Ayurvedic Care of Dengue Fever
What is Dengue Fever?
Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by four different viruses and carried by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. High fever, rash, and muscle or joint pain are the main symptoms of mild range dengue. Dengue Hemorrhagic fever is a severe form of dengue fever which can cause severe bleeding, a sudden drop in blood pressure (shock) and death.
Dengue is caused by a virus of the Flaviviridae family and there are four distinct, but closely related, serotypes of the virus that cause dengue (DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3 and DENV-4).
An estimated 400 million dengue infections occur worldwide each year, with about 96 million resulting in illness.Dengue fever is most common in Southeast Asia and the western Pacific islands, but the disease has been increasing rapidly in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Cause of Dengue Fever
There are four dengue viruses (DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3 and DENV-4) that cause dengue fever. These viruses are spread by Aedes aegypti which are common in tropical and subtropical areas worldwide. Dengue virus is transmitted from an infected mosquito to a human. When a mosquito bites a dengue infected person, the mosquito can become a carrier of the virus. If this mosquito bites someone else, that person can be infected with dengue fever. This virus can’t spread directly from person to person.
It it possible to have dengue fever more than once. A second infection carries a higher risk of developing a harsher form.
Symptoms Associated with Dengue Fever
Symptoms of dengue fever are generally mild in children and teens or those who have the disease for the first time. Primary symptoms of dengue appear three to 15 days after the mosquito bite and include the following:
- Sudden high fever and severe headache
- Pain behind the eyes
- Muscle, bone and joint pain
- Fatigue
- Skin rash, which appears two to five days after the onset of fever
Nausea - Vomiting
- Mild bleeding (such a nose bleed, bleeding gums, or easy bruising)
Complications of Dengue Fever
If severe, dengue fever can damage the lungs, liver or heart. Blood pressure can drop to dangerous levels, causing shock and, in some cases, death.
Risk Factors with Dengue Fever
Factors that put you at greater risk of developing dengue fever or a more severe form of the disease include:
- Living or traveling in tropical areas. Being in tropical and subtropical areas increases your risk of exposure to the virus that causes dengue fever. Especially high-risk areas are Southeast Asia, the western Pacific islands, Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Prior infection with a dengue fever virus. Previous infection with a dengue fever virus increases your risk of having severe symptoms if you’re infected again.
Prevention of Dengue Fever
There is no vaccine for Dengue fever. Only avoiding mosquito bites can prevent it. To protect yourself from Dengue fever:
- Clothing: Prevent mosquito bites by wearing long pants, long-sleeved shirts, and socks, tucking pant legs into shoes or socks, and wearing a hat.
- Mosquito Repellents: use a mosquito repellent with at least 10 percent concentration of diethyltoluamide (DEET), or a higher concentration for longer lengths of exposure. Avoid using DEET on young children.
- Door and window screens: Structural barriers such as door and window screen always cover with nett which keep mosquitos out.
- Avoid scents: Avoid Heavily scented soaps and perfumes which attract mosquitos.
- Timing: Try to avoid being outside at dawn, dusk, and early evening. Stagnant water: The Aedes mosquito breeds in clean, stagnant water. Checking for and removing stagnant water can help reduce the risk.
