A backpacker says she felt like she was “about to die” – after catching dengue fever in Thailand. Paisley Peach, 32, was backpacking around the southeast Asian country with her husband, Julian De Prince, 31, when she was bitten by a horde of mosquitoes.
The couple came down with a high fever on the same night – but Paisley was rushed to the nearest hospital after collapsing in her bathroom. Now, she says she “regrets not wearing bug spray” – and has vowed to get vaccinated for the virus before travelling again.
Paisley, a burlesque performer and events producer from Boulder, Colorado, said: “I’ve never been hospitalised in my life – but with dengue, I thought I was about to die. I could barely see straight, and I was in so much pain The experience was terrifying.”
Paisley and Julian had been backpacking around Thailand throughout September 2023 – wanting to travel as much as possible before starting a family. Two weeks into their trip, they attended a rave in Ko Pha Ngan, an island in the southeast. Armed with tea tree oil in an attempt to keep mosquitoes away, Paisley recalls being “covered” in bug bites by the end of the party.
On October 3, the couple woke up with high fevers. Paisley said: “We must’ve been bitten by the same mosquito. We didn’t have access to a thermometer, but we both knew we had high fevers. I tried taking a covid test, but it came up negative.”
Suffering from “really, really bad” body aches, the couple decided to leave their hostel and find accommodation to isolate in. They rented a remote bungalow on AirBnB – which they had to take a water taxi to get to.
Struggling to eat, Paisley began to feel worse – while Julian started slowly getting better. She said: “I couldn’t sleep – I was in so much pain. I felt like all my bones were breaking, and my head felt like it was going to explode. Then there was this really bad pain behind my eyes – every time I drank water, I’d vomit. My skin was really warm and blotchy, and I couldn’t keep track of my temperature.”
Just a few days on from when her symptoms started, Paisley collapsed in her bathroom. She remembers going “fully unconscious from standing,” and Julian, who found her, said her eyes rolled back into her head.
She said: “Something was very, very wrong. We went straight to the nearby hospital. The doctor took some blood, came back and told me I had dengue.”
Paisley’s doctors explained that dengue was a viral infection which spreads from mosquitoes. They also told her that her blood platelet count – which is needed to prevent and stop bleeding – was dropping, rapidly. While a normal count would be between 150,000 to 400,000 platelets – Paisley’s were at just 40,000.
She said: “They told me I needed to be admitted, I had blood tests every four hours, and a constant IV drip. By day three, when I was discharged, I was able to eat plain rice and bites of mashed potato.”
Paisley has since been slowly recovering at another hostel – and she says she feels “almost better.” She says her biggest regret was not wearing bug spray, as she was afraid of the chemicals.
She said: “I was always personally afraid of bug spray because of the chemicals, I’d wear tea tree oil – which I did, on the day of the rave – instead. But it doesn’t seem to work for me, anymore. Always get vaccinated, and don’t be afraid of wearing bug spray.”
