts climb, and many people develop an itchy second rash. Return to normal activity is generally guided by energy rather than a fixed date, and your care team can advise on any follow-up blood test.

Why do doctors say the fever going away is not the end of dengue?

Because the vessel changes that cause complications peak as the virus is being cleared, the fever often drops just as plasma leakage begins. The person may feel better while their circulating blood volume is quietly falling. That mismatch is why CDC ties the highest-risk period to the two days after the fever breaks, and why clinicians ask patients to keep monitoring and to return for blood tests even when they feel improved.

Can dengue be treated at home, or does everyone need a hospital?

Most people with dengue recover with rest, fluids and daily or alternate-day review by a clinician, without admission. Hospital care is generally advised when warning signs appear, when someone cannot drink enough, or when they belong to a higher-risk group such as infants, pregnant people, older adults or those with chronic conditions. The decision rests with the treating doctor and can change as blood results and symptoms evolve.

Which painkillers should be avoided during dengue and why?

WHO and CDC guidance advise avoiding non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen, and aspirin, during dengue because they impair platelet function and can irritate the stomach lining, increasing bleeding risk when platelets are already low. Acetaminophen (paracetamol) is the class clinicians usually turn to for fever and aches. Which medicine is appropriate for you, and how to use it, should be confirmed with the prescribing clinician rather than decided at home.

Is dengue contagious from one person to another?

No. Dengue spreads through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito, not through coughing, touching or sharing food. A mosquito that bites someone with the virus in their blood can pass it to others, so protecting the patient from bites with nets, screens and repellent during the first week helps protect the household and neighbors. Rare transmission through blood products, organ donation or from mother to baby in pregnancy has been reported.

Do herbal remedies like papaya leaf raise platelets in dengue?

Current evidence does not support presenting papaya leaf or similar preparations as effective treatment for dengue. Small studies have reported mixed results and are generally of low quality, and neither WHO nor CDC recommends them. The main concern is that reliance on a remedy can delay assessment when warning signs appear. If you are considering any supplement alongside prescribed care, tell your care team so they can advise.

Can you get dengue more than once?

Yes. Four related serotypes cause dengue, and recovering from one gives lasting protection against that serotype only. WHO notes that a later infection with a different serotype carries a higher risk of severe dengue, thought to be due to a process called antibody-dependent enhancement, in which antibodies from the first infection help the new virus enter immune cells. Tell your clinician if you have had dengue before, as it may influence how closely you are monitored.

References

• World Health Organization: Dengue and severe dengue fact sheet
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Symptoms of Dengue and Testing
• NHS: Dengue
• MedlinePlus: Dengue

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a qualified doctor about your individual situation.