3 stages of development of dengue fever

This is an automatically translated article.

The article is professionally consulted by MSc Nguyen Thi Ngoc - General Doctor, General Health Examination Unit, Vinmec Central Park International General Hospital.
Dengue fever is an acute infectious disease caused by a virus. The disease usually occurs all year round, but is most concentrated in the rainy season, when mosquitoes develop and spread the disease. The disease can be seen in all subjects with disease manifestations in 3 stages.

1. The stages of dengue fever

Dengue hemorrhagic fever has very diverse clinical manifestations, ranging from mild to severe, if not detected and treated early, can lead to death due to hemorrhage.
The disease progresses through 3 stages including: febrile phase, critical phase and recovery phase.
Fever phase: Usually in the first 3 days of the illness with the following symptoms:
The patient has a sudden high fever of 39-40 degrees Celsius. Fatigue, headache, eye pain, joint pain, body aches. , there may be inflammation of the upper respiratory tract. Loss of appetite, feeling nauseous and vomiting. Congestive skin, may manifest as petechiae under the skin. The critical phase (also called the hemorrhagic phase): Usually on the 3rd-7th day of the disease. Manifestations of fever may decrease or remain feverish, signs of bleeding from mild to severe, there are various bleeding manifestations (due to thrombocytopenia in the blood), a stage where many complications occur.
The mildest is the phenomenon of subcutaneous hemorrhage: The patient sees hemorrhages under the skin, often accompanied by a feeling of skin itching. Nosebleeds , bleeding gums , women may bleed not related to the menstrual cycle or menorrhagia . Gastrointestinal bleeding with manifestations: Black stools, bloody stools or vomiting fresh blood or blood clots. More severe bleeding can be a sign of a brain hemorrhage, a life-threatening intra-abdominal bleeding. Due to the phenomenon of hemoconcentration, if not enough fluid is rehydrated, the patient may experience hypotension, which is more severe than shock due to a decrease in circulating volume. When the patient has symptoms such as: Struggling, irritable or lethargic, vomiting a lot, unexplained abdominal pain, severe headache, little urine, signs of bleeding, the patient should be taken to the hospital for treatment. timely. Recovery phase: The patient is fever free for more than 48 hours, less tired, overall better, appetite and urinating more often, Platelet test begins to increase.

2. Is dengue fever dangerous?

Dengue fever is a dangerous infectious disease because the manifestations of dengue are very diverse, can range from mild to severe, and currently there is no specific prevention and treatment measure, so the disease can be dangerous. to the patient's life due to bleeding in many forms.
When a patient has signs of dengue fever, they should not be subjective and need to be examined and monitored to avoid life-threatening complications.

3. How to care and treat dengue fever patients

Currently, there is no specific treatment for dengue fever, the main treatment is symptomatic treatment, which is completely compatible with the care regimen.
3.1. Symptomatic treatment Antipyretic: When the fever is < 38.5 degrees Celsius, use physical methods such as applying warm water to the forehead, armpit, groin area, wearing loose and airy clothes. When fever is from 38.5 degrees Celsius, warm compresses combined with Paracetamol (don't use ibuprofen or aspirin to reduce fever because it causes heavier bleeding) at a dose of 10-15mg/kg, 4-6 hours/time. Note that if children have pre-convulsions, they should use medicine when the child has a fever from 38 degrees Celsius. Rehydration and electrolytes: Drink lots of water, use oresol or hydrite to rehydrate and electrolytes. If dehydration is moderate and severe, the patient vomits a lot and cannot drink 0.9% Nacl solution... to rehydrate the patient and electrolytes.

3.2. Mode of care The patient restricts movement and bed rest. Eat easy-to-digest liquid foods, drink plenty of filtered water, water mixed with oresol or fruit juice... Limit the use of red, brown or black foods to avoid confusion with gastrointestinal bleeding. If outpatient treatment requires regular monitoring of the patient when signs of worsening or condition do not improve, the patient should be taken to a medical facility immediately.

4. Dengue fever prevention

Currently, there is no specific preventive measure, prevention is mainly to prevent mosquito bites by:
Eliminate mosquito breeding places, kill larvae/larva by: Cover all water containers. to prevent mosquitoes from laying eggs, release fish into water containers, clean water containers regularly, and clean living areas. Prevention of mosquito bites: Wear long-sleeved clothes, sleep in nets, use mosquito spray, mosquito scent, apply mosquito repellent cream, chemical nets... Dengue fever manifests in three stages, from Day 3 - 7 of the disease is the most dangerous stage, there can be many life-threatening complications. Early recognition of signs of the disease go to reputable medical facilities for examination, diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of dangerous developments of the disease.
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