Dengue

What is Dengue?

Dengue is an infectious viral disease caused by infected mosquito bites. Symptoms can include high fever, muscle pain, joint pain, headaches, rash and vomiting.

Dengue is also called ‘break bone’ and ‘dandy fever’ as it makes people assume awkward poses due to the severe pain and aches.

Like most people, you stand a good chance for recovering from dengue within two weeks time. In addition, once you are infected with the virus, you develop immunity to that strain of the disease (but not to the other types).

Dengue is most prevalent, but not limited to, moist and humid parts of the world including the tropical and subtropical countries that lack measures for dengue preventions.

Causes of Dengue

After being bitten by an infected mosquito, symptoms start to appear between three to fifteen days. Causes of dengue include the Aedes mosquito, a domestic variety which is infected by the dengue virus that generally bites during the day time. The bite transfers saliva and anti-coagulants into the bloodstream which transmits the disease, causing dengue fever.

Symptoms of Dengue

Generally, dengue infections can give you mild illness. Nonetheless, fever can last for up to ten days. A complete recovery from dengue after effects can take as long as a month.

In rare cases, patients can develop low blood pressure, a low platelet count and severe bleeding. This situation requires immediate hospitalization.

In absence of immediate and proper dengue treatment, you can suffer from dengue hemorrhagic fever that causes shock, which can prove fatal. Read more on Dengue Symptoms.

Treatment for Dengue

As of now, there is no specific treatment for dengue. Nonetheless, taking plenty of rest, drinking lots of fluids and maintaining a healthy diet can help a great deal in managing symptoms.

Symptoms like fever, aches and pains that accompany dengue are treated with separate medications to provide relief to the patient from related sufferings.

In case you suffer from dengue hemorrhagic fever, hospitalization is the only option where supportive treatments like intravenous fluids are administered to prevent shock.

Dengue Preventions

Taking preventive steps helps avoid dengue and also deter the disease from spreading further.

• Use good quality mosquito nets to enable protection from bites of infected mosquitoes.
• Make use of mosquito repellant sprays, mats and coils to keep mosquitoes away from enclosures where you sleep.
• Cover utensils and containers containing water to prevent breeding of dengue mosquitoes.
• Preventions for dengue include wearing mosquito protective clothing such as long, loose fitting sleeved shirts and trousers.
• Contact local municipal body in case of natural water bodies which act as breeding places for the mosquitoes.
• Windows and doors should be screened to deter mosquito from making an entry in to the room.
• Mosquito traps should be used from dusk to morning as they are active during these hours as these traps prove to be good dengue preventions.
• If you live in areas that are highly infested with mosquitoes, you can try mosquito fogging methods to lessen the mosquito menace.

Also, avoid anti-inflammatory medications during dengue fever infection. Consult with your doctor before taking any medications.