Dengue Fever – Prevent and stop the spread

With the onset of monsoon, the mosquito menace also increases, with irregular rains providing a haven for mosquito breeding. Due to this, a dramatic increase in diseases like Dengue fever, Yellow fever and Malaria are seen to occur. The mosquitoes carry viruses from person to person without being infected themselves. In recent years, these diseases have increased predominantly in both rural and urban areas and this has become a major public health concern.

Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne infection transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. The mosquitoes usually are active from dawn to dusk but are on a feeding frenzy at sunrise and sunset, during rainy and cloudy weather, in dark areas, etc. This disease is very common in tropical and sub-tropical regions. Infected people have high fever for 4 to 7 days.

Major symptoms of Dengue include:

• High fever of about 40 deg C /104 deg F
• Severe Headache
• Pain behind the eyes
• Muscle and Joint pains
• Nausea
• Loss of Appetite
• Vomiting
• Swollen glands and rashes

There is no specific treatment for this disease except medications that are used to treat the fever and other symptoms. There is no vaccine available against Dengue fever too. As the saying goes, Prevention is better than Cure, The only way to address this, is to avoid the breeding places of mosquitoes and curtail their spread. One should also be aware of the liver cancer symptoms and what precautions to take.

Preventive measures you could take to stop Dengue fever:

• Aedes aegypti mosquitoes lay eggs on stagnant water. So the first and the foremost thing to do is to look for any dirty stagnant water in and around.
• Frequently clean and replace the water in vases, pots, planters, aquariums, etc. After use clean and keep the pails, cans, buckets upside down.
• Keep your courtyard and surroundings clean.
• Dispose the trash properly at the designated place.
• Cover, empty and clean household storage containers on a day to day basis.
• Pick up a N, N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (DEET) containing mosquito repellent.
• Use indoor sprays to eliminate mosquitoes.
• Avoid dark areas and stay in brightly lit areas.

In case you are that unlucky one being bitten by an infected mosquito, Do not panic. Seek immediate help from a medical practitioner . There are numerous other natural remedies too. Some of the useful home remedies that can be of great help in treating Dengue are as follow:

• Drink herbal tea made of holy basil, ginger and cardamom that helps in reducing high fever.
• Drink Orange juice that helps in proper digestion, improves urination and boosts the body immunity.
• Drink plenty of water or diluted fresh fruit juice to prevent dehydration due to high fever, or vomiting.
• Eat baked toasts, porridge and biscuits.
• Consume juice extracted from fresh papaya leaves.
• Increase the intake of high-protein food.
• Revive your immune system by drinking the broth of boiling sweet potatoes leaves.

If you have read a lot about the increasing cases of Dengue fever in your city, then it is better to keep a note of list of hospitals which specialize in treating Dengue fever. Take proper measures to protect yourself and your family from this break bone fever.