What are the precautionary measures to avoid dengue?

Question

Hello doctor,

My niece has been suffering from dengue fever over the last few days. One of the symptoms she has been complaining about is severe pain behind her eyes. Is this a common sign of dengue, and what could be causing this intense eye pain? I am also worried about how she may have contracted it from a mosquito bite. Could you explain what precautions we should take to prevent mosquito breeding around our homes and avoid future dengue infections in our family?

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Ask her to take plenty of fluids and watch for signs of dehydration (decrease in urination, few or no tears, dry mouth or lips, sunken eyes, listlessness or confusion, cold or clammy extremities.

When involvement of the eye takes place, it is usually bilateral, though it can also present unilaterally. The commonest symptom is blurring of vision; other symptoms include ocular pain, redness, metamorphopsia, impaired color vision, diplopia, eye flashes and floaters, haloes, and photophobia. The involvement of the macula results in the patient being symptomatic, but peripheral retinal involvement, such as retinal hemorrhage, may not be obvious and may be missed by the unaware clinician and the non-symptomatic patient, implying that the true incidence of eye involvement in dengue may be underreported.

Please get a fundus examination done in case of severe pain. Personal protection from infection can be done by:

Mosquito repellants - Issues related to personal protection for the prevention of mosquito bites are discussed separately.
Insecticide spraying - Distribution of insecticide-treated curtains was successful in reducing populations of A. aegypti mosquitoes for up to 18 months in several studies and was associated with reduced human and mosquito infections with DENV (dengue virus) in one region, although use of the curtains declined with time. Insecticide spraying in response to dengue outbreaks is not highly effective, since A. aegypti mosquitoes frequently breed inside the houses.
Vaccine development - Infection with one DENV type provides long-term protection against reinfection with that same type, supporting the feasibility of an effective dengue vaccine. Following infection with one type, there is short-lived immunity and cross-protection against disease caused by the other three DENV types

I hope this helps.

Thank you.