Some years ago, we learned that the young daughter of an acquaintance died of Dengue. Having children of my own, I got scared because of it and so whenever my kids get a fever, I’d always ask the pedia, “Could it be Dengue? Don’t we have to test for it? When are we going to do a blood test?“
Talk about being paranoid, huh?
Anyway, last July 12, 2016 I was invited to attend a very informative talk about Dengue and all the concerns about it. I am so glad that I went because it has answered all my questions about the dreaded infection. I’ll be sharing them with you here, of course!
1. Dengue is contracted when one is bitten by an infected female Aedes Mosquito. If you will look at it under a microscope, this kind of mosquito is the one with striped legs. One can only get Dengue when he is bitten by this kind of mosquito and not by coming into contact with one who has Dengue Fever.
2. There are 4 Strains of the Dengue Virus. If you have gotten Dengue, it only makes you immune to that particular virus for your lifetime. You are still not immune to the other 3 however. The good news is that the new Dengue vaccine that is available is a tetravalent kind and makes you immune to the 4 strains of the virus.
3. Aedes Mosquitoes are Day Biters. These mosquitoes bite all day long, with their peak biting at 2 hours after sunrise and 2 hours before sunset. They favor moving subjects, which make active kids likely targets.
4. Prevention of Dengue is Better than Cure. Here are some steps to avoid Dengue:
- Remove all Potential Breeding Places of Mosquitoes
- Clean or change water in planters
- Clean or put holes on tires so that they do not accumulate water
- Clean or throw away trees that have fallen
- Clean the gutters
- Clean or throw away used tarpaulins or plastic
- Basins must be overturned
- Cover water storage containers/drums
- Make sure you have fishes in aquariums/grotto ponds
- Avoid Mosquito Bites
- Wear pants, long sleeves, socks, shoes
- Use mosquito nets
- May apply mosquito repellants/patches
5. Symptoms of Dengue
- High continuous fever that lasts for 2-7 days
- Hemorrhagic manifestations such as bleeding of the nose or gums
- Nausea/vomiting
- Skin Rashes
- Loss of Appetite
6. There is no Medicine to treat Dengue. Only the symptoms are managed. These are what we can do at home:
- Get enough bed rest
- Take plenty of fluids
- Use lukewarm sponge baths
- Give Paracetamol (like Calpol) for fever, as recommended by the WHO. Avoid Aspirin of Ibuprofen as these may aggravate gastritis of bleeding in dengue fever.
7. Go to the doctor if:
- Fever lasts for more than 2 days
- Fever is associated with any of the following:
- Vomiting
- Rashes
- Abdominal pain
- Poor appetite
- Weakness
- Drowsiness
8. There is no Need to be Hospitalized for Dengue. Once the doctor has assessed the patient, he/she may be sent home as the symptoms can be managed at home. Do visit the doctor daily however until the temperature is normal again.
9. Severe Dengue is Life Threatening. Severe dengue infection on the other hand, is life threatening and requires immediate medical attention, as the first 24-48 hours after severe symptoms emerge are critical to avoid complications. These are the warning signs of Severe Dengue:
- Severe abdominal Pain
- Bleeding Nose and Gums
- Persistent Vomiting with/without blood
- Drowsiness, confusion, seizures
- Difficulty Breathing
- Pallor, Cold/Clammy Hands or Feet
10. We have Allies Against Dengue.
GSK Consumer Healthcare Philippines has partnered with the Department of Health (DOH), Mercury Drug Corporation, CNN Philippines, and Smart Parenting.com.ph in a collective effort to be Allied Against Dengue.
Being an ally means you pledge to protect your family, to be proactive in the fight against Dengue, and to extend this vigilance to the entire community. This effort includes distribution of Dengue primers in public schools and health centers. This also includes the education of proper Dengue fever management, among others.
Calpol mom, Jolina Magdangal-Escueta pinning the allied against dengue (AAD) badge.
Health and medical experts answer questions in the open forum. L-R: DOH Undersecretary Dr. Enrique Tayag, Philippine Pediatric Society Vice President Dra. Salvacion Gatchalian, DOH Disease Prevention and Control Bureau Director Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy, GlaxoSmithKline General Manager Heather Pelier, and Calpol mom Jolina Magdangal Escueta.
Knowing is half the battle.
I choose to be a proud ally against dengue by sharing what I’ve learned. You should too!
I’m a paranoid mom so if my son has fever for two days, we immediately go to the hospital. Takot din ako sa dengue because we have family members na nagkadengue na. Yes, not all cases need iconfine.
These are really helpful information. I have already contracted dengue twice already so everyone at home has a dengue killer at hand. We also put the plug-ins where it’s anti-dengue. For the dengue vaccine that you’ve shared, I heard in the news before that there were side effects for children had shots of it. So I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to have that vaccine done now until it’s fully approved by several international health bodies/ organizations.
Every time my toddler has a fever I gave him a paracetamol tempra before but right now ayaw nya na ng taste ng tempra that’s why I switch to Calpol. Infairnes gustog gusto nya ang taste. Dengue is anywhere at walang pinipiling lugar we should be careful and watchful talaga,.
Thank you for spreading information on how to protect our families from this illness especially now that it’s rainy season when dengue is prevalent. Hubby is maswerte(?) he caught all 4 strains na so no worries na sya. Hehehe
I love this blogpost. Very clear and informative. Major “”Ooooh” in #2 and #8. I’m now calling my son’s pedia for that dengue vaccine! Thank you so so much!
I had a dengue, stage 3 when I was in primary school. I could remember the daily blood tests and how weak I was that time. I like how you build awareness here. Knowing is indeed only half the battle. 🙂
This is good information. Given that it’s the rainy season again, we really need to be extra careful and take extra precautions to ensure that we don’t get bitten by mosquitoes.
My brother and I were dengue survivors. I was about 13 or 14 back then. We both were admitted at the hospital and we stayed there for a few days. I’m happy it wasn’t that critical and that our platelets were not so low.
I’m very vigilant when it comes to preventing dengue. Though I was surprised to learn about some things here like there’s no need to be hospitalized. It’s sad that there’s still no cure for dengue.
Yes dengue is really scary.I had it twice.Luckily there were no complications.We should all be vigilant against it.
We’re really scared of contracting dengue, so we do everything at home to prevent attracting dengue-causing mosquitoes. We also put mosquito repellent sticker on our son’s uniform when he goes to school.
As a dad of a 1 yr old daughter, I, too, would be paranoid enough and protect her from this kind of illness. I’ve had Dengue myself and it wasn’t a pleasant experience being confined in a hospital for almost a week. Everytime I see mosiquitoes flying around in daylight, I shiver and try to kill them immediately.
Every parent must be vigilant and cautious when they see danger signs or possible breeding grounds of these mosquitoes.
When I think of Dengue, I remember children who had dengue and had to be hospitalized. Knowing how platelets drop makes me cringe at the thought of my children. Luckily, hindi pa naman na dengue ang mga anak ko. Pero this is nice, an awareness campaign and your post is one that gives value and educate us to know how to take precautions.
I just wish GSK will be more compassionate to young people by lowering the prices of their vaccines aside from promoting their medicines.
That is scary stuff , reminds me of Malaria . Your post ist a great source of invaluable information. Thanks for sharing and creating awareness.
Im one of dengue victims, I would never forget that day where every day I got injected. 🙁 I’m glad that we have vaccines now for dengue. We need to fight this life threatening mosquitos.
This is an informative post. Dengue is very dangerous, it killed a lot since it was discovered and we should know this things for us to have an idea if what we or the kids are having is a simple influenza or flu
This is such a helpful and informatice article. I experienced dengue several times when I was a kid and it’s really a hassle for the patient and for the parents. It’s good that there are now events covering this sickness as it is one of the things we should really care about. A small bite can really put someone’s life in danger.
This is very helpful. Dengue is not new to us, but still it took lives every year. It’s very important that people should know what to do to save lives. Thanks for sharng this!
Hayy nakakaparanoid talaga ang Dengue. Buti na lang our pedia has a good and patient head on her shoulders. Thanks for the info! We need to be educated with this.
If the Dengue Vaccine is safe then I would definitely invest in it for my kids and I. Nice to know that there is now prevention for this.
I know a boy who died of Dengue that’s why I am really scared of Dengue. We go to the hospital immediately whenever my one of children has fever. Thank you for sharing more information about it.
If my kids get feverish na parang walang reason, I get so paranoid so takbo agad sa ER for tests and all. This is very informative sis! 🙂 Saved it
Thank you for taking the time to write this post about dengue. I know it will be very useful to many. I haven’t had dengue before but it terrifies me as my boyfriend almost died of dengue when he was little. It sucks that we don’t have a vaccine for it yet.
Thank you for sharing these information! Coincidentally, I made my daughter wear “dengue attire” today to school ’cause there were dengue cases na raw in their school. It’s better safe than sorry.
even if it just a common fever its better to go and see a doctor, thank you for sharing
these are very informative. its is caused by the Aedes Aegypti type of mosquito. there are ayurveda treatments for dengue