Taking care of children with dengue at home: Principles to remember

Dengue fever is an acute disease, seriously affecting the health of young children. For mild cases, the doctor will assign a platelet test to monitor the condition and prescribe medicine for home treatment so that the child can rest and avoid the risk of cross-infection... However, with school Severe cases, if not treated promptly and properly, can lead to complications such as shock, respiratory failure, blood clotting disorders, liver damage, impaired consciousness, possibly death...

Typical dengue fever with fever is basic because it always occurs at the onset of the disease. Dengue fever has different characteristics from the fever of other diseases with the following characteristics:
Sudden fever, high fever: 39-40 degrees Celsius or higher, hot to the touch of the child's forehead Continuous fever lasting 2-7 days accompanied by abdominal pain, usually pain in the navel or on the right side of the navel, vomiting, and abdominal distension. The use of antipyretic drugs also does not reduce the disease Some other typical symptoms are easy to notice when having dengue fever:
Rash, rash under the skin (mild form), appearance of hemorrhagic nodules, nosebleeds, bleeding gums Blood in stools (intrinsic bleeding is severe). Manifestations of shock usually occur from the 3rd to 7th day from the onset of the disease, the symptoms of shock include: the child from a state of wakefulness suddenly becomes lethargic and struggling; the child has severe abdominal pain; cold hands and feet; The baby's skin changes color, becomes bruised, lips turn gray. The child urinates little or no urine at all. Children begin to show signs of thirst, this is a shock syndrome caused by internal bleeding that causes blood loss, low blood pressure, if not given emergency and timely treatment, it can lead to death.
Dengue fever is divided into 4 levels from mild to severe.
Grade 1: The patient has a mild fever, no symptoms of hemorrhage Grade 2: Fever with hemorrhagic symptoms Grade 3: Begins to show signs of shock Grade 4: Severe shock The child with grade 1 dengue will be treated At home according to the prescription, with an appointment for a follow-up visit. With grade 2, depending on the case, the child can be treated at home with close monitoring, or hospitalized if deemed necessary. Grade 3 and 4 cases require immediate hospitalization.

The goal of Dengue care and monitoring at home is to detect sick children early, take proper care and detect early signs of serious illness to bring them to emergency medical facilities in time.

With level 1 and 2 dengue, children can be treated at home with close monitoring or hospitalized if deemed necessary, the family must strictly follow the doctor's instructions, not listen to the experience. advice to cure tips or use other drugs.
Although it is home care, it is still necessary to monitor the child's temperature 24/7 by taking a thermometer in the armpit or anus or in the corner of the mouth every few hours. In the case of using an electronic thermometer, before giving it to a child, it should be tested on a normal person to evaluate the authenticity of the electronic device used to measure body temperature, if found to be incorrect, it should be replaced with a mercury thermometer . Must be closely monitored because the most dangerous time of dengue fever is when the child has no fever (usually from the 3rd to the 6th day) the child can become severe and shock leading to death quickly if not detected. timely.
Need to give the child absolute rest, do not let the child play a lot and avoid wearing a lot of clothes or covering the child.
Using drugs:
If the temperature is over 38.5 degrees Celsius, it is necessary to give the child an antipyretic drug of the type paracetamol with a dose of 10-15mg/kg body weight, every 6 hours if the child still still high fever. After taking the antipyretic drug 1 hour, it is necessary to measure the temperature again. Absolutely do not use aspirin because this substance will disrupt blood clotting, causing prolonged bleeding, which is very dangerous for people with dengue fever, especially children. If the child's body temperature is over 37 degrees, below 38.5 degrees, it is not necessary to give the child antipyretic drugs, but only need to cool the child with a towel dipped in warm water (the water temperature is a few degrees lower than the child's temperature). for easy heat dissipation for children. When a child has a high fever for a long time (over 39 degrees), it will make the child lose water and electrolytes, leading to neurological disorders, even convulsions. Therefore, it is necessary for children to drink a lot of water to make up for the amount of water lost due to fever, if the child can drink water mixed with oresol, the better. If there is no oresol, children should drink more orange and fresh lemon juice to get more vitamin C. When sick, children often have symptoms of vomiting, pale mouth, lazy or refuse to eat, making them not eat enough. The amount of food needed should be easy to lower blood sugar. Give the child to drink slowly because drinking too quickly, too much at once can cause vomiting and bloating.

Regarding nutrition:
Give children liquid, nutritious, easy-to-digest food such as nutritious porridge, vegetable soup, milk of all kinds... in combination with a reasonable rest regimen to help children heal quickly.
If the child eats little or vomits, the child should eat many meals to provide enough energy to avoid malnutrition. Foods with a lot of fat should be avoided. Babies who are breastfed should feed them more times and for a longer time. More milk is needed to provide nutrients for the baby.

Do not shave, cut because it will cause pain and may cause bleeding and infection for children. Do not give children colored, carbonated, or soft drinks because they can be confused with gastrointestinal bleeding in children. Do not give children with dengue fever intravenous fluids at private clinics or unqualified medical facilities, because there have been many cases of incorrect infusion that aggravated and prolonged the disease, easily causing edema and severe heart failure. .. when transferred to the hospital, it was too late to save the child's life. Absolutely do not arbitrarily use antibiotics because dengue fever is a viral fever, so antibiotics have no effect. Antibiotics are only used when there is a superinfection and diagnosed and prescribed by a doctor.

From the 3rd - 7th day, the child's fever begins to decrease at about 37.5 - 38oC or lower, some children may show the following warning signs:
The child vomits, has abdominal pain. Confuse; fussiness; languid; lethargy; cold, purple, sweaty hands and feet. Nosebleeds, bleeding gums, vomiting blood, black stools.

Prevent mosquito bites by spraying anti-mosquitoes, using nets when sleeping. Kill mosquitoes, kill mosquitoes. Keep the house clean, bright, dry because the humid environment is favorable conditions for mosquitoes to reside and develop. Clear the bushes around the house, cover the water tank, clean up the low-lying places after it rains because that's where mosquitoes come to breed. Do not let children play near damp, dark places where mosquitoes gather.

When suspecting that a child has dengue fever, it is necessary to immediately bring the patient to a medical facility for timely examination and treatment.
Pediatrics department at Vinmec International General Hospital is the address for receiving and examining diseases that infants and young children are susceptible to: viral fever, bacterial fever, otitis media, pneumonia in children, ... With modern equipment, sterile space, minimizing the impact as well as the risk of disease spread. Along with that is the dedication from the doctors with professional experience with pediatric patients, making the examination no longer a concern of the parents.