Dengue – What Is Dengue Fever? | How To Prevent Dengue | Signs, Symptoms, Treatment for Dengue

Dengue fever is an acute illness of sudden onset which typically follows a benign course of symptoms. Dengue fever can be noticed through the presence of the inseparable Dengue Triad of symptoms; headache, fever and skin rashes although other symptoms will eventually occur.

This illness is capable of affecting anyone but people with compromised immune systems can be severely affected.

Since one of the four serotypes of virus caused this fever, anyone can get this illness multiple times during his or her lifetime.

However, a dengue attack can produce immunity for a lifetime to the particular serotype which caused the illness – but take note that there are still three other serotypes of virus which may affect the patient.

Dengue (pronounced as Deng-Gay) fever is an illness which is caused by a family of viruses transmitted by Aedes Aegypti mosquito which can be identified by the white stripes in its body upon closer inspection.

This type of mosquito typically bites at any time of the day time, although several studies proved that it preferably bites two hours after sunrise and two hours before sunset. Known as a nervous biter, dengue mosquito flies away from the skin in a slightest movement of its victim but comes back to bite.

Contrary to the common belief that this dengue mosquito only stays outdoors, it actually prefers to stay hidden inside homes especially in urban areas and often hides under home furniture.

However, in areas where mosquitoes can't get in enclosed homes easily, these mosquitoes have to stay outdoors.

The most common signs and symptoms of Dengue Fever are headache, fever and skin rashes, but there are more signs and symptoms as the fever progresses.

After 3 to 15 days that the victim has been bitten by mosquito carrying the Dengue virus, the signs and symptoms of Dengue fever appears in stages.

The illness starts with headache, chills, low backache and pain in areas around the eyes. Intense pain in joints and muscles in legs follow, and the patient’s body temperature quickly rises to as high as 40 degree Celsius with relatively low blood pressure, low heart rate and profuse sweating.

Lymph nodes in neck and groin areas become swollen, the eyes become red and pink rashes appear on face and disappear. Rashes then appear in extremities and to the entire body except the face.

The more severe and life-threatening form of this viral illness is Dengue hemorrhagic fever which is associated with small purple or red blisters or splotches underneath the skin, gum or nose bleeding, easy bruising or black stools which are known to be signs of hemorrhage. Dengue hemorrhagic fever can progress to Dengue shock syndrome.

There’s no specific antibiotic or medicine for treatment of dengue fever since it’s caused by a virus. Dengue is typically treated by purely treating its symptoms.

Currently, there’s no vaccine available to prevent the illness.

It has been reported that there’s a vaccine for dengue that’s still undergoing further clinical trials but it’s still too early to determine if it will be effective or safe to be administered. Hopefully, as reported, the vaccine for dengue may be available by the year 2015.