Types of Dengue Fever

A dengue infection can be subclinical, i.e. it can go unnoticed with no apparent symptoms. The symptoms of dengue range from mild fever to even fatal condition. These last for a week, but in some cases the fever and other symptoms resurface and stay for 2 or 3 days. Based on the symptoms and their severity, the disease has been categorised as:

Dengue Fever

Adults and grown up children are more prone to being afflicted with these symptoms while young children quite often do no show these at all. They are:

• Sudden onset of fever which lasts 3 to 7 seven days.
• Very painful headache, especially at the back of the eyes.
• Pain in the joints and muscles such as knee, ankle and elbows.
• Unpleasant taste in the mouth, sort of metallic.
• Loss of appetite accompanied by abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhoea.
• Rashes on arms and legs, severe itchiness leading to skin peeling off and hair loss.
• Heavy menstrual periods with minor bleeding from nose or gums.
• Flushing of skin on face and neck.
• Extreme tiredness.
• Second instance of rash as fever subsides.

Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF)

DHF is a complication of the disease that can be fatal. It usually occurs if you have dengue infection more than once.
The symptoms of DHF are similar to DF but can become more severe as detailed below:

• The condition of the patient show rapid deterioration 2-5 days after the fever starts. If the disease is not severe, the signs and symptoms decrease after the fever resolves.
• Patients with severe disease can unexpectedly deteriorate after a few days of fever and develop bleeding from the nose, gums, mouth or in the skin, which leads to purplish bruises.
• In some of these patients after the fever resolves signs of circulatory failure (low blood pressure or shock) develops which can rapidly progress to severe shock or turn lead to death within 12 to 24 hours.

Most of the patients recover quickly following appropriate medical treatment.

Dengue Shock Syndrome

If you are forewarned about the signs of Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS), which follows DHF, the patient can survive. DSS is the severest condition of dengue fever and you must hospitalise the patient if you find notice the following signs:

• Severe abdominal pain.
• Vomiting with blood.
• Mental irritability.
• Fluctuation in body temperature.
• Low blood pressure – due to the “shock”.

You are advised to visit a medical facility as soon as possible if you find these symptoms as DSS can cause death within 24 hours.