With the advent of monsoons, the cases of vector-borne diseases such as dengue, malaria, and chikungunya rise every year. So far, the municipal corporations in Delhi have reported many cases of dengue this year while there are 39 and 18 cases of malaria and chikungunya, respectively. Last year, the city recorded 78 cases of chikungunya, and 368 cases of malaria.
In an exclusive interaction with OnlyMyHealth editorial team, Dr. Parinita Kaur, Internal Medicine Aakash Healthcare Super Speciality Hospital, Dwarka, elucidates on the seven warning signs of dengue fever. Here is what she told us.
The annual occurrence of dengue fever has assumed a new importance this year due to the ongoing pandemic– all three vector-borne diseases share some of the symptoms with coronavirus caused by COVID-19 virus. It is important to be aware of the symptoms of individual diseases to distinguish them from coronavirus and start correct treatment on time.
7 Warning Signs Of Dengue Fever
All three diseases are endemic in tropical regions. Malaria is caused by female Anopheles mosquitoes – the disease spreads to a healthy person when they bite an infected person and then bite an uninfected person. Infections like dengue and chikungunya are spread by the Aedes mosquitoes. All the three diseases have some overlapping symptoms that can make them difficult to distinguish in the early stage.
Dengue is a viral infectious disease caused by either of the four related dengue viruses – DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, and DEN-4. Dengue is also called bone-breaking fever because it can cause severe muscle and joint pain, which may make the infected person feel their bones are breaking.
The symptoms depend on the age of the person and usually manifest as fever within four to seven days after a person has been bitten by an infected mosquito. The seven most common warning symptoms of classic dengue include:
- High fever, up to 105ºF
- Severe muscle and joint pain
- Severe headache and pain behind the eyes
- A red rash on chest, back or stomach and spreads to the limbs and face
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Diarrhoea
Some patients with dengue go on to develop its haemorrhagic version, a more severe form that can be life-threatening. It may lead to dengue shock syndrome, the severest form of the disease. Symptoms, in addition to classic dengue include:
- Haemorrhage or bleeding inside the body
- Petechiae, i.e. purple splotches, or small red spots, blisters under the skin
- Bleeding from the nose or gums
- Black stool
- Easy bruising
Using mosquito repellents, fixing mesh on windows and doors, using mosquito nets,cleaning and drying sites that breed mosquitoes such as buckets, flower pots and barrels and maintaining a garbage-free surrounding will help in keeping the severity of the dengue fever at bay.
