The child or baby may have dengue or suspect when symptoms such as high fever, irritability and lack of appetite appear, especially during epidemic periods, such as in summer.
However, dengue is not always accompanied by symptoms that are easy to identify and that can be confused with the flu, for example, which eventually annoys parents and leads to the identification of dengue at a more serious stage.
- Thus.
- Ideally.
- Whenever the child or baby has a high fever and other signs other than the usual.
- It should be evaluated by a pediatrician to identify the cause and initiate the most appropriate treatment.
- Avoiding possible complications.
The dengue child may not have flu-like symptoms or symptoms, so the disease often progresses quickly to the severe stage without being identified. Symptoms usually include:
In children younger than 2 years, symptoms such as headache and muscle aches can be identified by persistent crying and irritability. In the early stages of dengue there are no respiratory symptoms, but what often leads parents to confuse dengue with influenza is fever, which can occur in both cases.
So-called “alarm signs” are the main signs of dengue complications in children and appear between the 3rd and 7th day of the disease, when the fever passes and other symptoms appear, such as:
In general, dengue in children gets worse rapidly and the onset of these signs is a warning about the onset of the most severe form of the disease. Therefore, the pediatrician should be consulted as soon as the first symptoms appear, so that the disease can be identified before entering the severe form.
Dengue is diagnosed by taking blood samples to assess the presence of the virus. However, the result of this test takes a few days and therefore it is common for your doctor to start treatment even when the outcome is not known.
Treatment of dengue begins as soon as symptoms are identified, even without confirmation of diagnosis by blood tests. The type of treatment to be used depends on the severity of the disease and only in the most benign cases can the child be treated at home. Treatment usually includes:
All people, children and adults, can return to dengue, even if they have already had the disease. As there are 4 different viruses for dengue, the person who has contracted dengue once is only immune to this virus, which can still contract 3 different types of dengue.
In addition, it is common for people who have had dengue to develop dengue hemorrhagic fever, so preventive care for the disease should be maintained. Learn how to make a homemade repellent in: dengue prevention.