Essential facts to know about Dengue Fever
The months of late-August and September are considered as the months of dengue outbreak. Surge in the cases of Dengue is reported during these days. Currently, there is an outbreak of Dengue going in Karachi. It is reported that every house has at least one or two cases of Dengue. However, only severe cases are taken to the hospital and the rest are treated at home with paracetamol. Dengue is a mosquito-borne illness. It spreads through the bites of Aedes species of mosquitoes. The mosquitoes of this species tend to bite during day and night. They lay their eggs in standing water containers, buckets, etc.
Dengue Fever symptoms
The symptoms of Dengue fever begin 4 to 10 days after the bite of the infected mosquito. In most cases, the symptoms are confused with other diseases. At first, there is high fever, which aggravates to become Dengue Hemorrhagic fever. Then there are other symptoms such as,
- Headache
- Dengue Fever Rash
- Pain behind eyes
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Bleeding from nose
Dengue Fever Diagnosis
Dengue fever can be detected by CBC test. It can reveal the blood count of your body. If the platelets are less than the average number, it can be predicted that the person is suffering from Dengue fever. A person has an average of 150, 000 to 450,000 platelets per microlitre of blood.
Dengue Fever Treatment
Currently, there is no treatment of Dengue. It is advised to the patients to take Paracetamol (acetaminophen) and rest. Recently, a severe shortage of Panadol (Paracetamol) occurred in Pakistan. This directly created problems for the patients as they mostly rely on Paracetamol. It was then advised to take the alternative brands of Paracetamol.
If you have Dengue hemorrhagic fever, then it is advised to take as much fluids as possible. In case of severe dengue it is better to seek emergency help as it can be fatal.
Dengue Fever Preventions
There is a dengue fever vaccine and it is given to people aged 9 to 45. Dengvaxia is given in a duration of 12 months and requires that the person has had dengue previously. There are a total 3 doses of the vaccine that are meant to be given in a course of 12 months. It is not recommended to use Dengvaxia in people who do not have a previous history of Dengue.
Another method to prevent dengue is widely adopted everywhere. It consists of following precautions,
- To wear full sleeves clothes.
- Do not go out when it is dawn or dusk.
- Do not allow fresh water to stand in water containers, buckets, etc. This is done to destroy the habitat of the mosquitoes. If there is no proper place where they can lay eggs then no growth of mosquitoes can take place.
- Apply mosquito repellent to your exposed skin.
Therefore, it is requested to stay indoors as much as possible and try to destroy the habitat of the mosquitoes. By doing so we can prevent the spread of Dengue fever.
