Mosquitos can be really annoying when they come up close to your ear and make that buzzing sound. The itch caused due to the mosquito bite can result in a lot of discomfort. Where this is not enough, there are some fatal diseases caused by these mosquitos, such as dengue, malaria, zika virus and chikungunya. Where dengue is one such fatal mosquito borne illness that can lead into several complications. Dengue fever is an illness that mostly occurs in tropical and subtropical regions. Caused due to the bite of an infected Aedes Mosquito.
The symptoms of this mosquito borne illness can range from mild to severe. Where the mild condition of this disease is referred to as the dengue fever, when the same illness takes the shape of a fatal disease it is termed as the dengue shock syndrome and dengue hemorrhagic fever. This condition can impact a person’s health to such an extent that the infected person might require hospitalisation and special medical care.
Image Credits- Apollo Hospital
In order to avoid this condition it is important to look at the symptoms of dengue fever and get it diagnosed at the earliest possible so that a timely treatment can be given to the patient. Let us take a look at 7 warning signs of dengue fever that can be helpful in diagnosing dengue fever and getting a timely treatment for the same with Dr. Trupti Gilada, Infectious Diseases Specialist, Masina Hospital, Mumbai.
Warning Signs Of Dengue Fever![]()
Where dengue is a mosquito borne illness that can become so fatal that it is capable of taking a person’s life as well. Let us see what Dr. Trupti Gilada has to say about this disease and its symptoms “Honestly it would have been great if there were some typical signs and symptoms for dengue, that can tell us in the first two days of illness that a person is suffering from dengue. Unfortunately that does not happen. The symptoms of dengue are like that of any acute fever illness that people suffer from in the monsoon season. Some of the most common symptoms of dengue can be understood as fever, body ache, headache, backache, etc. In the majority of the cases people will suffer from these symptoms that last for about 5 to 7 days and eventually get improved. Contrary to this, in some minority cases where people get complicated dengue, there can be a drop in platelet count which can be associated with bleeding gums, blood traces in stool or rashes on legs. This can also have some other organs involved such as liver, kidney and sometimes breathlessness as well. Fortunately the percentage of this complicated dengue is just around 1%. This is what happens in the case of primary dengue. This primary dengue can be known or unknown and many times people do recover from dengue in the past but do not know about it.
Also Read: What Is Dengue? Know 8 Things About It
When we talk about secondary dengue, this is the second episode of dengue illness. The signs of secondary dengue are pretty similar to that of the primary one but these people can get serious dengue or something that was earlier known as the dengue shock syndrome. In this case the blood pressure falls, bleeding takes place and there is a drop in platelet count.
Diagnosis is important in order to see if the pertaining illness is dengue as there is no specific treatment available for dengue like an antiviral. It is important to maintain a good hydration in case of dengue or any other such disease as severe dengue gets even more complicated when the body is dehydrated.”
Let us take a step ahead in order to understand this disease better and look at expert tips on 7 warning signs of dengue fever.
#1. Fever
In dengue fever the symptoms usually occur within 7 days of being bitten by the mosquito. In the case of primary dengue, the symptoms might go off automatically within 5-7 days. With dengue being the second most diagnosed cause of fever, a person might get a high fever after getting bitten by a mosquito. If a person is suffering from fever due to dengue then the temperatures would be as high as 104 degree fahrenheit and will be accompanied by either body ache, headache, nausea or rashes.
#2. Bleeding gums
Image Credits- The Sallowford Family Dental Group
Dengue fever is associated with blood and blood forming organ’s disorders where a person might get bleeding gums or acute gingival bleeding due to this mosquito borne illness. This condition usually appears somewhere in between the third to the fifth day of illness. Although this case of acute gingival bleeding can be treated by a dentist after proper diagnosis but these bleeding gums can cause a lot of discomfort.
#3. Headache
Image Credits- The conversation
This mosquito borne illness caused due to mosquito bite will not just make your skin itch or gum bleeds but will quite likely affect your head as well. Severe headache caused due to dengue is usually accompanied with high fever. Moreover the patients who are diagnosed with classic dengue tend to have a more severe headache as compared to that in patients suffering from the dengue haemorrhagic fever or to that in dengue shock syndrome.
#4. Low Blood Pressure
Image Credits- Online First Aid
Dengue fever is also known as a silelent killer as along with other complecations and discomfort it causes, a rapid fall in blood pressure is one of them. In order to manage dengue illness, it is very important bto monitor the patient’s blood pressure on regular intervals. Low blood pressure results in low blood supply to the body tissues that can eventually lead to damage of vital organs such as heart, liver, kidney and even brain.
#5. Fall in platelet count
One of the most popula and known symptoms of dengue fever, a fall in pletelt count can result in various further complecations. Where a person requires about 150000 to 250000 pletlets per milileter of blood, it falls to about 100000 pletelesper milileter. Where the main function of these pleatlets is to form clots in order to stop and prevent excesive leeding, a fall in pleatlet count can result into loss of blood in for of bleeding gums, blood traces in stool and even excessive bleeding from the wound site.
#6. Bodyache
Image Credits- Calm Clinic
Also Read: Want Relief From Arthritis Pain? Here Are 5 Homeopathic Treatments That Can Help
Not jist a part or few organs, but dengue fever can essentially affect your entire body and can result in condition like body ache. This body ache affects the back and other joints and muscles of the body which is usually accompanied with high fever. Thi body pain can make you feel weak and make it difficult for the patient to even walk comfortably.
#7. Rashes
Similar to any other mosquito bite and mosquito born illnesses, dengue fever is also accompanied by rashes and itchting. Due to dengue flat red colored rashes apper on most of the body parts that can be observed around the second or third day yof the illness. A denge patient might get increased skin sensitivity that results in the rash causeing even more discomfort and the sensation of itchiness in the affected region.
With inputs from Dr. Trupti Gilada, Infectious Diseases Specialist, Masina Hospital, Mumbai.
