It is rainy season in Bangladesh. Now the incidence of Dengue fever is rising. But there is a confusion works in our mind. Is it dengue or Chikungunya? Dengue effects in our country specially from May to September during the warm and rainy time. As dengue doesn’t spread as normal viral fever, it’s spread through a species of mosquito named Aedes. This mosquito not only help dengue but also help Chikungunya to be spread all over. 

How Dengue Spreads

If a dengue virus effected Aedes mosquito bites any human, then he or she will start suffering from dengue fever within six to ten days. Now if a non-dengue effected Aedes mosquito bite that infected person then that mosquito become dengue carrier and this way dengue spreads from one mosquito to another and bite after bite by effected mosquitos spreads from one person to another person. Even it can spread from one person to another person directly.

As I have seen in our national paper The Daily Prothomalo, Dr. Govinda Chandra Roy, associate professor of medicine department of Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College, said, "This fever heal in normal process within days but in some cases it can be critical complexity in the body. But there is nothing to be so worried. If you follow all the advices from the doctors, then within few days you will get well”  

Signs and Symptoms 

Dengue fever is usually a severe fever and it creates severe pain in the body as well. Fever can rise to 105 degrees Fahrenheit. There will be severe pain in body, especially bone, waist, back pain and muscle aches. Headache and pain behind the eye. During the fever of four or five days, reddish grains are seen throughout the body. Nausea may occur also with vomiting. 

The patient may get excessively tired and his taste of taking food decreases. This situation can get complicated at any time. As well as other problems, if blood starts to fall from different parts of the body. For example: under the skin, with nose and mouth, from gums and tooth, with cough, blood-borne, fresh blood or black closet with the toilet, blood can be seen in the eye and out of sight. 

For female cases if the menstrual periods or bleeding starts, then blood flow may continue for many days. During this disease many symptoms like water in chest, lunge stomach, etc. may occur. Sometimes it can be so much complicated that liver become effected and can result in complications like jaundice even in some case kidney failure, renal failure etc.  

When will you go to a doctor? 

There is no specific treatment for dengue fever. However, this fever usually gets heal by itself. So general treatment is sufficient according to the symptoms. However, it is good to consult a physician in this cases.

• If there is any bleeding in any part of the body 
• If the Platelet level decreases 
• When breathing stress occur or stomach lumps and water came in belly 
• When the amount of urine decreases 
• If jaundice occurs or effected by dengue during jaundice 
• Excess fatigue or weakness occurs 
• In severe stomach pain or vomiting.   

Treatment 

Most patients with dengue fever usually get heal between 5 to 10 days. However, the patient must follow the doctor's advice. So that no serious complications of dengue can effect. Dengue fever is actually a hazardous disease, which can be treated like as usual fever as par general symptoms. 

Do’s 

• Taking rest until it gets better. 
• Consumption of sufficient water, coconut water and other liquid foods. 
• If patients do not want to eat, then they can be given saline. 
• Only paracetamol is enough to decrease pain and reducing fever. Medicines like Aspirin or Diclofenac cannot be taken at all. This will increase the risk of bleeding. 
• Fever body can be swabbed with wet clothes.  

Differences between Dengue, Chikungunya and General Viral Fever 

• Like the normal viral fever dengue or Chikungunya doesn’t come with runny nose and cough. 
• In normal viral fever temperature and pain in body doesn’t increase like dengue. 
• Dengue can occur severe fever with trembling, sweating and severe bleeding in the body. But chikungunya fever doesn’t usually create these. 
• The chikunaguna is more likely to occur when joints of the fingers, the ankle joint started to pain. If there is pain in muscles, there is a high risk of dengue fever. 
• There can be rashes in hands, feet and face while effected by chikungunya. But if the dengue occurs then the whole body will get rash. 
• Dengue can massively decrease in number of platelet. However, the number of platelet during Chikungunya do not decrease so much. 
• The Pain in the limbs for Chikunagunya can remain for several weeks after the fever decreases. But when Dengue fever reduces pain in the limbs also decreases. Although chikungunya fever is not that harming but it causes suffering for many days. No other viral fever brings so much suffering. 
• Chikungunya and dengue fever come from the same mosquitoes. Chikungunya doesn’t cause death. A person may have effected by dengue fever for four times. But Chikungunya effects usually once in a life time.  

Prevention 

• As it is a mosquito-borne disease, therefore the prevention, destruction and protective measures of mosquito breeding should be taken. 
• Inside of the house and in outside cans, tinned pots, pottery, bottles, coconut garlands, and the places where it can contain water should be cleaned and there must be no water staying in bucket, mugs or in other households for 4-5days so that mosquitos can breed. Water cannot be stored in the baths, drums, plastics and cement tanks or in the soil pits for four to five days. Mosquito that carry Dengue germs grow more in clear and stagnant water.
• Cleaning the water of the bathroom, flower tub under the porch, under the refrigerator and Ac regularly can prevent the birth of mosquito and dengue as well as chikungunya. 
• Use aerosol or mosquito killing drugs to kill mosquitoes. Aedes mosquito bites during the day, so sleep under the mosquito net during the daytime also. Children should wear full sleeves both pants and shirts instead of shorts. The affected patient should be kept inside the mosquito net on separate beds. Use nets on the doors, windows and ventilators.  

Information taken from:

https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/dengue-fever-reference#1

Quote taken from:

http://www.prothomalo.com/

Images taken from:

https://goo.gl/DHdcrL 

https://goo.gl/KzwBBh 

https://goo.gl/eiyR8W