Dengue is rampant in India in this season.In my household,first it was my house keepers 21 years old son and then the 16 years old boy who works at my home and now my 12 years old son.
Currently my son is under hospital care and doing well.Why I felt the need to write this post was to share a little bit more information about the condition.The word dengue spreads a feeling of fear and a dropping platelet and platelet transfusion to a common persons mind.And rightly so.
A golden rule.......see a physician or a doctor who understands the whole dengue disease and the associated management.One or rather two very competent surgeons questioned the need for hospitalization in dengue as it has no cure.Sorry to say but then these guys might be very good in their respective speciality but not masters of all medical field.Why I am mentioning this line at the risk of irking them is that as a common man,for you all doctors are doctors and you tend to ask a 'big doctor' of unrelated speciality who also happens to be a family friend......what to do?If not knowing the disease process well you might be made to think.....no big deal with disastrous results.People do loose life with it.
It is a viral fever which doesn't have any cure as I have already mentioned and body slowly comes out of the infection.While the infection is ongoing it can be very mild with just fever with little changes in the blood tests and patient though with fever is over all not lethargic,not having any bleeding tendency etc.But at the same time it can be quite bad.Initial 3 or 4 days the patient has very high grade fever.There is a phenomenon called haemo concenteration taking place,which I would say in lay man term is that body is severely dehydrated and fluid requirement goes tremendously high.If not compensated for could be one of the reason of collapse and shock seen in patients with not very low levels of platelets. Not all patients showing downward trends of platelets will need platelet transfusion.
To summarize ...don't panic but take it seriously.Consult only a specialist and not a doctor family member of doctor family friend who doesn't understands the interpretation of such subtle blood test.
Take care.
Currently my son is under hospital care and doing well.Why I felt the need to write this post was to share a little bit more information about the condition.The word dengue spreads a feeling of fear and a dropping platelet and platelet transfusion to a common persons mind.And rightly so.
A golden rule.......see a physician or a doctor who understands the whole dengue disease and the associated management.One or rather two very competent surgeons questioned the need for hospitalization in dengue as it has no cure.Sorry to say but then these guys might be very good in their respective speciality but not masters of all medical field.Why I am mentioning this line at the risk of irking them is that as a common man,for you all doctors are doctors and you tend to ask a 'big doctor' of unrelated speciality who also happens to be a family friend......what to do?If not knowing the disease process well you might be made to think.....no big deal with disastrous results.People do loose life with it.
It is a viral fever which doesn't have any cure as I have already mentioned and body slowly comes out of the infection.While the infection is ongoing it can be very mild with just fever with little changes in the blood tests and patient though with fever is over all not lethargic,not having any bleeding tendency etc.But at the same time it can be quite bad.Initial 3 or 4 days the patient has very high grade fever.There is a phenomenon called haemo concenteration taking place,which I would say in lay man term is that body is severely dehydrated and fluid requirement goes tremendously high.If not compensated for could be one of the reason of collapse and shock seen in patients with not very low levels of platelets. Not all patients showing downward trends of platelets will need platelet transfusion.
To summarize ...don't panic but take it seriously.Consult only a specialist and not a doctor family member of doctor family friend who doesn't understands the interpretation of such subtle blood test.
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