Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne viral disease that’s present in most tropical and subtropical areas like South and Southeast Asia, Africa, Central and South America, the Caribbean, the Eastern Mediterranean, and Oceania. It can be a deadly disease that develops with mild symptoms to more severe levels with dengue shock fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever. Most people are often asymptomatic, such that when symptoms finally present themselves, they have actually contracted the illness for the second time already.
There are 4 main strains of the virus (DEN1 to DEN 4) and you can get infected by a different strain each time without any immunity. Because the symptoms are often very similar to other viral infections, it may be harder to diagnose, even though it is a deadly disease. Furthermore, there isn’t a cure for this, thus prevention is the most effective method to stop dengue fever.
Dengue fever is present in most tropical and subtropical areas with warm weather conditions, often situated in clusters near human populations. The Aedes mosquito which carries the virus only requires a small amount of clean, stagnant to breed. The mosquito gets infected with the virus when it bites a human who already has the virus, and then transmits it further with each person they bite next. It is not transmitted from person to person.
People with weakened immune systems are more susceptible to dengue fever. Younger children and people who haven’t been infected before tend to have milder symptoms of the illness.
Symptoms of Dengue Fever
While the symptoms of dengue fever may show up similar to other viral infections, two of the main differences to take note of are the rashes and easy bruising and bleeding. Dengue causes a reduction in blood platelet count, which is necessary to help blood clot. This causes the more obvious symptoms of nose and gum bleeding and bruising.- Sudden fever for 2 to 7 days
- Severe headache with pain behind the eyes
- Joint and muscle pains
- Nausea and vomiting
- Rashes
- Nose and gum bleeding, and easy bruising of skin
Furthermore, these symptoms may progress into something more severe with Dengue Haemorrhagic fever, with more bleeding, low blood pressure and death.
Some symptoms of Dengue Haemorrhagic fever include:- Stomach pain and/or tenderness
- Severe vomiting (more than 3 times in 24 hours)
- Bleeding from nose or gums
- Vomiting blood
- Blood in stool
- Feeling tired, restless or irritable
How to Protect Yourself From Dengue Fever
If you suspect that you have dengue fever, you should seek medical attention, where the doctor can test your blood platelet count. Normal blood platelets are around 150 to 450K per ml. As most cases are mild and there is no real treatment for this, the best way is to just time off to keep hydrated and rest and recover. However, if your blood platelet count drops to below 80K and your symptoms become more severe, you may need to be hospitalised and kept under observation.
How to Prevent Dengue Fever
As there is no real ‘cure’ for dengue fever, the best way forward is prevention.Here are some ways to prevent dengue fever:
- Wear long-sleeved tops, long pants and socks to prevent mosquito bites in more susceptible areas
- Clear your home of areas with stagnant water like flower pots and roof gutters to prevent mosquitoes from breeding
- Use mosquito or bug repellent to stop mosquitoes from biting.
To take care of dengue, we’ve put together a Dengue care pack that contains some of our best natural solutions for help with dengue symptoms like bites, rashes, inflammation, bleeding and immunity.
Mfree Insect Repellent
Made from organic lemongrass oil, coconut oil and filtered water using our HiFloAM Water®, it protects for up to 10 hours against mosquitoes, sandflies and other biting insects.
Miracle Grass Oil
Made from natural green grass and vegetable oil, our Miracle Grass Oil helps to soothe itches and swelling from insect bites and stings, bruises, burns, wounds and rashes.
Adam’s Claymin Powder
Claymin powder is a natural mineral supplement that can deliver trace minerals as it sweeps the body, clean of internal toxins and aids in building up your blood and immunity.
Premium Whole Leaf Aloe Vera Concentrate
Made from premium, organic whole leaf aloe, our Aloe Vera Concentrate helps to reduce inflammation from mosquito bites and other skin conditions. It can also be used for burns, cuts, eczema, mouth ulcers, athletes’ foot, and other fungal/parasitic infections, psoriasis, radiations, and sunburns.
Find out more about our Dengue care pack here.