Dengue is caused from the bite of the  Aedes Aegypti  mosquito. This mosquito has been known to breed and survive in tropical and subtropical regions. A waterborne disease, it causes extreme discomfort and pain, even death is a possibility. Statistics suggest that each year, the number of people afflicted with dengue is around 390 million. Out of this huge number, 96 million tend to develop severe illnesses wherein hospitalization becomes mandatory. 


Causes
It is primarily caused due to the bite of the  Aedes aegypti  mosquito.
A mosquito becomes infected with dengue if it bites an already infected person. The disease can be transmitted to any healthy person that this infected mosquito bites next.
Living near a stagnant water body or an open drain makes you the most vulnerable to this disease. Letting water accumulate in open containers or spaces over a period of time makes it the perfect breeding ground for all types of mosquitoes. 


Symptoms
On being infected, the symptoms generally last for around 10 days. Some of the common symptoms are:
Excruciating pain behind the eyes
Severe headache
Sudden high fever with chills
Vomiting
Fatigue
Skin rash which generally appears two to five days after you get infected
Nose bleeding, easy bruising and bleeding gums
Severe muscle and joint pain


It should be noted that these symptoms can be easily mistaken for high fever or any other viral infection. Therefore, getting tested as soon as these symptoms start appearing is very important.


If the dengue is left untreated or not treated on time, it can result in dengue haemorrhagic fever. This condition causes nose bleeding (due to damage to the blood vessels), high fever and failure of the circulatory system as well as the enlargement of liver.


Ways to prevent dengue include
Avoid storing water in containers
Wear clothes that cover your whole body, if possible
Maintain hygiene and clean your immediate surrounding frequently
Use mosquito repellent
Use a mosquito net around your bed 


In worst case scenarios, death is a possibility as a result of dengue haemorrhagic fever or dengue shock. Many countries consider dengue to be an epidemic. You need to be on complete bed rest while drinking adequate amounts of fluids if you need to recuperate from dengue.


Treatment
There is no specific antiviral medication that is available for the treatment of dengue. In general, Acetaminophen (paracetamol) is usually recommended for treating fever and pain associated with dengue. Medications such as Aspirin, other salicylates, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) must be avoided.

Dengue - Can You Prevent Yourself from it?

Viral fever refers to a wide range of conditions caused by viral infections of the body. These infections lead to an elevation of body temperature, along with a variety of other symptoms such as headaches, body aches, chills and skin rashes. Viral fever can affect people of all age groups and may even be highly contagious if it is not contained and treated.


What causes viral fever?
Viral fever is caused by the infestation of viruses that spread through various avenues. These viruses enter the body and multiply at a specific site, leading to an infection that manifests itself as the symptoms of fever. This fever may be chronic or acute, depending on the nature of the infection and can easily spread from one person to another.


Some of the ways in which viral fever spreads are as follows:
Aerial transmission (coughing and sneezing).
Sexual transmission.
Consumption of contaminated food and water.
Contact with contaminated surfaces.
Contact with infected animals.


The symptoms of viral fever begin to show after an incubation period during which the virus multiplies within the body. The nature and duration of the illness varies from case to case. The most common symptoms of viral fever that accompany high body temperatures include the following:
Muscle soreness
Fatigue
Nasal congestion
Running nose
Redness of the eyes
Headaches
Coughs
Inflammation of the throat
Skin rashes
Vomiting
Diarrhoea


How is viral fever treated?
A case of viral fever can be quite easily treated if there is an absence of complications. For this, the illness simply needs to be diagnosed early. The use of antibiotics and steroids for treatment is advised against unless the infections have escalated beyond a certain extent. Some of the ways to treat viral fever are:
Prescription of antiviral medication
Adequate bed rest
Ample fluid intake
Administration of nasal decongestants


In most cases, the illness gets treated within the span of a few days. However, if the symptoms persist any longer, it is advisable to consult a specialist to check for underlying problems or complications.

Have Viral Fever? Know the Reasons Behind It!

Are you aware of dengue, a fever which is currently on the rise? Dengue is a painful fever, which is caused by one of the four dengue viruses. It is a mosquito borne disease. The virus which causes dengue is related to yellow fever causing virus. Dengue is also referred to as break bone fever. It is transmitted via the bite of an Aedes mosquito infected with dengue. This type of fever has no proper cure and hence, prevention is the best policy.

Symptoms
The symptoms of dengue start appearing four to six days after the infection. They include sudden, high fever, pain behind the eyes, fatigue, nausea, severe muscle and joint pain, skin rash, vomiting and mild bleeding in the nose or gums. In some cases, the symptoms are very mild and are commonly mistaken for another viral infection. Severe problems such as the dengue hemorrhagic fever may occur from the infection.

Treatment
The juice from the leaves of carica papaya mixed with sucrose is given to a patient, which helps in increasing the count of platelets. This may lead to some movement.

Prevention

There is no vaccine, which immunizes dengue and the best way of prevention is to prevent yourself from getting bitten by infected mosquitoes, especially if you live in a tropical climate. The prevention tips include protecting yourself and making an effort to reduce the mosquito population. Here are some important prevention tips for dengue:
Stay away from residential areas which are very heavily populated.
Use mosquito repellents, even when you are at home.
Wear long sleeved clothes and long pants when going out.
Make sure that your windows and doors do not have holes in them. Use mosquito nets while sleeping, if you do not have an air conditioner.
Get rid of places and areas where mosquitoes can breed in order to reduce their population. These may include cans, old tyres and areas where rain water gets collected.
If someone at home gets dengue, you should make efforts to protect yourself and the rest of your family members. A mosquito, which bites an infected family member, may spread the infection to others as well.
In case you experience any symptom of dengue, it is important for you to consult a doctor immediately. He will be able to guide you with a proper diagnosis and treatment based on the latter.

Dengue Fever - Why Prevention Is Better Than Cure?

The rains almost always bring about a plethora of diseases with fevers of different kinds. Dengue, typhoid and chikungunya can be regarded as the top three tropical fevers and diagnosing them sometimes become quite tricky as all of them have similar symptoms and the laboratory tests are not always precise. The best you can do is be aware of the early symptoms and signs as successful treatment is heavily dependent on the detection of early symptoms of the fever you are suffering from.

Dengue

Causes: Dengue is considered as a serious viral ailment and is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. This fever occurs in two varieties, uncomplicated fever and the more serious haemorrhagic fever. The latter is the second leading form of the viral disease, leading to bleeding and shock and in the most severe instances. It can also be fatal, especially for children.
Symptoms: The symptoms may vary as per the age and physical condition of the patient. If you are affected with a sudden onset of very high fever along with headaches, rashes and pain behind the eyes, with loss of appetite and vomiting tendencies, then you must consult a doctor. It can also cause weak pulses, difficulty in breathing, restlessness and bleeding from the nose or gums along with blotchiness under the skin.

Typhoid
Causes: Typhoid is a bacterial ailment and mainly occurs due to unhygienic toilet habits, impure drinking water, and it can be transmitted to others through flies, food, faeces, touch and fornication.
Symptoms: The most common symptoms of typhoid fever include high fever, rashes all over the skin, cough, headache and loss of appetite. You may also experience coated tongue, malaise and diarrhoea or constipation. In case you are experiencing any of these signs, then you must seek medical help.

Chikungunya
Causes: Chikungunya fever is a viral ailment that is transmitted to human beings by infected mosquito bites. It is the leading cause of human epidemics in some parts of the African and Asian continents and it has now recently moved to some parts of Europe.
Symptoms: The chikungunya virus infection leads to symptoms that may be debilitating for some people. Fever, rash, fatigue and headaches along with muscle and joint pains are some of the most common symptoms of chikungunya. Some patients have reported excruciating joint pain and arthritis that can last for a week or even months together.

If you are faced with any of these symptoms for over three to four days, then you should not ignore them and seek medical assistance without any delay.

3 Tropical Fevers - How to Differentiate Between Them?

With the change of season, we all have to be geared up for the increase in the number of mosquitoes in and around our homes, and among these is one such mosquito, which can be fatal for your life. The bite of the  Aedes aegypti  mosquito causes Dengue. This mosquito survives and breeds in tropical and sub-tropical areas. It is a waterborne disease and causes extreme pain, discomfort and in some cases even death. Each year 390 million people are inflicted with dengue out of which 96 million develop serious illnesses and are required to be hospitalized.

Causes:
1. As mentioned above it is caused by the bite of the  Aedes aegypti  mosquito.
2. When a mosquito bites a person who already has dengue, it becomes infected and it can be transmitted to any healthy person this mosquito bites next.
3. If you already have dengue and are infected again then you have a higher chance of developing dengue hemorrhagic fever or a dengue shock which can even cause death.
4. Living near a stagnant water body, or accumulating water in open containers, staying in the vicinity of clogged drains and open windows can also expose you to the threat of Dengue.

Symptoms:
The symptoms can last to about 10 days after one gets infected. The symptoms are as follows:
1. Excruciating pain behind the eyes
2. Severe headache
3. Sudden high fever.
4. Vomiting
5. Fatigue
6. Skin rash which generally appears two to five days after you get bitten.
7. Nose bleeding, easy bruising and bleeding gums.
8. Severe muscle and joint pain.

These symptoms can be mistaken for high fever or viral infection, so it is important to get tested as soon as you start experiencing these symptoms. If dengue is not treated in time, it can give rise to dengue hemorrhagic fever. In this case, you can suffer from high fever, nose bleeding (damage of blood vessels), failure of the circulatory system and enlargement of liver.

You can also prevent dengue by avoiding storing water in containers, keeping your surroundings clean, wearing full body clothing, using mosquito repellants, sleeping under a mosquito net and setting mosquito traps. Dengue is very devastating and can cause death in worse cases as in dengue shock or dengue hemorrhagic fever. Dengue is now an epidemic in many countries. People affected with dengue need to drink a lot of fluids and take plenty of rest. They can also reduce the fever by having a paracetamol.

Dengue - Signs You Must Be Careful About!

Chikungunya is a viral disease transmitted to people by the bite of an infectious mosquito known as Aedes Aegypti. The chikungunya infection is most prevalent in Africa, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent and Indian Ocean islands, where various incidents of these disease and certain outbreaks have occurred over the years.

Humans and different animals are the regular hosts for the chikungunya virus, which can turn out to be very painful if it is not treated on time with proper medical care and intervention. The virus is spread to people by the bite of a female mosquito called Aedes aegypti or Aedes Albopictus. These are the same tropical and sub-tropical mosquitoes that spread the dengue virus. They breed in or close to human habitations and want to feed on people during the daytime in shady zones. These are likely to bite you at during the early hours of the evening or at night. The hatching time frame (time from disease to sickness) can be anywhere between two to 12 days.

Symptoms: Chikungunya infection is characterised by the following symptoms:

1. High or blazing fever
2. Extreme joint pain for the most part in the arms and legs
3. Headache
4. Pain in the muscle
5. Pain in the back
6. Body ache
7. Rash (in about 50% of the infected people)

A vast majority begins to feel better following 7 to 10 days but a few people will go through longer term joint pain.

Treatment:

1. There is no particular medicine to prevent chikungunya. There is no antibiotic that can help in doing away with it - it usually abates on its own. Chikungunya treated on the basis of a patient's symptoms. However, there are some precautions and alternate medications that can be used as a cure.

2. Bed rest, liquids, and medication to soothe side effects of fever and hurting. Asprin should be avoided.

3. Personal protection and a hygienic environment is important to prevent the growth of the illness.

Since this virus does not have a vaccine or any particular medicine, one should try to stay away from mosquitos as much as possible. Covering yourself up while travelling, especially in the evening is the best approach to prevent it.

Preventive Tips and Treatment for Chikungunya

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