What Are The Signs and Symptoms?
Here’s the low-down on dengue fever: All it takes is one bite from one Aedes mosquito to infect a person. It is also important to note that the signs are not immediate after the bite — the virus would usually takes five to eight days to incubate before symptoms begin to appear.
Due to the fact that there are different severities of dengue fever, the symptoms can vary and are categorised into these three stages below.
Mild Dengue Fever: Symptoms of this stage can appear up to seven days after the Aedes mosquito bite, and usually disappear after a week. The good news is that this form of the disease hardly results in serious or fatal complications. Symptoms of mild dengue fever are:
- Aching muscles and joints
- Body rash that can disappear and then reappear
- High fever (40°C) for up to a week
- Intense headache
- Pain behind the eyes
- Vomiting and feeling nauseous
- Bleeding from your mouth/gums
- Nosebleeds
- Clammy skin
- Considerably damaged lymph and blood vessels
- Internal bleeding, which can result in black vomit and feces (stools)
- Lower number of platelets in blood – these are the cells that help clot your blood
- Sensitive stomach
- Small blood spots under your skin
- Weak pulse
Dengue Shock Syndrome: This is the worst form of dengue, with fatality rates up to as high as 50%. Along with mild dengue fever symptoms, signs that are likely to appear are:
- Intense stomach pain
- Disorientation
- Sudden hypotension (fast drop in blood pressure)
- Heavy bleeding
- Regular vomiting
- Blood vessels leaking fluid
- Death
What Precautions Can We Take?
Although there are neither vaccine nor drugs that can successfully prevent the infection of dengue, certain precautions can be done to prevent the breeding and biting of Aedes mosquitos.
1. Mosquitos are more active during early mornings, late evening and night; which is why it’s advised to stay clear of dengue hot spots and breeding grounds during these times.
2. Install mosquito screens in windows and doors.
3. Prevent mosquito bites by wearing socks, shoes, long pants and/or long sleeved tops.
4. Insect repellents are your best friends. If you’re not a fan of the spray on types, get anti-mosquito patches.
5. Take note and clean up potential breeding grounds around your home and surroundings:
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