3 The phases of dengue fever you should be aware of & bull; hello healthy

Entering the change of seasons from dry to rainy or vice versa, the weather generally becomes erratic. During this transition season, dengue hemorrhagic fever aka DHF usually occurs a lot. Dengue fever itself occurs in several phases of the disease. What should be known about the cycle or phase of dengue fever?

The process of dengue fever (DHF)

Dengue fever or DHF transmission occurs through mosquito bites Aedes Aegypti and Aedes albopictus . However, it should be understood that not all mosquitoes Aedes definitely carry the dengue virus. Only mosquitoes Aedes females who have been infected with the dengue virus, which can transmit the virus to humans.

Summarizes the explanation from the Center for Health Protection, a mosquito Aedes females can become infected with the virus if the mosquito previously sucked human blood with an acute fever.

Acute fever can start from two days before the body temperature rises to 5 days after the first symptoms of fever are felt. This is also commonly known as viremia, a condition caused by high levels of the virus in the body.

The virus will then remain in the healthy mosquito's body for the next 12 days. This process is also known as the incubation period. After the DHF virus incubation phase or period is complete, it means that the virus is active and mosquitoes can begin to transmit dengue fever to humans through their bites.

When the mosquito carrying the virus bites a human, the virus will enter and flow in the human blood and then start to infect healthy body cells.

When the body detects the arrival of the virus, the immune system will immediately produce special antibodies that work together with white blood cells to fight it. The immune response also includes the release of cytotoxic T cells (lymphocytes) to recognize and kill infected body cells.

The whole process is an incubation period of dengue fever in the human body, which then ends with the appearance of various DHF symptoms. Symptoms usually begin to appear around four to 15 days of the incubation period, after the first bite of a mosquito carrying the dengue virus.

3 phases that must be passed during dengue fever (DHF)

People who are sick with dengue fever or DHF usually go through three phases of the disease, from the first symptoms appearing until they are completely cured.

This DHF cycle indicates that your body is fighting against the dengue virus carried by mosquitoes.

The phase of dengue fever is often referred to as the Horse Saddle Cycle. It is so called because when it is described, the rate of progression of the disease appears high-low-high, which is similar to a horse's sitting mat.

The following is an explanation of the phases or cycles of dengue fever (DHF) that you should know:

1. Fever phase

The febrile phase is the first phase of dengue fever which occurs as soon as the virus starts infecting.

The most typical symptom that appears during this phase is a sudden high fever of more than 40 º Celsius. High fever usually lasts 2-7 days.

Symptoms to watch out for during the early phase

Together with high fever, the symptoms of DHF in the first phase often include the appearance of a reddish rash typical of dengue fever all over the body and facial skin. In this phase, there will also be complaints of joint and muscle pain throughout the body and headaches.

In some cases, symptoms are found in the form of pain and throat infection, pain around the eyeballs, decreased appetite, to nausea and vomiting.

These early symptoms cause a decrease in the number of white blood cells and platelets that will lead the doctor to a diagnosis of dengue fever. If the fever lasts for more than 10 days, it is likely that the fever is not due to dengue fever.

Meanwhile, in young children who are affected by dengue fever, the initial phase of dengue fever can be characterized by seizures and high fever. The child may also become dehydrated. Children tend to lose fluids more easily when they have a high fever than adults.

What can be done during the early dengue phase

Various early DHF symptoms can make it difficult for sufferers to carry out their daily activities. Most people may have to take sick leave or miss school because they feel so weak.

So during this first phase, dengue fever patients are encouraged to drink more water. Staying hydrated can help reduce fever and prevent dehydration.

When the fever has subsided quickly, it likely means that the dengue fever is not that severe. However, patients must also be continuously monitored because this dengue phase is prone to turning into a critical phase.

2. The critical phase

After passing through the fever phase, people who are sick with dengue fever are prone to experiencing a critical phase which is often misleading.

The critical phase is called tricking because at this stage the fever will drop dramatically to normal body temperature (around 37 ºC), so that the sufferer feels he is healed. Some people even have returned to their normal activities.

In fact, it is in this phase that your condition can turn fatal if you stop treatment. If this phase is ignored and not handled properly, blood platelets will decrease. A drastic decrease in platelets can cause bleeding that is not noticed too late.

Symptoms to watch for during this critical phase

During the transition from the febrile to the critical phase, the patient is at high risk for leaking blood plasma from the vessels, organ damage, and heavy bleeding.

In the first 3 to 7 days after passing the fever phase, DHF patients are very at risk of experiencing vessel leakage. Starting from here, the sign that you have entered the critical dengue fever phase.

Symptoms of leakage of blood vessels in this dengue fever phase can be seen clearly. The signs are that people with dengue fever can constantly have nosebleeds and vomiting, until they feel unbearable abdominal pain. Examination in the laboratory also showed the patient had an enlarged liver.

It should also be noted that the critical phase can also occur without plasma leakage accompanied by external bleeding. So even though you are not bleeding from the outside, your body is actually experiencing more internal bleeding.

What can be done during the critical phase of dengue fever

People who are in this stage or cycle should continue to treat DHF even though they look healthy. The reason is, the person's body condition has not fully recovered.

If you don't get treatment right away, the patient's platelets will continue to drop drastically and can cause bleeding that is often not realized.

Therefore, the only way to get through the cycle or critical period of DHF is to get medical attention as soon as possible. Patients must be treated quickly by the medical team because this critical phase lasts no more than 24-38 hours.

3. The healing phase

If a dengue fever patient has successfully passed the critical phase, he will generally experience a fever again. However, this is nothing to worry about too much. This phase is actually a sign that the dengue fever patient is getting better.

The reason is, along with the increase in body temperature, the platelets will also slowly rise to normal levels. The body fluids that had fallen during the first two phases also slowly begin to return to normal in the next 48-72 hours.

The healing period for dengue fever can also be seen from the increase in appetite, abdominal pain that has subsided, and the routine of urinating which has returned to normal.

In general, people with dengue fever can be said to be cured if the platelet count and white blood cells return to normal after being seen through a special dengue blood test. The time it generally takes for a dengue patient to recover completely is 1 week.

Treatment during the dengue cycle

The first and most important thing to do is to immediately see a doctor as soon as you feel the symptoms of the initial cycle of DHF. The doctor will later diagnose how severe the condition of your dengue fever is, and determine that you should be hospitalized or just rest at home.

Throughout the cycle or phase of dengue fever, it is also imperative that you consume lots of fluids. The fluids that are consumed can not only be obtained from mineral water, but from fruit or vegetables, other foods with food, to electrolyte fluids.

At the start of the dengue fever cycle, it is best to drink electrolytes to prevent plasma leakage which is a critical phase risk. Examples of drinks that contain electrolytes are isotonic drinks, milk, ORS, and fruit juices.

In addition, you can also eat foods recommended for DHF patients. Proper intake of food and drink is very important, especially before and during the critical phase of dengue fever. One of them is by consuming red guava.

Red guava contains thrombinol which can stimulate the body to work more actively to produce more healthy blood platelets. This aims to trigger the formation of new platelets or blood platelets.

However, because patients who are in the DHF cycle need an easy-to-digest intake, it is better if red guava is processed into juice. The water content in the juice is also good for preventing dehydration so that it can accelerate the healing of dengue fever.

During treatment during each phase of dengue fever, patients are also required to take complete rest to speed up the recovery of the body. Resting in bed, taking pain relievers, and drinking platelet-boosting fluids and foods can avoid severe complications from dengue.