Don’t lose time if infected with dengue

Children aged less than 15 years suffer from dengue fever the most. Dengue infection rates are usually high during monsoon and in the slum areas.

Four variations of this virus have been identified. If infected with more than one variation or for the second time, severity of the infection is way more intense.

Since many children are being diagnosed with dengue for the second or third time now, the situation is getting complicated. Meanwhile, many children with dengue infection are being admitted to hospitals in critical condition.

The basic symptoms of dengue virus infecting the body usually show up within four to seven days.

Sudden high fever (almost 104 degrees Fahrenheit), nausea, vomiting, body rash (red rash on the skin during the first or second day of the symptoms being shown up or measles-like red spots within four to seven days), joint or muscle cramps etc. within the first one to five days are the symptoms of dengue fever.

Along with that, some symptoms are recognised as the ‘danger signs’ of dengue fever.

Such as abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, fluid accumulation in the body, bleeding from the nose and gums, extreme fatigue, restlessness, liver getting expanded more than 2 centimetres and increase in the hematocrit level of blood and fast reduction of platelets.

And the ‘fatal’ signs of dengue infection can appear during the fifth to seventh days of the fever.

For example, dengue shock syndrome (which is seen in five per cent of the cases), fluid accumulation in body, faint pulse, decrease in body temperature, blood pressure dropping at concerning rate, excessive bleeding, AST or ALT enzyme of the liver going beyond the level of 1,000 or more, fainting, symptoms of complications in the heart or other organs etc.

·       Consult a physician within 24 hours of a child falling sick with fever. Don’t lose time considering it ‘seasonal fever’. The ‘danger’ or ‘fatal’ signs of dengue show up within this period. So, the child falls into a critical condition. If in doubt, physicians in this season can identify dengue through Dengue NS1 antigen test on the first or second day.

·       If the patient feels extremely sick after 24 hours of the fever being completely gone, it’s necessary to admit them to hospital fast. If needed, blood or plasma transfusion and special treatment has to be taken for dengue shock syndrome. It must be remembered, actual complications start only after the fever is gone.

·       If provided with proper medical care, there’s only one per cent of chance for a dengue patient to die. But, if there’s the shock, it can go up to 40-50 per cent. Dengue is more lethal for children suffering from simultaneous multiple-organ failure, medical over-hydration and long-term disease like diabetes and asthma.

·       Even now taking various measures to avoid being beaten by dengue-virus-carrying mosquito is the best way in the world for preventing dengue. Such as dressing children in full-sleeved shirts, full-length trousers and socks and sleeping with mosquito nets even during daytime.

*Professor Dr Pranab Kumar Chowdhury, former head of pediatric department at Chattogram Medical College Hospital.