Dhaka sees dengue every year, heaviest through the monsoon and the weeks after it. Most people recover with rest and fluids. The deaths that do occur are usually not from the fever itself, but from a warning sign that was missed or waited out at home.
The dangerous misunderstanding
Dengue commonly turns serious around the third to seventh day, as the temperature comes down. Families understandably read a falling fever as recovery. It can instead be the start of the phase where fluid leaks from blood vessels and blood pressure drops. Watchfulness needs to increase when the fever breaks, not relax.
Go to hospital immediately for any of these
- Severe or continuous abdominal pain
- Repeated vomiting, or not being able to keep fluids down
- Bleeding — gums, nose, blood in vomit, black or tarry stool, unusually heavy menstrual bleeding
- Extreme lethargy, or unusual restlessness and irritability
- Cold, clammy or mottled skin
- Passing much less urine than normal
- Difficulty breathing
These are not “see how it goes overnight” symptoms. In an emergency, the national number is 999.
Paracetamol only
For fever and body ache, paracetamol is the safe choice. Avoid aspirin, ibuprofen and similar painkillers — they increase bleeding risk, which is precisely the danger in dengue. This includes combination cold and flu preparations bought without a prescription, so read what is in them.
Fluids matter more than anything you can buy
Water, oral saline, coconut water, soup, lassi, fruit juice — keep drinking steadily and keep passing urine. Papaya leaf juice and similar remedies are widely discussed; none replaces fluids, monitoring and medical assessment.
Testing
An NS1 antigen test is useful in the first few days; antibody tests become useful later. A falling platelet count is monitored with a blood count, sometimes daily. Your doctor will decide what is needed and when — the tests guide care, they do not replace watching for the warning signs above.
Stopping the next one
The Aedes mosquito bites mostly in daylight and breeds in clean standing water close to home — flower pots and their trays, air-conditioner and refrigerator drip trays, unused containers, tyres, rooftop drums, construction pits. Emptying and scrubbing them weekly does more than anything else. Use nets and repellent, particularly for children resting during the day.
This article is general health information, not a diagnosis. For anything specific to you, please come to the chamber or call 01357-296604 for a serial.
