Symptoms and prevention of mosquito borne diseases

Mosquito Borne Diseases Symptoms, Prevention and Treatment

Certain preventive measures to stay away from the mosquito bites When outdoor use mosquito repellent, but do not spray on the covered area or under the cloth and read the label instruction properly before using the repellent.

Wear protective clothes such as long pants or trousers, socks and a full sleeved shirt that covers all the body.

If you want to take short sleep or prolong sleep four hours use mosquito nets in the daytime as well as in the night.

Take all of the above precautions to protect from mosquito bites if you are travelling to the disease affected place or area.

If possible, avoid outdoor activities during the time of epidemic.

Make your home mosquito proof by installing or using screened doors and windows or keep doors and windows closed if they are without screens.

Clean, cover or empty the water filled things or areas or standing water around your home, pots, cooler, buckets, tanks, drums, used tyres, gutters, pooled water, toilets etc. on a regular basis because these can be the possible mosquito breeding sites and don’t forget to throw out unnecessary items that hold water.

Give special care and attention to the sick, elderly and children as they may be unable to look after themselves properly.

Support government efforts to get rid of mosquitoes and contact them for the fumigation in your locality if there is no such type of activity has been done previously.

Dengue – Symptoms and Treatment Be sure to take special precaution during early morning to daybreak and late afternoon to till evening time because Aedes mosquitoes usually bite during the day. The leading symptoms of dengue are: Headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle or bone or joint pain, skin rashes, nausea, vomiting, low platelet count, low blood pressure, mild bleeding (nose or gum bleeds), small red or purple spots on the skin or easy bruising, pale and cold skin, difficulty breathing, drowsiness and abdominal pain.

Fever may decline after 3 or 7 days and you may feel like you are recovering from the dengue fever, but the patient may suddenly develop severe symptoms listed above (low platelet count, low B.P, mild bleeding, pale and cold skin and abdominal pain) these could be symptoms of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) which often result in death.

Treatment – Dengue vaccine is under the process of development and there is no specific medication for treatment of infection. Get rest, drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration and consult a physician.

Zika – Symptoms and Treatment Zika is another recent mosquito borne illness spread by the Aedes species that is active mostly during the daytime. The symptoms are similar to dengue, and include fever, skin rashes, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise and headache.

These symptoms are mostly mild in nature and do not last for the long time. Zika virus causes brief flu like illness, but the virus can cause birth defects, including abnormally small head (microcephaly) and other neurological complications to the fetus.

Treatment – There is currently no vaccine available and Zika virus disease requires no specific treatment. People infected with this virus should take rest and hydrate well. If symptoms worsen, seek medical care and advice.

Filariasis – Symptoms and Treatment Filariasis or elephantiasis is the serious disease that is passed to people through the bites of mosquitoes. The mosquitoes that carry microscopic roundworms mostly bite between the time of dusk or dawn.

This disease may cause serious symptoms like abnormal enlarged body parts (e.g. legs like an elephant), pain, disability, altered lymphatic system, swelling, inflammation of lymph nodes and recurrent fever with chills and the lots of social stigma too.

Treatment – No vaccine is available and the treatment includes medication to stop the young roundworms, exercise to improve lymph flow, bed rest and treating the swelling and pain. Sometimes antibiotic, hospitalization and surgery is needed against severe infection.

Chikungunya – Symptoms and Treatment The mosquitoes that carry the Chikungunya virus, bites most of the time during the day and the infected person can develop some symptoms such as high fever, joint or muscle pain, Joint swelling, extreme weakness, headache and rashes.

Treatment – There is no vaccine exist to prevent or treat Chikungunya. Fever and pain can be treated only with common medicines and there is no effective antiviral treatment as well, take plenty of rest and drink enough fluids to prevent dehydration.

Chikungunya is rarely fatal it runs for the limited time and a patient may recover within a week, but the symptoms can be disabling and severe, even the joint pain may persist for a long time or months.

Yellow Fever – Symptoms and Treatment Yellow fever is another acute viral infection spread by infected mosquito bite. It can damage the internal organs, especially liver and can be potentially fatal. It shows very mild symptoms such as headache, sudden fever, backache, nausea and vomiting, but the symptoms may get worse if not treated well, that include jaundice, shock, organ failure and bleeding.

Treatment – Safe and affordable yellow fever vaccine are available and the treatment is just a common medication to reduce pain and fever along with proper rest and enough fluid intake.

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