Dengue Fever in Adults: Symptoms and Treatment

Dengue fever is one of the common infectious diseases that occurs seasonally. If not treated promptly, it will cause life-threatening complications for the patient. Dengue fever in adults and children often has quite similar warning symptoms.

1. What is dengue fever?

Dengue fever in adults is an acute infectious disease caused by the Dengue virus.

This is a disease that can be transmitted from person to person if bitten by a mosquito (with many white sacs on the legs and back) carrying the disease. Compared to adults, children are more susceptible to disease.

Dengue fever can cause pain in the patient's body, especially in the muscles and joints.

Mild dengue fever can cause rash and high fever, severe dengue fever can cause bleeding, sudden drop in blood pressure and rapid death.

2. Symptoms of dengue fever in adults

Symptoms of dengue fever in adults have many similarities with dengue fever in children.

When infected with the disease-causing virus, the patient will experience one of two cases: external hemorrhagic fever or internal hemorrhagic fever.

Symptoms of classic dengue fever in adults (mild form):

In this case, dengue fever in adults will have more severe symptoms than in children, often showing typical symptoms and without complications.

Begins with fever (within 4-7 days after being transmitted by mosquitoes) and is accompanied by symptoms such as:

• Pain behind the eyes.
• Severe headache.
• Joint and muscle pain.
• High fever, up to 40.5 degrees Celsius.
• Rash.
• Nausea and vomiting.

Dengue fever causes internal bleeding:

Patients may experience internal bleeding (gastrointestinal and brain bleeding).

Symptoms of dengue fever in adults causing gastrointestinal bleeding will include a common headache and mild fever, without rash.

After about 2 days, the patient will have bloody stools, black stools or fresh blood, bleeding spots will appear on the skin, fatigue, pale skin...

In case of brain hemorrhage, it will be very difficult to recognize because the symptoms of dengue fever in adults will not be clear.

The patient may only have fever, headache, paralysis of the legs, arms or hemiplegia and then coma, leading to death.

Symptoms of dengue hemorrhagic fever (dengue shock syndrome):

This is the most severe form of dengue fever in adults.

Including all the symptoms of mild dengue fever plus bleeding symptoms, plasma escaping from blood vessels, massive bleeding, and hypotension. blood pressure...

This case often occurs in patients during the next infection, when the body has active or passive immunity to a viral antigen.

After about 2-5 days of infection, the disease will progress seriously. This form of the disease can occur in children and is rapidly fatal.

3. How to treat dengue fever in adults

Can dengue fever go away on its own? In fact, many people do not fully understand dengue fever in adults and how to treat it to prevent complications.

According to experts, dengue fever is a disease with a high risk of complications and the possibility of affecting the patient's life is very high.

Therefore, determining the severity of the disease is very necessary to be able to come up with an appropriate dengue fever treatment regimen.

• Dengue fever treatment phase at home: When symptoms of fever are detected for 2-7 days, the patient can be treated at home and the only treatment is to rehydrate the patient.
• Short-term hospitalization period (12-24 hours): It is necessary to take the patient to the hospital immediately when oral rehydration measures do not bring results and the patient develops bleeding spots under the skin or mucous membranes.
• Long-term hospitalization (>24 hours): Dengue fever patients need to be hospitalized for treatment immediately when they show signs of cold limbs, fever, weak pulse, sore throat, difficulty breathing...

Currently there is no medicine to treat dengue fever. The main treatment method is symptomatic treatment.

When dengue fever in adults is mild, it can be treated at home, allowing the patient to rest and drink plenty of fluids.

Water, use soft foods, lots of water, easy to digest, reduce fever with Paracetamol, cool down when high fever.

Patients need to strictly follow the doctor's instructions, monitor themselves closely at home and go to the hospital for necessary tests (if possible).

4. How to prevent dengue fever in adults?

Dengue fever is a disease that can be transmitted from person to person through mosquitoes.

Therefore, the most effective way to prevent dengue fever in adults and children is:

• Keep living areas and surroundings clean.
• Do not store water indoors.
• Kill mosquitoes by burning mosquito coils, mosquito nets and spraying mosquito killer.
• Clear bushes and sleep under mosquito nets to avoid mosquito bites.

Dengue fever is a dangerous disease with a very high risk of complications. So to protect the health of yourself and your loved ones, everyone should proactively learn about this disease and take preventive measures effective.