From kids to older adults, dengue can affect people of all ages and can be a particularly severe condition in young children. It’s a common illness globally, with up to 1 lakh cases reported a year.
Check out this extensive blog to know what dengue is, dengue symptoms in kids, risk factors associated with dengue, how it’s spread and its various stages.
What is Dengue?
Also known as dengue fever, dengue is a potentially deadly viral infection that is caused by the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito. It can be a particularly exhausting & painful disease and includes a variety of symptoms notably a high fever.
What are the symptoms of Dengue?
Following are some of the common symptoms caused by dengue that can also be witnessed in kids:
- High fever
- Intense headaches
- Severe fatigue
- Extreme muscle, bone & joint pain
- Pain behind the eyes
- Shivering chills
- Skin rash
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Diarrhoea
- Mild bleeding, like bleeding gums/nose
Severe dengue cases may exhibit these symptoms:
- Considerable reduction in blood pressure
- Red spots, especially in the leg region
- Bleeding under the skin
- Bleeding into the intestines
What are the risk factors of Dengue?
Risk factors of dengue include the following:
- Living in or travelling through tropical, subtropical or dengue-endemic regions like Africa, South America, Central America, Pacific Islands, Caribbean & Southeast Asia
- Previous medical history of dengue raises the risk of experiencing severe dengue symptoms and potentially dengue hemorrhagic fever
- Children have a higher risk of severe dengue infection
How does Dengue spread?
Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection which is spread via mosquito bites of the Aedes aegypti and the Aedes Albopictus species. There exist 4 different kinds of dengue viruses which cause this infection.
It’s important to note that dengue is not a contagious disease and requires a mosquito carrier to spread it. If the mosquito bites a dengue-infected person, then it can spread the disease to other nearby humans it bites after an incubation period of around 8-12 days.
What are the stages of Dengue?
Dengue consists of 3 phases, namely the febrile phase, critical phase & convalescent phase in this order. These phases commence after the incubation period of broadly 3-15 days (commonly 5-7 days) after the infected mosquito bite.
Febrile phase: This phase duration is around 2-7 days and showcases warning signs indicative of progression into the critical phase.
Critical phase: The critical phase gets started when the febrile phase is concluding. It lasts for around 24-48 hours, generally from Day 5-7. During this phase, most patients who have received appropriate treatment experience health improvement. However, some patients may also develop severe dengue, usually due to a lack of proper treatment.
Convalescent phase: This phase typically begins after Day 7. Patients normally experience enhancement in health and start to recover with platelet & white cell count generally starting to rise.
Conclusion
Early diagnosis of dengue fever is important to prevent severe symptoms such as hemorrhagic fever. A diagnostic test for dengue comprises taking a blood sample for detecting the presence of antibodies to the dengue viruses.
If you are experiencing symptoms of dengue or have recently travelled to a tropical, subtropical or dengue-endemic region, then it’s recommended to get a dengue diagnostic test done as a precautionary measure.
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