What is Dengue?

Dengue is a mosquito bite-transmitted viral infection which can cause an acute flu-like illness. At first, it causes flu-like symptoms but can result in life-threatening complications if not treated on time. 

Dengue fever influences people of all age groups but the occurrence is higher in people in their 50s.

Dengue fever has symptoms such as fever, chills, and headache.  The symptoms of dengue fever usually develop after 4-7 days of being affected by the infection. Proper diagnosis and treatment are necessary to cure Dengue Viral. But in some cases, dengue fever can be changed into a much more severe disease like dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF).

Female Aedes Aegypti bites are responsible for Dengue. These mosquitoes are found in polluted waters of coolers, Flower Vases buckets etc and usually these mosquitoes are most commonly seen during the daytime. 

Dengue Fever Symptoms

Symptoms of Dengue are usually confused or mistaken with other Seasonally Viral or cold-like illnesses responsible for causing body aches and fever. The most common symptoms of Dengue are:

• Nausea

• Vomiting

• Rashes on the body

• Muscle or bone pains

• Body ache

• Severe headache

• High fever

Some rare symptoms of dengue include bleeding, low blood pressure and a severe reduction in platelet count. 

If you or your loved one experience any of these symptoms then you should consult a doctor and get a blood test for dengue tests. Sheetal Chaaya is a specialist in tests for dengue that help in the timely diagnosis and effective management of the disease.

How To Diagnose Dengue?

A blood test for dengue is consulted if a person is having muscle pain, weakness, fever or has any other symptoms of dengue. A  blood test for dengue is the only way to confirm dengue infection. However, the type of Dengue test may depend on the time of infection and the appearance of the symptoms of the dengue virus. For that reason, you may consult a doctor before having a blood test for dengue.

Different types of blood tests are – 

Blood test for dengue

 Acute dengue fever is related to low amounts of haemoglobin and red blood cells. Dengue virus can damage the platelets therefore a low platelet count would be seen in a Complete Blood Count Test.

Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) 

This test verifies the existence of the dengue virus in the blood. It can be done as early as possible as the symptoms start showing.

Antibody testing

In dengue fever, various types of antibodies are produced by the body at different times. The levels of these antibodies over time are a great way to identify the infection.

What happens during a dengue fever test?

Your doctor will probably ask about your symptoms. If an infection is suspected, you will get a blood test to check for the dengue virus.

During the sample for a blood test, The pathologist professional will put a needle in your vein and will collect the blood into a vial or test tube. You may feel a little pain like a pinch when the needle goes in or out. This process generally takes less than five minutes for the test.

Preparation for the blood test for dengue?

There are no special requirements or preparations for a dengue fever test.

Are there any risks to the test?

There is no risk or very little risk that you may feel bruising or slight pain at the point from where blood was collected, but these symptoms go away quickly.

What do the results mean?

A positive result of a blood test for dengue means you probably have been infected by the dengue virus. A negative impact can mean you aren’t infected or you were tested too soon for the virus to show up in testing. 

Treatment – Blood Test for Dengue 

The treatment is usually symptomatic, so if someone has a fever or body pain due to dengue, he/she needs to have fever medicines or painkillers to bring down fever, body pains, or headaches. The Patient with Dengue Virus should drink plenty of fluids and take proper rest. Drinking water at regular intervals or any drink with added electrolytes will be most helpful. Patients not having acute dengue virus or serious symptoms can be treated at home with proper care, but if the symptoms are severe, getting admitted to the hospital by the advice of your doctor will be a good decision to avoid further complications is the wisest choice.

Prevention of Dengue

• Use of mosquito nets

• Use of natural repellents and spray insecticides

• Maintaining clean environment

• Prevent stagnation of water