National Dengue Day 2024: Dengue is a mosquito-borne disease that is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about half of the world’s population is now at risk of dengue with an estimated 100–400 million infections occurring each year.
Every year, on May 16 National Dengue Day 2024 is observed to raise awareness about the disease and ways to prevent it. When infected with dengue virus, most people will not have symptoms.
According to Mayo Clinic, mild dengue fever causes a high fever and flu-like symptoms. The severe form of dengue fever, also called dengue hemorrhagic fever, can cause serious bleeding, a sudden drop in blood pressure (shock), and death.
As there is no specific treatment, dengue fever is treated symptomatically with pain medicines. In most cases, dengue fever can be treated at home with pain medicine.
According to WHO, Acetaminophen (paracetamol) is often used to control pain. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen and aspirin are avoided as they can increase the risk of bleeding.
“…if you have dengue fever, you should avoid other OTC pain relievers, including aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) and naproxen sodium (Aleve). These pain relievers can increase the risk of dengue fever bleeding complications,” Mayo Clinic reveals.
In July last year, Delhi government’s Department of Drugs Control asked the pharmacists in the city to not sell nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) drugs like aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen without doctor’s prescription.
When NSAIDs are taken during dengue infection, they can prevent blood platelets from forming blood clots which can be deadly for people suffering from vector-borne illnesses like dengue and chikungunya.
What are the symptoms of dengue?
Some of the symptoms of dengue include:
- Headache
- Muscle, bone or joint pain
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Pain behind the eyes
- Swollen glands
- Rash
The infection also causes causes a high fever — 104 F (40 C) and the symptoms usually begin four to 10 days after you are bitten by an infected mosquito.
How dengue is treated?
There is no specific treatment for dengue till now. While recovering from dengue fever, drink plenty of fluids. According to Mayo Clinic, the over-the-counter (OTC) drug acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) can help reduce muscle pain and fever. In case of severe dengue, you may need:
- Supportive care in a hospital
- Intravenous (IV) fluid and electrolyte replacement
- Blood pressure monitoring
- Transfusion to replace blood loss
