Who would have thought that a weed most people would discard can have actual medicinal value? Tawa-tawa is becoming very popular nowadays as a possible treatment for dengue fever. That is regardless of the fact that the medical industry has not yet given any confirmation that supports such a claim.

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The Threat

Dengue fever  is a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes within the genus Aedes, principally A. aegypti. It used to be a real threat only during the rainy days where there is more tendency to have stagnant water pooling somewhere unnoticed. Standing water, whether clean or not, is a common breeding ground for many insects. Today however, it can strike at any time.

Mosquitoes need just a small pool of water to lay their eggs in. While humans are the primary host of the virus, mosquitoes transmit it by biting an infected person and subsequently biting another. The virus has no detrimental effect on the mosquito itself that is infected for life. For humans who are bitten by infected mosquitoes, the result can be deadly. Usual symptoms include sudden-onset fever, headache, measles-like rash, muscle and joint pains, vomiting, and diarrhea. Shock due to blood pressure drop and bleeding due to rapid decrease in platelet count are some of the warning signs of severe dengue.

Original Photo by: Filiford

Original Photo by: Filiford

The Cure

There is no known vaccine that can prevent dengue and this is one disease where prevention holds the key. The main thing to do is to remove all possible breeding places of these mosquitoes in our environment. Once afflicted by dengue, proper fluid maintenance in the body becomes the main goal in managing the disease. Patients who do not exhibit warning sings of severe dengue can be allowed to manage dengue at home primarily through oral rehydration. There is no other way but to wait for the viral infection to resolve.

For patients who do exhibit warning signs, managing the disease in the hospital will be necessary. During the course of the course of the disease, doctors will be intently monitoring the hematocrit level and platelet count. Unabated decrease in platelet count will result to blood and platelet transfusion which most medical practitioners of today are not quick to recommend because of the accompanying risks especially for improperly screened blood.

The Tawa-tawa Tea

Tawa-tawa (Euphorbia hirta) is an hairy herb that is abundantly found in open grasslands although it can be found as well in pathways and roadsides looking like stray grass. Its effectiveness in battling dengue specifically in its potency to elevate platelet count after drinking its tea form in 24 hours continues to be the subject of research and investigation. One important point established by the Department of Health is that tawa-tawa does not contain any toxic substance and go as far as to say that it can be taken along side with other oral hydration preparations for fluid replacement.

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The steps for preparing the Tawa-tawa tea is as follows:

  1. Wash the tawa-tawa thoroughly.
  2. Boil tawa-tawa in clean, drinkable water for about a minute.
  3. Let it cool and the tawa-tawa is ready to drink.

Reminders:

Tawa-tawa tea is recommended to be given to the dengue patient in an hourly interval or as tolerated  for 24 hours. The taste may not be acceptable especially for children so some suggest the addition of a small amount of sugar. Severe dengue patients may still require hospitalization to check for complications that may have been brought upon by the disease.

My Say

I have always been very cautious especially when it comes to the health of my children. When my two young children tested positive for dengue and showed warning signs that their condition cannot be managed efficiently at home, I readily acceded to the doctor’s decision to have them admitted to the hospital. My daughter was vomiting all her food intake even though she still had a good platelet count at 212 while my son’s platelet count was at a dangerous level of 87.

Their platelet counts continued to decrease even while at the hospital,with my son reaching the lowest at 36 on the third day. My daughter’s platelet count was still considered safe at 152 but was continuously decreasing just the same. This was the time I decided to try the tawa-tawa tea, and lo and behold my son’s platelet count increased to 59 the next day and 111 the day after. My daughter’s platelet count increased as well but a lot more slowly. I can safely say that this is because my son drank as much tawa-tawa tea as he could tolerate while my daughter only took very little. That made me, a mother who rarely took chances on alternative medicine when it comes to my children, a believer in the power of tawa-tawa.