Dengue is a viral infection which makes the human body, its host and is transmitted to human through the bite of infected mosquitoes. Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are the primary vectors that transmit the disease and, sometime the primary vectors can be Ae. albopictus.
DENV or the dengue virus is responsible for causing the disease. In total, there are four DENV serotypes and it is possible to be infected four times by different serotypes.
Dengue has known to cause serious illness and death in some Asian and Latin American countries. It requires management by medical professional’s because the infected persons’ Platelets fall drastically, and it can be a life-threatening situation. There is no specific treatment for dengue/severe dengue, but people have resorted largely to home remedies which are proved to be effective in many cases. It is important to detect the disease early and access to proper medical care lowers fatality rates of severe dengue to below 1%.
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Mostly, dengue is found in tropical and sub-tropical climates worldwide, mostly in urban and semi-urban areas. Therefore, Pakistan having sub-tropical climate and every year during monsoon season, a lot of people got infected with this virus.
Dengue Symptoms
The most common symptoms of dengue are fever and one or more of the following things:
- Severe Headache
- Eye pain (typically felt behind the eyes)
- Muscle, joint, or bone pain
- Rash on body
- Nausea and vomiting
Some warning signs related to dengue fever which require medical emergency are:
- Pain in stomach or belly, tenderness
- Vomiting (at least 3 times in 24 hours)
- Bleeding from the nose or gums
- Vomiting blood, or blood in the stool
- Feeling tired, restless, or irritable
Read More: Types, Prevention, and Treatment of Infectious Diseases
Precautions to Cure Dengue
There’s no medicine for dengue available, but here are some of the points one should keep in mind to cure dengue:
- Wear Long sleeve shirts and full trousers
- Use Mosquito repellant whenever you’re outside or even at home. Some of the insect repellants are:
- DEET
- Picaridin
- IR3535
- Oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE)
- Para-menthane-diol (PMD)
- 2-undecanone
Don’t leave doors and windows open. Repair any holes in screens to keep mosquitoes outside.
Don’t let water hold in one place, once a week, empty and scrub, turn over, cover, or throw out items that hold water, such as tires, buckets, planters, toys, pools, birdbaths, flowerpots, or trash containers clean and empty all. Check areas near your home because dengue normally lay near clean water.
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How to Treat Dengue
Home Remedies:
- Locally known as Niazbo or Sweet basil is an effective remedy to cure dengue if detected at an early stage.
- Drink plenty of water and juices to keep your vitality intact.
- Apple juice is very effective in stabilizing platelet count during dengue fever.
- Stock up a lot of multivitamins and fruits to help you stay healthy during the fever.
- Papaya Leaf Juice is also very effective in treating dengue fever as it helps in building immunity.
- Fresh Guava Juice in enriched in Vitamin C therefore, boosting immunity.
- Fenugreek seeds or locally known as methi k dany are also considered as one of the best remedies to treat dengue fever.
- You must add as many as possible, immunity-boosting foods to your diet like citrus foods, garlic, almonds, turmeric and many more.
- Giloy Juice is also very effective.
Medicines:
- Surbex Z or any other multivitamins should be used for boosting immunity.
- Calc Plus 1000 can also be used.
- Painkiller for pain but avoid taking any Aspirin as it can cause bleeding.
- Usually, Paracetamol or actinomorphin is used for relieving pain during dengue fever, NSAID must be avoided.
- There is no specific viral medicine for dengue fever, but one can get through this by the help of these medications.
- Your doctor may recommend you antibiotics as well depending upon your condition and if you are susceptible of any infection.
- Your doctor may also prescribe you an Intra Venous medicine to avoid weakness.
Food To Eat During Dengue Fever:
Food that is rich in protein and iron are the best recommended to help you recover from dengue fever. These food items help prevent blood deficiency and strengthen the immune system. Your body will be well nourished to combat this deadly infection. Therefore, it is important to eat healthy and frequently, rest and drink at least 3 liters of fluid a day.
There are also some foods that should be avoided when infected with dengue fever, such as potatoes, pepper and tomato. These foods specifically can increase the risk of bleeding so they must not be added to the diet.
Read More: Health in Urban and Rural Areas of Pakistan
Best Foods In Dengue Fever
- Lean meats such as chicken, lean red meat and fish
- Liver mutton
- Milk and dairy products added to the diet
- Eggs for proteins
- Beans, chickpeas, lentils, peas
- Water, coconut water, natural fruit juices
- Worst Foods for Dengue:
- Plum, cherry, blackberry, melon, nectarine, peach, grape, tangerine, lemon, strawberry, raisin, gooseberry;
- Almond, walnuts
- Potato, cucumber, tomato, apricot
- Pepper, garlic, onion, ginger
Dengue fever is very common nowadays in Pakistan, therefore, care must be taken to avoid infection from this fatal mosquito. However, if by bad luck someone gets infected with dengue, he should take all the steps to manage its symptoms until he is completely fine again.
