Dengue Fever is not a simple illness, it can cause death, so to avoid this,we need to help in promoting information dissemination on how to avoid the attacks of mosquito carrying dengue viral disease. We need to know what are the sign and symptoms of dengue fever, how to prevent it and what the possible treatments are.
What is Dengue Fever?
Dengue is acute febrile viral disease. The virus is obtained from a bite of mosquito (Aedes Aegypti) that has previously bitten an infected person. This type of mosquito is identifiable by its black and white stripes on their body. It likes to stay indoors and bite people indoor. It hides under furniture and bite people on ankle and legs. The dengue mosquito bites is painless so people might not notice they are already bitten.
The mosquito spread during rainy season but bread on plastic bags and cans filled with water all year round. Just a single mosquito bite can cause the sickness. However, the virus is not contagious and cannot be transmitted from person to person. There must be the presence of mosquito as the median from person to person to transmit the disease.
Dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) are acute febrile diseases which occur in the tropics, can be life-threatening, and are caused by four closely related virus serotypes of the genus Flavivirus, family Flaviviridae. It is also known as breakbone fever, since it can be extremely painful. It occurs widely in the tropical country like Philippines.
Unlike malaria, dengue is just as prevalent in the urban districts of its range as in rural areas. Each serotype is sufficiently different that there is no cross-protection and epidemics caused by multiple serotypes (hyperendemicity) can occur. Dengue is transmitted to humans by the Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti or more rarely the Aedes albopictus mosquito. The mosquitoes that spread dengue usually bite at dusk and dawn but may bite at any time during the day, especially indoors, in shady areas, or when the weather is cloudy.
Abrupt fever, associated with headaches and pain that affects legs, joints, and the lumbar region of the spine, are the classical symptoms of Dengue.
Classic dengue fever is characterized by
Fever:
Sudden and abrupt onset
May go up to 39.5-41.4°C
Lasts for about 1-7 days, then fades away for 1-2 days
It soon recurs with secondary rashes which is usually not as severe as before
Headaches:
Fever is usually accompanied by headache in front portion of head or behind the eyes
Muscular (Myalgia) or bone pain:
- Occurs after onset of fever
- Affects legs, joints, and lumbar spine
- Usually the pain gets severe after its onset
- The pain may last for several weeks even after the fever has subsided
- Pain is usually absent in DHF/DSS
Other symptoms:
- Nausea and vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- Increased sensation to touch
- Change in taste sensation
Symptoms maybe milder in children than in adults
The acute phase of illness can last for 1 week followed by a 1 to 2 week period of recovery period that is characterized by weakness, malaise and loss of appetite.
Rash - red and white patchy rashes:
The illness is clinically indistinguishable from Influenza, Measles or Rubella.
Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever / Dengue Shock Syndrome
Initial stages of the disease resembles symptoms of dengue fever. However fever subsidies after 2 to 7 days followed by signs and symptoms of:
Restlessness
Signs of circulatory failure
Bleeding or hemorrhagic manifestations including:
• Skin bleeds that appear as blotchy red patches called – Petechiae
• Bleeding from Nose or Epistaxis
• Bleeding from gums
• Bleeding from Stomach - appearing as blood in the vomit
• Decrease in the blood platelet count (Thrombocytopenia)
Leakage of plasma from vascular compartment leading to increased blood concentration and manifestations of shock.
These symptoms when not treated may lead to Dengue Shock Syndrome, which when not treated immediately may lead to profound shock and eventually death.
Warning signs of Dengue Shock Syndrome are
-Severe abdominal pain,
-Vomiting,
-Change in temperature,
-Mental irritability.
Prevention
Unfortunately, there are no vaccines to prevent dengue or an antibiotic to treat it. We can only do preventive steps such as to avoid from mosquito bites and eliminate their habitat.
-In order to get rid from mosquito bites
-You can put repellents on skin.
-Wear long sleeves shirts and long pants tucked into socks.
-Do not go to populated place and watery area.
-You can also use mosquito nets in sleeping.
-Clean your surroundings.
- Remove containers that can collect rain or run-off water such as tires, broken pales and basins.
-Regularly change water in the aquariums and flower vase.
-Do not store water on open container and cover tank or any water storage to prevent access from mosquito. Eliminate stagnant water.
-Use insecticide to kill mosquitoes.
-Remember, prevention is better than cure.
Treatment
The main stay of treatment is timely supportive therapy to tackle circulatory shock due to hemoconcentration and bleeding. Close monitoring of vital signs in the critical period (up to 2 days after defervescence - the departure or subsiding of a fever) is critical. Oral rehydration therapy is recommended to prevent dehydration in moderate to severe cases. Supplementation with intravenous fluids may be necessary to prevent dehydration and significant concentration of the blood if the patient is unable to maintain oral intake. A platelet transfusion may be indicated if the platelet level drops significantly (below 20,000) or if there is significant bleeding. The presence of melena may indicate internal gastrointestinal bleeding requiring platelet and/or red blood cell transfusion.
Aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs should be avoided as these drugs may worsen the bleeding tendency associated with some of these infections. Patients may receive paracetamol, acetaminophen, preparations to deal with these symptoms if dengue is suspected.
But here in the Philippines, many people know and have shows to the fact that they and many others have been cured of dengue via a simple weed. This weed is called Gatas Gatas in the province of Leyte. But in Butuan City they call the same weed Tawa Tawa and Known as snakeweed by Native American tribes, tawa-tawa has been used for a wide assortment of ailments.
Recipe for curing Dengue Fever using Tawa Tawa weeds is as follows:
Take 5 to 6 full whole Tawa Tawa plants.
Cut off the roots
Wash and clean
Fill your boiling pot with clean water.
Boil the Tawa Tawa for 1 (one) minute in a slow rolling boil.
Pour the tawa tawa water and let cool.
Let the dengue fever victim drink only the tawa tawa water for 24 hours.
Sip 1 to 1.5 glasses of tawa tawa water every 1 hour
The internal hemorrhaging will stop and the dengue fever will be cured after 24 hours.
There should be no harm in trying tawa-tawa. We should all recall how lagundi, among all our other herbal concoctions, has now been accepted as a pharmaceutical, although it certainly took some time. Like the truth, the herbal cures are out there, just in our own backyards.
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