How long does it take for dengue fever to go away?

The article is professionally consulted by Master, Doctor Nguyen Thi Nhat - Infectious Disease Specialist - Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital.

Dengue fever usually progresses quickly, the symptoms get worse with each stage. From the time of illness with the first high fever, the disease will gradually recover in the following 7-10 days.

Dengue fever occurs mainly in countries located in tropical climates. In our country, the disease can be rampant all year round, but outbreaks into a large epidemic and the most complicated development is probably in the rainy season - the peak breeding season of mosquitoes.
Dengue fever is mainly caused by the Dengue virus from the body of the mosquito Aedes aegypti (zebra mosquito). The female mosquito will suck the blood of a host infected with Dengue virus, then this virus incubates in the mosquito's body for 8 to 11 days and then transmits the disease to humans through the bite.

For people who are at risk or are suffering from dengue fever, how long it takes for dengue to go away is as much of a concern as treatment. Like many other infectious diseases, dengue fever has an incubation period of 3-14 days before showing any symptoms, and the incubation period begins 4-7 days after being bitten by mosquitoes. bitten by dengue virus.
The incubation period is short or long depending on each person's condition, location, and immunity. However, during the incubation period, it is almost impossible to detect the disease because there are no specific symptoms, if any, are very faint.
After the incubation period, dengue fever will develop outside, lasting for about 7-10 days, divided into dengue fever stages as follows:
Fever phase: usually lasts for 3 days, with up to 7 days. Patients will have symptoms of fatigue, headache, body aches, pain in the eyes, joint pain, muscle pain, nausea, loss of appetite, sometimes epigastric pain with diarrhea. Skin rashes, bleeding gums or nosebleeds appear. Critical phase : Usually lasts 3-4 days, occurs on the 4th to 7th day of fever. At this time, the patient usually only has a mild fever or no fever, bleeding under the skin, red spots appear on the front of the legs and on the inside of the arms, abdomen, thighs, and ribs. Mucosal bleeding such as bleeding from the nose, gums and bloody urine. Severe cases can lead to internal bleeding such as stomach bleeding, brain hemorrhage, organ failure complications such as hepatitis, encephalitis, myocarditis. Recovery phase: Through the critical phase, the patient enters the recovery phase, which usually occurs 1-2 days after the recovery phase and lasts for 2-3 days. At this time, the patient's condition gradually improved. The patient has no fever, appetite and begins to urinate a lot. During this stage, the patient's heart rate is still slow and the electrocardiogram changes. Dengue fever usually progresses quickly, the symptoms get worse with each stage. From the time of illness with the first high fever, the disease will gradually recover in the following 7-10 days.

The patient absolutely remembers, when the fever is gone, it does not mean that the disease is cured. The end of the fever is the most dangerous stage of dengue fever.
The patient has to go through all 3 stages of the disease to completely recover. Some signs that indicate you are about to recover from the disease are as follows.
The body is less tired: After the high fever lasts 2-3 days, the patient enters the most dangerous stage, even though the fever is no longer high, the body is still very tired. Calculate that when you have been ill for about a week, your body is noticeably less tired with a feeling of eating better, eating healthier means you are recovering, about to recover from your illness. More bowel movements: Dengue fever causes the body to become severely dehydrated. If you pay attention, you will find yourself almost not wanting to urinate since the fever. After 5-7 days of treatment, you will gradually regain the feeling of needing to urinate, urinating more often. At that time, the body is no longer dehydrated, a sign that you are about to recover from the disease. No new rash appears: Hemorrhagic spots under the skin may appear since the person has a fever. The rash will continuously appear more, dense on the skin, making the patient itchy and uncomfortable for 3-4 days. The hemorrhoids fade: About 2-3 days later, the hemorrhoids will not grow more and fade away, the itching sensation will also subside. When you see such symptoms, it means that you are about to recover from the disease.

Dengue fever has no specific treatment, mainly supportive treatment, symptom relief and prevention of complications. The treatment for the patient needs to be taken care of and taken seriously so that the patient can recover quickly, avoid dangerous complications as well as limit the spread to those around.
Therefore, in order for the patient to be treated favorably and recover quickly, should:
Let the patient rest absolutely Reduce fever with Paracetamol. In case the child has difficulty taking medicine or spits up, choose a sweet-tasting medicine. Rehydrate by drinking plenty of fluids, preferably oresol. Absolutely avoid doing the following:
Rapidly lowering fever: Because it is a viral disease, the temperature after lowering will continue to rise again, so during treatment, it is necessary to avoid taking measures to reduce fever. fever because there is a risk of damage to other organs in the body. Go to a place with strong winds, take a cold shower: Hemorrhage may occur on the 2nd or 3rd day and last for several days. Patients need to stay at home to rest, do not go out in the wind, do not take cold showers, because cold water can constrict the skin's blood vessels but dilate the blood vessels in the internal organs, which can easily lead to death. Instead, wipe your body with water. warm. Using folk methods to cure diseases: Shaving, sauna or folk methods have not been clearly proven effective in practice. Therefore, do not arbitrarily apply the above measures.

Currently, there is no specific treatment or vaccine for dengue fever, so prevention is better than cure. In order to reduce the risk of dengue fever for yourself and your family, you need to do the following measures:
Sleep in a mosquito net, use essential oils or mosquito repellent creams Keep the living area clean, kill the larvae. Wear long-sleeved clothes. Actively coordinate with the authorities and the health sector in spraying insecticides against dengue fever. In particular, using mosquito repellent products that keep mosquitoes away is the perfect choice to protect all family members. Dengue fever, if not treated properly, can cause many dangerous complications. Therefore, when there are signs of disease, patients can go to Vinmec Health System hospitals for timely examination and treatment.
Vinmec International General Hospital is a high-quality medical facility in Vietnam with a team of highly qualified medical professionals, well-trained, domestic and foreign, and experienced.
A system of modern and advanced medical equipment, possessing many of the best machines in the world, helping to detect many difficult and dangerous diseases in a short time, supporting the diagnosis and treatment of doctors the most effective. The hospital space is designed according to 5-star hotel standards, absolutely disinfecting to prevent cross-infection. bring the patient comfort, friendliness, peace of mind.
In addition, proper self-care at home is extremely important, Vinmec always attaches great importance to the role of post-examination counseling, accompanying and solving questions during home care with customers.