Dr. Rakesh Valotia

With viral fever on the rise it is advisable to prevent yourself against dengue and chikungunya. Dengue is caused by a family of viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes. It is an acute illness of sudden onset that usually symptoms such as headache, fever, exhaustion, severe muscle and joint pain, swollen lymph nodes, and rash. The presence of fever, rash, and headache is particularly characteristic of dengue. 

Most common symptoms of dengue are:
Symptoms, which usually begin four to six days after infection and last for up to 10 days, may include

• Sudden, high fever
• Severe headaches
• Pain behind the eyes
• Severe joint and muscle pain
• Fatigue
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Skin rash, which appears two to five days after the onset of fever
• Mild bleeding (such a nosebleed, bleeding gums, or easy bruising)

How to diagnose and prevent against dengue?
Diagnosing dengue fever: Blood test to check for the virus or antibodies to it .IgG AND IgM for Dengue Fever.

Prevention against dengue fever:

1. Stay away from heavily populated residential areas, if possible.
2. Use mosquito repellents, even indoors.
3. When outdoors, wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants tucked into socks.
4. When indoors, use air conditioning if available.
5. Make sure window and door screens are secure and free of holes. If sleeping areas are not screened or air conditioned, use mosquito nets.

Role of Ayurveda in treating dengue: 
Ayurveda believes in treating a person as a whole, it means that it focuses on the patient as a person, as well as his pathological condition. Ayurvedic remedies are selected after a full individual examination and case analysis, which includes the medical history of the patient physical & mental constitution, family history, presenting symptoms, underlying pathology etc. An Ayurvedic practitioner tries to treat more than just the symptoms present. The focus is not on curing the disease, but to cure the person who is sick; to restore for health. If a disease pathology is not very advanced homeopathic remedies to give a hope for cure; even in incurable case the quality of life can be greatly improved with Ayurvedic remedies.

Infertility is defined as a condition where a woman is unable to conceive a child despite having 1-2 years of unprotected sexual intercourse with a male partner but help for conception can be sought after 6 months of trying pregnancy. In over half the cases, infertility is usually with the male partner which is characterised by a low sperm count. Infertility causes social anxiety as well as relationship problems among couples and can severely affect the self-esteem of the person.

Symptoms

Male infertility tends to have certain tell tale signs some cases or no apparent reasons in other cases. In some cases, male infertility occurs due to underlying medical conditions like genetic problems, widened veins around the testicle or hormonal imbalances and some of the symptoms could be like:

1. Recurrent problems during sexual intercourse due to severe pain in the testicular zone.
2. You might lose your ability to smell due multiple instances of infections of the respiratory system.
3. There might be a reduction in the body hair.
4. Abnormal sperm count.
5. Lack of sexual desire

Causes

Some of the common causes of male infertility could be:

1. past injury or surgery of the testicles.
2. erectile dysfunction.
3. premature ejaculation.
4. sexually transmitted infections.
5. testicular deformation along with low sperm count.
6. Blockage of the ejaculatory

In other cases, the reasons could be:

1. obesity
2. old age
3. mental anxiety
4. excessive alcohol consumption
5. diabetes or as a
6. side effect of radiation therapy
7. prescribed medications to treat other existing ailments within the body

Diagnosis and Treatment

The infertility of the male partner is usually diagnosed by your specialist by evaluating the medical condition and past histories of surgical procedures, sexual practices etc. Infertility can also be diagnosed by analysing the semen.

The treatments for male infertility are varied and depend on the severity and the exact cause of the condition. Male infertility can be treated by hormonal replacement therapies and procedures, counselling or medication (for erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation) and procedures to retrieve sperm which is then used for artificial insemination.