Tweet

Dengue results in high fever that is transmitted by the bite of a mosquito named Aedes commonly found in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. The bite of the mosquito may infect you with any one of the four dengue viruses. It is also known as breakbone fever due to the associated symptoms of muscle and joint pain, headache, etc. Some other symptoms of dengue fever are rashes on the skin, swollen glands, pain behind the eyes, mild fever or high fever, etc. The fever generally affects the healthy individuals during rainy season as mosquitoes reproduce quite fast during that period. If fever is not treated can result in severe conditions such as a patient may become susceptible to hemorrhage or dengue shock syndrome.         

Dengue can affect anyone, but those with compromised immune systems are at an increased risk. It`s not a contagious disease as it can only be transmitted from an infected person to a healthy individual through a certain type of dengue mosquito.

Symptoms:
Symptoms generally appear after 3-14 days of an infective bite and symptoms are generally asymptotic in most of the patients. Few patients may have severe illness and only a small proportion of dengue patients are at risk of life. Initially, patient may suffer only from mild fever and children may develop symptoms similar to common cold and vomiting or diarrhea. Some common signs and symptoms  that patient may develop during dengue fever are:

• Violent irritation in eyes 
• Muscle and joint pain         
• Frequent Headaches
• Pain behind the eyes
• Rashes on the body similar to measles
• Mild to incapacitating high fever over 104°F
• Nausea
• Mild bleeding in mouth and nose

Diagnosis and Treatment:
The fever is generally diagnosed by visiting a physician who then examine your symptoms closely as during initial stages it`s hard to differentiate the disease from other viral infections. Your doctor figure out the warning signs and reports dengue if a patient has developed two or more symptoms from the listed ones along with persistent fever: abdominal pain, ongoing vomiting, liver enlargement, mucosal bleeding, rash, low white blood cell count, positive torniquet test, etc. Your physician will prescribe your certain medication to get relief from the fever, and again he asks you to get a blood test done for confirming the count of white blood cells.

Doctors usually don`t prescribe pain killers to dengue patients despite of severe muscle and joint pain as it may provoke the hemorrhage. Your physician will suggest to stay hydrated by consuming more fluids such as juices, solutions and mixtures, etc and monitors your blood pressure constantly. If the symptoms are severe, your physician may refer for hospital stay.         

Prevention:
Even years of research there is no definitive cure for this disease and there is no way to immunize oneself from it. However, one should not overlook the symptoms associated with the disease and should be checked upon. The best way to prevent the illness is to keep the habitats that give rise to mosquitoes away from your surroundings. Clean home and surroundings may reduce the risk of developing the disease a lot so one should pay attention towards it.