If your fever rises suddenly, i.e. suppose today you have a fever in the afternoon, it was seen that your fever rose to 102-104 degrees at night. This type of fever is called “viral fever”.

If this severe fever is accompanied by chills, cough, sore throat, then this group is called ‘Influenza Like Illness’.

And if this severe fever is accompanied by body pain, pain behind the eyes, severe headache, then we can suspect this group of patients as dengue fever.

Dengue patients usually have high fever for the first 3 days. However, dengue patients deteriorate usually within 3-7 days and those who have had one or more previous bouts of dengue.

★ How to understand, dengue patients will be worse?

1. If the patient has abdominal pain.
2. If the patient vomits three or more times in the last 24 hours.
3. If the patient is bleeding from any part of the body (from the root of the tooth, from the nose, with vomiting, with stool, etc).
4. If there is water in the chest and stomach.
5. Too fast if the platelet count falls and too fast if the hematocrit count rises.

If the above dengue patients do not receive adequate fluid management, they go into the “critical phase”.

★Which patient do we call “critical”?

1. If a patient has fluid in his chest and stomach and if the patient has difficulty breathing, this stage is called “plasma leakage”.
2. If there is a lot of bleeding from the body and the blood pressure decreases (plus pressure decreases).
3. If there is an organ failure.

★Patients who need to be admitted to hospital:

1. Patients with danger signs (discussed above)
2. Critically ill patients.
3. If the dengue patient has pre-existing conditions such as hypertension, diabetes.
4. If dengue patient is pregnant.

★What tests should be done if dengue is suspected:

1. Dengue can be detected by NS1 test up to the first 3 days of fever.
2. Dengue can be detected by Dengue IgM test within 3-7 days
3. “Dengue IgG test” can be done to find out if you have had dengue in the past.
4. But in all cases it is better to do “CBC” test, this test shows platelet count and hematocrit count and facilitates “fluid management” which is very important in dengue treatment.

Dr. Abdullah Al Mamun

MBBS, BCS(Health)

Medical Officer

Upazila Health Complex, Kumarkhali, Kushtia.