Dengue fever is an infection caused by the dengue fever virus. This virus is spread by mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti, in particular. It is also known as breakbone fever.


In the last few decades, dengue fever has greatly spread especially in the developing countries. Dengue fever is also known as bilious remitting fever, breakheart fever, dandy fever and la dengue. Dengue fever, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) has been classified into three types: undifferentiated fever, dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever.


The dengue hemorrhagic is further divided into four grades, grade III and IV being quite serious and even fatal.

The dengue fever is primarily caused by a mosquito bite and spreads because of a lack of hygiene. While it is not contagious, it can also spread through infected blood during transfusion and organ donation.
The signs and symptoms of dengue fever include high fever, a rash on the body and joint pain. Dengue fever is known to cause complications if it is the severe dengue fever. The gestation period can vary from 3 days to 14 days. A sudden fever with a headache is a typical dengue fever symptom. The infection of dengue fever goes through three stages: febrile, critical and recovery. Febrile stage is when the infection breaks out. The patient will show all symptoms include a possible body rash as well as some bleeding from the mouth and nose.

The second stage is the critical stage. You will not see any new symptoms in this stage but the effect of the symptoms from the febrile stage is felt. There can be fluid accumulation in the lungs and in the abdomen due to a decrease in the platelet count in the blood. This fluid buildup can lead to all kind of severe and fatal complications like organ dysfunction and system failure. The patients would be monitored closely at this stage. The final stage of the infection is recovery. The fluid buildup gets absorbed again into the blood. There is a chance of seizures in this stage. Dengue fever tends to also affect other systems in the body. Sometimes the brain or the kidneys get affected. There is almost always some amount of liver damage in case of patients with dengue fever.

Sign and symptoms of dengue fever in children are often different from symptoms in adults. Children experience symptoms like that of a common cold along with vomiting and diarrhea. Children usually suffer from dengue hemorrhagic fever or the dengue shock syndrome. This starts with very high fever, headaches and can often cause circulatory collapse in children. It usually affects children under 10 years of age. In this form of dengue fever, the mortality is very high. Infants who get dengue hemorrhagic fever rarely survive it.

This disease seems to be more common in women and children often get the severe version. People who have chronic diseases that weaken their immune system like diabetes or asthma face the possibility of complications from dengue. The severe form of dengue fever can lead to many complications and often occurs if you have had dengue once. The severe form of dengue is also common in babies and children. The severe dengue has two main complications. One is the endothelium dysfunction. Endothelium is the cells that line blood vessels. And the second is a clotting problem. The endothelium dysfunction causes the fluid to leak out and that is what gets accumulated in the critical stage of the dengue fever. This liquid is accumulated in the chest and abdominal cavities. The clotting disorder is responsible for eventual bleeding complications. Because of such a low platelet count, patients with severe dengue fever have been known to bleed to death. As the effect of the infection gets more severe, other organs start to get affected. Slowly the organs also start to fail.

Diagnosis of dengue fever is done by observing the symptoms and doing clinical tests. Some of the general symptoms one would notice are vomiting, abdominal pain, fever, lethargy and low platelet count. There is a blood test and a tourniquet test which also indicate clotting problems if any. Dengue fever even shares its symptoms with other diseases like malaria, leptospirosis, typhoid fever and meningoccoal disease. Tests are sometimes done to rule others out. Sometimes on the basis of some positive symptoms, doctors begin the treatment for dengue as in the case of severe dengue fever. Waiting for all symptoms to show could possibly mean it is too late to start treatment.

Cure and treatments for dengue fever is still being improved. There is no cure by way of a vaccine for dengue fever. Dengue fever is largely treated with oral medication and intravenous rehydration. In severe cases of dengue fever, there is even a need for blood transfusion. As there is no specific cure, the focus in on the control of the symptoms.

Prevention of dengue fever plays a big role in the treatment and cure for dengue fever. With the help of awareness campaigns, the idea for clean neighborhoods has to spread. Avoid stagnant water so that mosquitoes cannot breed. It is the primary way to prevent dengue. Empty existing pools. Spray the area with insecticide. These are some ways to help in the prevention of the fever. Besides this the World Health Organization also has set up many steps to prevent the spread of the condition.

You can also protect yourself by using adequate amounts of insect repellant. Cover yourself completely, especially if you know people in that area who have been diagnosed with dengue fever or if you have had dengue fever once. The dengue fever mosquito bites only in the day so most protection is needed at dawn and dusk. Some basic remedies that you can take at home, especially if you have typical dengue fever include hydration. You should drink enough water, fruit and vegetable juices. Orange juice in particular can strengthen your immune system quicker. Papayas enzymes are considered beneficial in getting rid of dengue fever virus.