Dengue fever is a tropical infectious disease and can be life-threatening.
How you can recognize the disease - and how you can protect yourself from it.
A tiny animal is responsible for dengue fever: so-called
tiger mosquitoes
transmit the virus disease. They mainly live in cities and lay their eggs in small waterholes like rain barrels. The bloodsuckers * originally come from tropical regions.
Southeast Asia, Australia, Africa, South and Central America in
particular
are considered risk areas. In the meantime, however, the tiger mosquito is also spreading in southern Europe. Global warming is to blame for this. There have already been cases of dengue fever in Croatia and France. However, many people bring the viral infection with them from their travels. Dengue is the most common viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes, with around 100 million cases per year.
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Dengue fever - an overview of the various disease courses
In most cases the dengue fever goes away on its own. According to tropeninstitut.de, the person affected suddenly gets a
high fever
with a classic course
. There are also
headaches, muscle or joint pain
. These are sometimes so strong that dengue fever is also known as "break-bone fever". The back or eyes can also cause pain. In addition, on the first or second day, a
rash
often
appears that is reminiscent of measles with its small red spots. The fever often comes in bouts - it drops after a day or two and then increases again. The symptoms go away in about a week.
In
dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF)
and
dengue shock syndrome (DSS)
, however, the disease takes a severe course.
However, this only occurs in one to five percent of all cases.
Most of the time, the severe courses develop after a second or third infection with the virus, which can change.
Those affected have already made antibodies, but they cannot do anything against the new form of the virus.
Instead,
the immune system reacts incorrectly
.
The patients suffer from an increased tendency to bleed.
Vascular damage can also occur.
If the disease remains untreated, acute circulatory failure is the result.
This shock can be life-threatening.
Dengue fever: You can tell by these typical symptoms
Dengue fever is difficult to detect at the onset of the disease.
This is because those affected show symptoms that can also indicate other diseases, such as malaria.
If you have a high fever (up to 40 degrees) with symptoms such as
chills, severe joint and limb pain, nausea with vomiting, a rash or swollen glands
, this can be
a sign of
dengue fever.
If complications arise,
symptoms will
appear
three to seven days
after the first signs.
Exhaustion
Persistent vomiting, possibly with blood
Violent abdominal pain
Bleeding gums
Accelerated breathing
In this case, you should seek medical treatment as soon as possible.
Dengue fever: how the doctor treats the disease
If you have dengue fever, the doctor will treat your symptoms with
pain reliever medication and fever reducers
.
The therapy is similar to that for normal flu - provided you have an uncomplicated course.
If complications arise, you must
go to the hospital immediately
.
There you will be given an infusion through your vein to provide you with fluids.
Sometimes blood reserves are also necessary.
Intensive medical care is also required in some cases.
How to protect yourself from dengue fever
There is currently no vaccination against dengue fever for travelers.
The only solution:
protect yourself as much as possible from mosquito bites when traveling
.
Cover as much skin as possible with stab-proof and waterproof clothing.
Protect vacancies with antibodies called repellents.
For sleeping, you can rely on an impregnated mosquito net.
Even rooms with air conditioning keep the bloodsuckers away.
You should definitely throw away standing water.
(lw) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
Further sources:
apothekenumschau
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