The monsoon brings a plethora of diseases, the most dreaded today being dengue. A large number of dengue cases have been reported in the city. Most vulnerable are children, diabetics, and people suffering from hypertension and obesity. Over the last week we have seen at least one case of suspected dengue every day and the numbers are likely to increase once the rains start.
Four closely related viruses cause dengue, transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti and Aedes Albopictus mosquitoes to humans. There is no human-to- human dengue fever transmission, but a person with a high number of viruses in the blood (right before symptoms develop), can infect mosquitoes. Once infected, a mosquito remains infected for life.
Usually transmission to people occurs in mornings and evenings as these mosquitoes take shelter in water collected in empty coconut shells and bamboo trees. The symptoms include high fever and body ache, severe pain behind the eyes, severe joint pain, body rashes (which can disappear and then reappear) and nausea.
If it is still in early stages, doctors should check for danger signs like abdominal pain, vomiting, loose stools, diarrhoea, giddiness, extreme fatigue, breathlessness etc. Patients suffering from any of these should be immediately sent for cross-monitoring and if found serious, admitted in hospital.
The only way to control the disease is to control the breeding of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito. Dengue mosquitoes are very active during the day and it is imperative to safeguard oneself at this time. Children are the most vulnerable as they are at school or in the playground during the day.
Here are some dengue management tips
- Avoid collection of water near your home and dispose of your garbage properly.
- Use mosquito net and repellent as transmission usually occurs in mornings and evenings.
- Patients should take paracetamol for mild fever, NSADS for joint pain ( for platelets to function properly) and consume plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration
- They must take enough rest until they are fully recovered.
The writer is Consultant Emergency Medicine, Columbia Asia Referral Hospital,
Yeshwanthpur.
