Dengue Signs, Symptoms, Precautions and How to Diagnose

Answer to your every what, why, when, and how related to Dengue

We all know that Dengue is one of the most lethal viruses that is spreading its network all across the nation rapidly. But, do we know how it spreads, what are its signs and symptoms, how it can be prevented and how it can be diagnosed and treated? Don’t worry today in this article, we will provide you every insight about dengue. Let’s start with some of its basic information.

What is dengue and how it spreads?

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection transmitted by the bite of an infected female Aedes mosquito. It is also known as break bone fever that causes a severe flu-like illness. It is the most painful fevers caused by any one of the four closely related dengue viruses (DEN 1, DEN 2, DEN 3 and DEN 4). These viruses are related to the viruses that cause West Nile infection and yellow fever.

This dengue fever can vary from mild to severe and the symptoms of all these serotypes appear in 3–14 days or you can say average 4–7 day, after the infective bite. One of the most severe forms include dengue shock syndrome and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and the patients who develop the more serious forms of dengue fever usually need to be hospitalized.

This viral disease is now endemic in over 100 countries and is a leading cause of serious illness and death among children in some Asian countries. Facts say that there are estimated 390 dengue infections worldwide every year, with about 96 million resulting in illness. 

Signs and symptoms of dengue

The symptoms of dengue, which usually begin four to six days after infection and last for up to 10 days, may include:

·         Sudden and very high fever

·         Severe headaches and drowsiness

·         Pain behind the eyes

·         Severe joint and muscle pain

·         Fatigue

·         Diarrhea

·         Nausea

·         Repeated Vomiting

·         Skin rash, which appears two to five days after the onset of fever

·         Mild bleeding (such a nose bleed, bleeding gums, or easy bruising)

·         Internal bleeding, which can result in black vomit and feces (stools)

·         Lower number of platelets in blood - these are the cells that help clot your blood

·         Sensitive stomach

·         Small blood spots under your skin

·         Weak pulse.

Sometimes, symptoms are mild and they can be easily mistaken for those of the flu or another viral infection.

How to prevent dengue?

There is no specific medication or vaccine to prevent dengue fever. However, the best way to prevent this disease is to prevent bites by infected mosquitoes. To prevent mosquito bites, wear long pants and long or full sleeves. For personal protection, use mosquito repellant sprays or creams that contain DEET while visiting the areas that are affected by dengue. You can even prevent dengue infection by living in or traveling to the area where infection is prevalent. Also, the exposure to mosquitoes can be limited by avoiding the standing water and staying indoors, especially after sunrise and before sunset as dengue mosquito is a daytime biter with peak periods of biting around sunrise and sunset. 

How to diagnose and treat dengue?

Dengue fever can only be diagnosed with a blood test to check for the virus or antibodies to it as blood test allows doctor to evaluate the possibility and symptoms of infection.

But, as we said above that there is no specific medicine to treat dengue infection that’s why if you think you may have dengue infection then you should use pain relievers with acetaminophen and avoid medicines with aspirin, which could worsen bleeding. Also, you should take proper rest, plenty of fluids, and see your doctor. If your condition gets worse in the first 24 hours after fever goes down then you should get to a hospital immediately to be checked for further complications.