What is Dengue Fever?
Dengue is a type of viral disease that spreads through the bite of a mosquito breed called Aedes mosquito. This virus does not spread directly from person to person. Once the mosquito bites a person with dengue, it carries the infected virus in it. When this infected mosquito bites a healthy person, it causes dengue and the spread continues through their bites.
This fever spreads mostly during the rainy seasons, as waters stagnate around many places. This makes it easy for the mosquito to multiply, as they use even a small amount of water to lay their eggs and breed them.
Common Signs and Symptoms of Dengue Fever in infants
Parents always face difficult times when their infants get sick. It gets even worse when the kids cannot express the discomfort or the pain they undergo during sickness. Dengue is a kind of flu disease which is easily misinterpreted for flu or cold. In general dengue, affected children will look similar to any other children as symptoms can be mild at the start of the infection. After 4 to 10 days the symptoms will start with common childhood infections such as flu followed by fever.
If a baby develops a fever, it is our first priority to monitor them and check for any other symptoms. Have even a closer watch when it happens to be the rainy season. Some of the symptoms that a baby develops after being infected by a dengue virus are listed below.
- High Fever: A sudden rise in body temperature to 103°F or 104°F in a baby, causing a high fever.
- Rashes: The baby with dengue develops skin rashes which are spotted over most of the body. It appears to be a flat or small raised red spot.
- Vomiting: Vomiting more than three times in a day may be a symptom for dengue. The babies get dehydrated which may lead to some complications. This needs medical attention.
- Irritability: Babies become fuzzy or cranky due to the discomfort caused due to illness, muscle and joint pain. They look very tired due to lack of energy.
- Bleeding gums or nose: In severe infection of dengue, kids may seem to have an unusual bleeding in the gums and nose region.
- Other symptoms may include pain behind the eyes, sunken eyes, Nausea, severe headache and muscle and joint pains.
Stages of Dengue in babies:
Dengue fever has three stages of progressive infection in a baby’s body. Dengue can be asymptomatic or mild or even be severe depending on the seriousness of infection. The three stages of infection in babies are explained below.
Stage 1- Febrile Phase
This stage starts with high fever which may last for 2 to 7 days in an infant. The fever may cause other symptoms like rashes, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhoea or lack of appetite. When a fever prolongs for more than 3 days, it immediately needs medical attention.
Stage 2- Critical Phase or Severe Dengue
After 24 to 48 hours the symptoms show severity in it. The temperature remains shooting up and there may be traces of blood in the vomit or poop or in the gums and nose regions of a baby. This may lead to hospitalisation of the kids as continuous monitoring is needed.
Stage 3 – Recovery Phase
The baby is slowly recovering from the aftermath of dengue infection that lasted for more than 10 days. The babies in this stage need close monitoring as they have to recover completely.
Diagnosis and Treatment of Dengue fever
Diagnosing dengue infection in babies is quite a concern as they may simply appear as a common sickness. Few ways are adopted to diagnose the infection in kids like.
- Physical examination : Checking for high fever or any body rashes in babies is done by a doctor.
- Blood Tests: A blood test is made after 24 hours of the first fever. The test confirms the infection and its type. It also scales the severity in the tested babies. Medication is given according to it.
There is no specific treatment for dengue virus. Some clinical management includes giving paracetamol or acetaminophen that can reduce fever and body pain. In case of dehydration, intravenous fluids and electrolytes (salts) are given through veins. If needed a blood transfusion is also done.
How to care a baby at home
Parents must take necessary steps to keep the baby comfortable to handle the discomfort due to fever.
- Always keep the rooms ventilated to regulate the body temperature of the baby. Loose clothes can be used.
- Controlling the fever with medication or by giving a cool water sponge bath to lower the baby’s temperature might be helpful.
- The babies must be kept hydrated by breastfeeding for newborns to 3 years old. Toddlers and preteens can be kept hydrated by drinking water, or drinks with electrolytes. The babies must be at watch for any signs of any dehydration and immediately visit the doctor to restore hydration in the body.
- Massage their body as that may ease the body pain for them. Always be there with the kids as it acts as an emotional support for them to recover soon.
Tips for parents to prevent dengue attack
- Prevention is always better than the cost of cure and the pain it takes. So parents must always take the best measures to avoid dengue in infants.
- The first steps to be taken is to avoid mosquito bites by using a mosquito net during the baby’s sleep time.
- Remove all the stagnant water around the living home to prevent mosquitoes from breeding.
- Limit outdoor activities during the dusk when mosquitoes are more active.
- Always monitor the babies for any symptoms and consult the paediatrician to reduce the risk of infections.
