Let's take the time to destroy the larvae in the workplace to avoid dengue outbreaks

 Let's take the time to destroy the larvae in the workplace to avoid dengue outbreaks

So far this year, dengue has not become an epidemic in any particular place, but the virus is constantly spreading. Recently, it has been reported that dengue virus has affected 71 districts in Nepal. That is, even before the onset of monsoon, Nepal is almost dengue-free.

Generally dengue is seen more in monsoon and post monsoon season. Past experience shows that if it takes the form of a major disaster, it seems to increase immediately after the monsoon, but if it appears in the post monsoon, it takes the form of a disaster in a particular place. At present, as dengue is taking an aggressive form, the measures to control it seem disappointing.

Dengue is uncontrolled when the mosquito completes its life cycle and starts biting. The widespread spread of mosquitoes is the ringing of the dengue epidemic. With the onset of monsoon in Nepal, there is hardly any doubt that the number of mosquitoes will increase rapidly in the coming days. Just one bowl of water is enough to complete the life cycle of a mosquito. After completing the cycle of seven to 10 days, the mosquito reaches adulthood. Egg, larva, pupa will become adults. Since mosquito eggs are not visible to the naked eye, the campaign to destroy them should be accelerated when they reach the larval stage (can be seen with the naked eye). But even after the onset of monsoon, there is not much interest in forming a group to identify possible places where water can freeze and destroy the larvae.

Even in the past, if there was not much interest in mosquito control or if interest was given only after dengue became an epidemic, thousands of people had to be infected with dengue and the number of deaths also increased rapidly.

It is found that many pay more attention to avoid dengue infection, especially around their house, which is not unnatural. But at the place where they work, many people do not seem to give time to find and destroy the larvae. In fact, it is the author's experience that mosquito bites are more frequent in his workplace. In the 2019 dengue epidemic, many patients were residents of places where dengue was not seen/spread. But he used to get infected when his workplace was in a dengue-affected area. Many school students who were studying in dengue outbreak areas were also infected. From these examples, it is clear that mosquitoes are especially active or biting during the day. Dengue is spread by Aedes mosquitoes. It is active on most days.

Therefore, since most of us are at our workplaces and schools during the day, we should make a rule to find and destroy mosquito larvae at least once a week.

Fever, sore eyes or rash, severe headache, muscle and joint pain, nausea or vomiting, and the appearance of small red bumps on the body are the initial and main symptoms of dengue. These symptoms appear within four to 10 days of infection. Bleeding can lead to more complications and even death if not treated on time.

It is found that the severe pain of dengue causes the patient the most restlessness. Many patients shared their experience with the author that the pain of dengue was more severe than that of covid-19. From 2019 to 2022, dengue seems to have become more violent and deadly. During the Kathmandu epidemic of 2022, the author saw around a dozen patients collapsing unconscious in front of the emergency room every day. But before 2019 or so, such a problem was not seen in dengue patients. From this, it is clear that we will have to face another aggressive and deadly dengue challenge in the coming days.

Finally, it is the writer's experience that previously dengue patients in Kathmandu were especially those who had gone to study in the neighboring country of India. Since 2010, dengue patients have been seen in abundance in Kathmandu. Since then, the Aedes mosquito that spreads dengue has also started to increase abnormally. At present, this mosquito has started to appear in significant numbers in Kathmandu since pre-monsoon and will gradually become widespread. With the increase of mosquitoes, dengue virus will also gain prevalence.

To stop dengue, it will be mandatory to break the life cycle of mosquitoes. When predicting a complex dengue outbreak in the coming days, it is not enough to count the number of dengue infected and dengue affected districts. Every rural municipality/municipality should immediately take the larva destruction campaign into action. Because pre-monsoon is the 'golden time' for mosquito control. If we fail here too, we will see 'mass casualty' without physical injury due to dengue in the country. This means that infected people will be seen everywhere with pain like broken bones. Unfortunately, there is no effective medicine to relieve the severe pain of dengue. So, at least once a week, let's take the time to look for mosquito larvae around our workplace and destroy them if found.

There is no specific medicine for dengue, what is the cure?

Dengue fever is a painful and debilitating infectious disease caused by mosquito bites. The disease is transmitted by the dengue virus, which enters the human body through the bite of the Aedes mosquito.

As most of the symptoms of dengue are similar to common viral fever, most people ignore the fever as viral. It is said that people who are infected with dengue virus for the second time have a higher risk of serious illness.

Dengue fever is a deadly disease transmitted by mosquitoes. Therefore, it is very important to understand about dengue to protect your health. In the summer and especially in the rainy season, mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue increase.

It seems that dengue patients are increasing with summer in Nepal for the last few years. In case of dengue infection, the number of platelets starts to decrease. Therefore, if you have a fever in summer, you should be tested for dengue.

In case of dengue, apart from fever, there is headache, muscle and joint pain. Apart from this, symptoms such as pain behind the eyes, weakness, loss of appetite, sore throat, bad taste in the mouth, and spots on the body can also be seen.

How is dengue?

Dengue is usually transmitted by the bite of a female Aedes aegypti mosquito. These are a special type of mosquito. These mosquitoes bite especially in the morning. There are four subspecies of dengue virus namely dengue-1, dengue-2, dengue-3 and dengue-4.

The virus enters the mosquito when the mosquito bites an already infected person. The disease is spread when the mosquito bites a healthy person and the virus spreads through the person's blood. Once recovered from dengue fever, they become resistant to certain subtypes of the virus, but not to the other three types of virus. If you are infected a second, third or fourth time, you may have severe dengue fever. Which is called dengue hemorrhagic fever. Frequent infections increase the possibility of hemorrhagic fever.

Symptoms of dengue fever

- Sudden onset of high fever

-Severe headache

-Severe pain in joints and muscles

- Pain behind eyes

-Swollen lymph glands

- Nausea

- Vomiting

- itching

- Fatigue

How to prevent dengue

- Aedes mosquitoes bite during the day. Especially in the mornings and evenings, since the chances of getting bitten are high, you should wear clothes that cover the whole body and apply mosquito repellent ointment on the visible parts of the body.

- Put nets on the windows of the house to prevent mosquitoes from entering, and spray mosquito repellants inside the house in the corners as well. After spraying the medicine, the windows and doors of the house should be closed for at least 15 to 20 minutes.

- Aedes mosquitoes are found in clean and frozen water. Water containers or tanks should always be covered. Do not allow water to freeze around your home, workplace and public places, and keep water stored inside the house properly covered.

- If necessary, appropriate pesticides can be used. To reduce the possibility of the development of a breeding ground for mosquitoes, containers that can collect water should be covered and the surface should be cleaned thoroughly.

- Water stored inside the house should also be well covered.

- In the morning, afternoon, at night, you should only sleep with a swing.

- You should wear clothes that cover the whole body.

- Water stored inside the house should also be well covered. It should be kept well covered so that mosquitoes do not enter. In addition, the place where water can freeze should be cleaned regularly to prevent water from freezing.

- Items that are not useful and can be filled with water such as bottles, tires, plastic items should be disposed of in such a way that water does not freeze.

- Spray insecticides around your home, workplace and school in dark corners such as behind curtains, under beds, inside toilets, under desks and benches.

What to eat if you have dengue?

fruit

According to nutritionists, enzymes like emopapain and papain are found in fruit. Which helps to increase the number of platelets in the blood (Dengue treatment). Therefore, people suffering from dengue are advised to eat nuts.

Coconut water

In case of dengue, it is advised to drink coconut water. It contains many nutrients such as antioxidants, amino acids, enzymes, and vitamin C. Which helps to keep the body hydrated. Dengue fever causes weakness in the body, in such a situation consuming coconut water is beneficial.

Turmeric

According to experts, dengue patients should consume turmeric. It has anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. They work to increase metabolism and immunity. Drinking turmeric milk before going to bed at night is beneficial for dengue.

Amila fruits

In dengue fever, it is suitable to eat sour fruits like kiwi, orange. Its consumption is considered beneficial. Eating these fruits in dengue fever strengthens immunity. And, you can get rid of dengue. After dengue fever, consumption of these fruits can increase immunity.

What not to eat if you have dengue?

Dengue patients should stay away from things like tea, coffee, soda or soft drinks. This can cause the problem of dehydration. It can be harmful in dengue fever.

Spicy food should be avoided in dengue. Consuming it can increase acidity and stomach related problems. Recovery from fever can also be a problem.

Dengue patients should not be given fried food. It increases fat and can weaken the immune system. If this happens, it may be difficult to get rid of the fever.

greasy food

Dengue patients should not eat foods with a lot of oil and spices. Choose only light food for any food. In fact, fatty foods contain a lot of fat, which can lead to problems like high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Dengue treatment

There is no specific treatment for dengue fever. Getting timely care can help prevent serious illness. There is no specific medicine for the treatment of dengue infection. If you think you have dengue fever, you should rest a lot and drink plenty of fluids. If you have symptoms such as decreased urination, dry mouth or lips, sleepiness or confusion, cold hands and feet, you should consult a doctor immediately.

Paracetamol helps reduce muscle pain and fever. In dengue fever, antiplatelet drugs should not be taken without doctor's advice. But if it is dengue fever, in order to avoid the risk of bleeding complications due to dengue fever, you should not take other painkillers except paracetamol without the doctor's advice.

If you start to feel uncomfortable in the first 24 hours after the fever subsides, you should immediately go to the hospital to check for complications of dengue fever.

Fluids should be taken in plenty. This is very important, because during vomiting and high fever, the amount of fluid in our body is very low. Regular intake of fluids ensures easy hydration in the body.

Hygiene is very important for dengue control. If dengue patients pay attention to hygiene, it will help them to recover quickly.