The mosquito may seem a very small creature, but can be deadly as they spread quite a few severe infections, with chikungunya being one of them. The disease got its name from an African language, which means to walk bent over.

Chikungunya is a viral disease that is carried by specific varieties of infected mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus). It was originally confused for dengue, which is another mosquito-transmitted infection, but then called out as a separate disease. Both diseases start off with non-diagnostic symptoms including fever, rashes, fatigue, anaemia and headache. Dengue could be distinguished by the lowered platelet count, while the persistent joint pains and eye pain could be the distinguishing factor for the chikungunya.

The mosquito is the vector, which picks up the virus from one infected person and spreads it to another person. The virus does not spread directly from one person to the other. Once it reaches the blood stream, it multiplies in the body, and over a period of 1 to 12 days, the symptoms begin to appear.

Symptoms: The symptoms of chikungunya are listed below, which reflect the effects on the body.
The symptoms are generally nondiagnostic and generic including fever, rashes, joint pain, muscle aches, eye pain, fatigue, tiredness, lethargy, headaches, nausea, and vomiting. The eye pain which occurs behind the eyes and the joint pains are the indicative symptoms, which point to chikungunya. In fact, the joint pains make the patient assume a stooped posture, and that is where the name chikungunya was originally derived from.

Most of the above symptoms subside over a period of 10 to 15 days but the joint pain continues. In fact, in many, it can continue to exist for months and even years and eventually develop into rheumatoid arthritis.
Though chikungunya is not a fatal disease by itself, it can produce long-term symptoms which can be severely disabling and affect the quality of life.

Anybody who is bitten by the infected mosquito can develop the disease, but there are some groups of people at a higher risk. These include newborns, the elderly people, and people with chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and chronic heart disease.

However, once infected, the person develops immunity and future infections do not happen unless their immunity is severely compromised.

Treatment: There is no specific treatment, and symptom relief is provided through rest, hydration, pain killers for joint and muscle, antipyretics for fever, and avoiding aspirin.
While there is no vaccine for chikungunya, preventing exposure to mosquito bites when you are travelling and preventing mosquito breeding and reducing exposure to mosquitoes by using repellents and nets are advisable.

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How to prevent dengue fever

A painful, mosquito-borne disease, dengue (pronounced dengue) fever is on the rise. While in some cases, it has proved to be fatal, in most cases dengue is curable. There is no vaccination available to protect against this fever. So the best way to avoid is to take precautions.
Here are a few precautions you can take against dengue.

1. Avoid public spaces - avoid densely populated residential areas, as more the people, more the virus can spread.
2. Use insect protection - use mosquito repellents and nets when indoors. Use repellents when going outdoors; this is especially important for children playing outdoors.
3. Use air cooling - use the fan or the air-conditioning when indoors as the air-cooling drives the mosquitoes away.
4. Prevent entry - close all doors and windows tightly before sunset. Ensure there are no gaps for mosquitoes to come indoors.
5. Check for symptoms - if you have any of the symptoms, consult your doctor. It is advisable to keep yourself aware about the symptoms so one can react quickly if needed. Some of the symptoms are:

Severe headaches.
Nausea.
Vomiting.
Sudden rise in body temperature.
Mild bleeding in the gums or nose.
Severe muscle and joint pain.
Acute pain behind the eyes.

The one confusing part of dengue fever is that it can be mistaken for normal fever upon onset. However, it can develop to serious problem. People with a weak immune system and people who have had dengue before, are at the higher risks of contracting this again, and at a bigger scale.



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Typhoid fever is a bacterial disease caused by a bacteria Salmonella typhi. It spreads through consuming food or water that has been contaminated by stool of an infected person. The bacteria spread rapidly through your blood and causes a range of ailments.

It can cause bleeding in the intestine and perforations. This results in stomach pains, nausea, vomiting, and sepsis. Repair of intestinal damage may require surgery. In less frequent cases, typhoid can result in inflammation of muscles, linings, and valves of the heart. It can also cause pneumonia, meningitis, kidney infection, bladder infection, and inflammation of the pancreas. It may also result in delirium.



Symptoms-

The symptoms of typhoid infection start appearing within 1 to 3 weeks depending upon the virulence of the infection. The common symptoms are-

  High fever
  A headache
  Weakness
  Confusion
  Agitation
  Loss of appetite
  Red spotting on skin

Vaccination-

Vaccination is the most effective measure to prevent typhoid. There are two methods of vaccination- inactivated typhoid vaccine shot and an oral dose of live typhoid vaccine. One dose of inactivated typhoid vaccine is enough to protect you against the infection. A booster dose may be required every 2 years. You must consume four doses of live vaccine every alternate day. The capsule must be consumed orally, at least one hour before a meal. A booster may be required every 5 years.

What to know before immunisation-

  The inactivated vaccine should not be used in children below 2 years. The live vaccine is not recommended for use in children below 6 years.
  You should wait to get live typhoid vaccine if you are suffering from a pre-existing fever or infection. If you are on antibiotics, you must not take the oral vaccine until 3 days of discontinuing the medicine.
  People with immunodeficiency diseases such as AIDS should take inactivated typhoid vaccine shots instead of the live vaccine.
  Anti-malarial medicines should not be used until 10 days of a typhoid shot.
  Extremely serious side effects resulting from typhoid fever vaccine are very rare. It is generally safe for use.
  The inactivated vaccine may cause fever in 1 person in 100. It can also cause a mild headache, stomach pain, rashes in a person. Although serious allergic reactions are extremely rare, notify the doctor as soon as possible.

Typhoid affects 21 million people worldwide and causes 2,20,000 deaths annually. It can be fatal if it goes untreated. Therefore, it is crucial for people living in a typhoid prone zone to be immunised.

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Some of the homeopathic remedies for fever are:

    Aconite: This is for fever with restlessness and anxiety. The patient is seen with an increased thirst for cold water and intolerable body aches. Aconite is considered in fevers which have increased post sudden exposure to cold winds.
    Bryonia Alba: This is used in fever with body aches. A person with a fever might want to lie down all the time in order to get relief from the body aches and even the slightest movement might cause them pain. An increased thirst for water is also seen.
    Nux Vomica: This is a holistic cure for fever with shivering. This is made of natural substances and is of great help in cases of shivering and chilliness. A person with this fever might want to remain covered all the time.
    Gelsemium: This natural remedy is very beneficial for fever where the patients suffer from dizziness, weakness and a tendency to faint. This condition is marked by an absence of thirst.
    Rhus Tox: This remedy is considered to be the first choice in people who have fever along with extreme restlessness and body aches. A person experiencing this type of fever might want to remain in motion throughout in order to avoid the restlessness. This remedy is also given for fevers as a result of getting wet in the rain.
    Homeopathic Medicines for Fever with Flu or Influenza type: Influenza is a viral infection and is characterized with sudden fever, cough, pain in eyes, body aches, headaches, and pain in eyes. The homeopathic medicines that are of great help in influenza are Aconite, Gelsemium and Eupatorium Perfoliatum. Aconite is given in influenza when cold air exposure is the cause. This is usually followed by an immediate fever and nasal discharges. Restlessness and anxiety are also seen with fever. Gelsemium is the best cure for a runny nose and sneezing along with pain in head and eyes. The patient might also have drowsiness and weakness. Eupatorium Perfoliatum is of great help in fever with influenza, when the patient has extreme pain. This remedy has no side effects and provides instant relief from pain.
    Homeopathic medicines for fever with malaria: Malaria is characterized by fever accompanied with chills and excessive sweating. The homeopathic medicines for malaria are Gelsemium, Arsenic Album, Nux Vomica and Eupatorium Perfoliatum. The patients who benefit from Gelsemium usually complain of absence of thirst and extreme chilliness. Arsenic Album is of help in people who are easily exhausted and need some water at short intervals. Nux Vomica is for patients who prefer to be covered in warm clothes during heat, cold and sweat.

These are only some of the medicines shared for fever, but is better that one must consult a homeopathic practitioner before popping these medicines, as your doctor will prescribe medicines based on your symptoms, which will vary from person to person. 

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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.

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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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