How to care for dengue fever patients

Currently, there is no specific treatment for dengue fever, mainly symptomatic treatment. Treatment usually lasts 7-10 days from the first day of fever. Most patients can be treated at home after being examined, tested and carefully advised on the treatment plan by a specialist.

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Do Duy Cuong, Director of the Center for Tropical Diseases, Bach Mai Hospital, dengue fever makes patients very tired, especially when the fever is high and lasts for a long time. Children need to pay attention to replenishing enough water and taking fever-reducing medicine as directed by the doctor. Dengue fever patients need to eat a nutritious diet, supplement with vitamin C. At the same time, supplement enough cooling and cooling solutions such as soup, coconut water, orange juice, lemon juice, and ORS solution.

Because the patient is tired, increased liver enzymes can lead to loss of appetite, so choose liquid foods, when eating should be divided into many meals. Eat small amounts and many meals a day. Liquid diet provides a lot of water to help compensate for the amount of water lost when having a high fever and lower the body temperature. Avoid solid foods until the fever is gone. Drinking plenty of water is necessary to replace the amount of water lost when having a high fever.

After recovery, you still need to eat well to replenish your nutrition.

Note the signs of severe dengue fever for timely treatment

For patients diagnosed with dengue fever and instructed to monitor their health at home, it is necessary to pay attention to signs of worsening (usually from the 3rd to 5th day of the disease):

- Sluggish, restless, struggling, lethargic.

- Cold hands and feet, usually on the 4th or 5th day of illness, especially when the fever has just gone.

- Vomiting a lot.

- Continuous abdominal pain.

- Abnormal bleeding: Nosebleeds, bleeding gums, menorrhagia, vomiting blood, black stools.

When experiencing the above signs, especially children, must be taken to a medical facility immediately for timely care and treatment.

In some cases, people with underlying diseases such as cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, immunodeficiency disease, tumors, etc. will find it more difficult to treat dengue fever. Therefore, when there are signs of suspicion, people should go to medical facilities for diagnosis, especially in the context that dengue fever can be misdiagnosed with many other diseases such as Covid-19, fever due to bronchitis, flu, etc.