Dengue! Dengue! Dengue!
This is what you’ve been hearing lately. And yeah, you think that you know everything about this disease, but let me tell you that knowing that dengue is caused by a mosquito bite and that you should drink goat’s milk if you’ve dengue doesn’t mean that you’ve your fill and you don’t need to know anything more. I’ll tell you some facts about his disease, what causes it (and yes it’s not caused by any mosquito), its symptoms, prevention and few other things.
Dengue fever or break bone fever is a painful mosquito borne disease caused by any one of four closely related dengue viruses. With the passing of one more year and still no cure available for it which can target the virus directly, the dengue virus has claimed many lives this year also. This viral infection is spread to humans by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito (told you it isn’t caused by any mosquito, but why do they have such a difficult name; no wonder people only remember that mosquito causes dengue fever) and this mosquito is infected with the dengue virus. The mosquito becomes infected when it bites a person with dengue virus in their blood. It can’t spread from one person to another directly. Victims of this mosquito’s bite suffer from relentless joint pain that can become so much severe that they feel their bones are breaking and that’s why it is also known as the break-bone fever. So, that’s about the virus; now let’s see how fatal this virus is. According to sources, around 390 million dengue infections occur worldwide every year, with about 96 million resulting in illness (whoa! That’s a lot!). Most cases of dengue occur in the tropical areas and India along with Southeast Asia, Southern China, Taiwan, Mexico, Africa, Central and South America, The Caribbean are among few with the greatest risk occurring zone. So we are in the most risky zone.
What you should look for i.e. Symptoms?
The most common symptoms of dengue are – Muscle and Joint pain, Bleeding from gums and nose, Respiratory problems, Abdominal pain, Persistent vomiting, Black stools, Constant crying, Excessive thirst, Eye pain, Bleeding under the skin or bruising, Cold and clammy skin, a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles. However, in very few cases the disease can develop into the fatal Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever which results in bleeding, low level of blood platelets and blood plasma leakage It seems that some new symbols have emerged among the children suffering from dengue i.e. Lethargy, urinating less than 6 times in 24 hours, and unusual spots on the skin and the troubling part is that while dengue effects people from every age group, mostly children are dying due to Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever Outbreak.
For detecting dengue on the very first day, Dengue NSI Antigen test is available and for children, one can opt for the butterfly test as the success rate with the ‘Butterfly Needle’ is higher currently, because they are less painful for collecting blood samples due to the size of the needle. Tests like IgG and IgM are for dengue virus-specific antibodies which are used to confirm diagnosis in the later stages of the infection.
No specific medicine is available to treat Dengue infection but it is advised to everyone not to take OTC (over the counter) medicines, which most people do. One can use pain relievers with acetaminophen in case of dengue fever but always avoid the medicines with aspirin as it could worsen the bleeding. Rest, drink plenty of fluids and most importantly, go and see a doctor before condition worsens.
As for the food, no specific prescribed diet is there for dengue, but consuming food which is easily digestible like papaya, and which is rich in anti-oxidants such as strawberries and blueberries are best in dengue fever. Drinking lots of fluid is also helpful- water, fresh fruit juices, lemon juice and coconut water as these help in detoxifying the body and increase the recovery speed. Also, beetroot juice, aloe Vera juice and orange juice helps in increasing the blood platelets. One should also eat green leafy vegetables (I know it’s difficult, but you gotta do it for your health). During the dengue fever, a person shall avoid fatty and oily food, salty and spicy food and food having high cholesterol (basically it means, no more tasty food. Bye-bye pizza).
Also, there’s your Desi Ilaaj – juice of papaya leaves, pomegranate juice, wheatgrass’ juice and I’ve also heard in the news that goat’s milk is also very effective.
Dengue affects everyone, with children and teenagers being at greater risk as they don’t care much about playing or eating in an unhealthy surrounding. With our children being at such a risk and with no vaccine to prevent dengue fever, the best possible way to protect ourselves is by preventing the mosquito bite which in turn can be done by keeping the mosquito population down. Some preventive measures are
- use mosquito repellents
- avoid stagnant water and keep your surroundings clean
- stay indoors for 2 hours before sunrise and after the sunset as the dengue mosquito bites during day time usually around sunrise or sunset
- use window screens, insecticide-treated materials, coils and vaporisers
- when going out, cover your body parts with proper clothing like long-sleeved shirt, long pants, socks
- Cover and clean domestic water storage containers on a regular basis; get rid of places where mosquitos can breed like old tires, cans etc.
- Regularly change water in cooler.
Although, currently no preventive cure is available against dengue but it is believed, according to some sources, that by the last quarter of 2016-17, a vaccine for the disease is expected to come.
You can learn more about dengue from the official website of the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (http://nvbdcp.gov.in/), under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare which lists the new symptoms, home remedies, after-care and other must-knows to prevent against dengue.