Dengue Fever And Nutrition

Dengue is a viral disease spread by the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. Dengue is endemic to many tropical countries.

Know the symptoms of dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever. The signs of dengue fever are high fever, rash, vomiting, headache and severe joint pain. The symptoms for dengue hemorrhagic fever are more severe and can include respiratory complications, abdominal pain, bleeding, bruising and shock.

When talking about nutrition for dengue fever one cannot forget continuous rest and intake of water to the required amount which should be observed from the initial stages itself. It is more secure to consult a doctor if the above mentioned symptoms persist for more than 3-4 days. There are some people who are infected with the disease but no external symptoms. This is a very serious case as the disease will be brought to the notice of others only after it reaches the dangerous conditions. 

Yet there is no specific cure for dengue infection but the disease could be controlled to a large extent with the use of drugs

Sufficient nutrition can save many lives suffering from the illness. Do not delay to consult a physician or a doctor as it might get hard to cure under serious conditions. Scientists have taken actions on developing specific drugs and nutrition for dengue fever which are still on the progress. Hope they will give a better solution to this Health issue in the years to come. No one can detect the fact if a mosquito is carrying the disease or not.  Therefore one should take enough care to limit mosquito bites as far as possible. It is advisable to wear long dresses with full sleeves in order to cover your whole body.  Use bed nets and electric vapor mats to prevent mosquitoes. 2 hours after and before sunset are recorded as peak hours of mosquito biting.    

A mosquito becomes a dengue virus carrier only after biting an infected person therefore it is the responsibility of the patient to protect from mosquito bites.  

Paracetamol help to bring down fever and it is advised to use it only after the said time intervals. Aspirin and brufen could develop the risk of bleeding and reduce platelets therefore it is suggested to limit those drugs to be on the safe side. Antibiotics cannot help this. Platelet transfusion has to be done only in the case of very law platelet count and bleeding.

What to drink:

Purified water, coconut water and other healthy water preparations: lemon water, turmeric water, herbal water (with tarragon, lemon grass, mint)

Coconut juice replenishes electrolytes, minerals and other trace minerals lost by the body to dehydration.

Vegetable juices – carrots, cucumber, sweet potato tops, papaya leaves, moringa juice and other green leafy vegetables.

Studies show that pure organic vegetable juices can provide all the basics of human nutrition.

Fruit juices – papaya, oranges, guava,

"Prevention is better than cure". This saying is very true with dengue fever as it could be prevented.