Dengue Fever
Dengue fever can be termed as acute febrile disease that is transmitted by mosquito bites. Dengue fever is caused by a particular group of mosquitoes called Aedes aegypti. If experts are to be believed, the dengue virus comes in the family of Flaviviridae. It is a very dangerous virus that can cause serious consequences.
Dengue fever becomes common during hot climates when mosquitoes get a chance to breed easily. It can be very dangerous if not controlled on time and can also result in patient’s death if the blood platelet count falls below the required number.
Let us have a detailed look at this deadly viral disease:
Dengue Fever Symptoms
Dengue fever lasts about six to seven days, with a smaller peak of fever at the trailing end of the fever. Some common symptoms of dengue fever are:
- Gastritis
- Headaches
- Muscular pain
- Abdominal pain
- Diarrhea
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Rashes
Rashes initially start as a bright red petechia appearing on the lower portion of limbs. However, with the passage of time, they move to the chest region. In a number of cases the rashes can spread all over the body.
Platelet Count
Platelets also known as thrombocytes are the cell fragments that circulate in the blood and are involved in hemostasis that leads to formation of blood clots. Platelets are very important as without them, a person may bleed to death.
The worse thing about dengue fever is that until and unless the patient’s temperature becomes normal, the platelet count will continue to decrease. This more often leads to serious health problems. In many cases, decreased platelet count has also lead to patient’s death.
Preventive Measures
It is of paramount importance that individuals, community and government work together to ensure the effectiveness of basic preventive measures:
- It is essential to get rid of hubs where mosquitoes thrive. It is necessary as this will not only stop dengue-carrying mosquitoes from breeding but will also have a bearing on those mosquitoes that carry malaria virus.
- In addition, spraying of insecticides in public areas and cleaning of clogged drains can also go a long way in protecting people from dengue virus.
- Personal hygiene and prevention is also an absolute must to avoid dengue fever.
- Take assistance of mosquito nets, repellents and mosquito nets to combat this deadly virus of dengue.
Treatment and Vaccine
At this time, there is no commercially available vaccine for treatment and prevention of dengue fever. As a matter of fact, the Pediatric Dengue Vaccine Initiative (PDVI), started some four years ago, is yet the farthest researchers have gone in coming up with a vaccine that has an ability to fight with the deadly dengue fever. Currently, the only ways for curing dengue fever are basically concerned with giving supportive measures.
To prevent dehydration, high oral intake of fluids is recommended. In complex dengue fever cases where the platelet count of patient has declined to an alarming rate, there is no option other than blood transfusion. Therefore, one can safely say that prevention is better than cure in case of dengue fever.
Avoiding Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory Medications
It is important that you do not take Aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications in dengue fever. These drugs are basically meant to treat pain and fever, but in case of dengue fever, they can increase the bleeding tendency associated with few of these infections. Also, do not take antibiotics as dengue fever is a viral disease and antibiotics can only aggravate the situation.
If you feel that you are suffering from dengue fever, you should take acetaminophen as it is ideal for dealing with dengue symptoms. In a few cases, dengue fever led to Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS), which has a high mortality rate.
Dengue fever is caused by a special group of mosquitoes. Thus, it cannot be treated by any or every medicine. It is important that you take good care, observe preventive measures and contact a qualified physician if you feel you are suffering from dengue fever. |
