Dengue fever is one of the worst infections that spread in the human body. It is caused and spread by a particular kind of mosquito, the female Aedes aegypti mosquito. Highly contagious in nature, this sickness leaves you with a high temperature, headaches, severe muscle and joint pain, discomfort in your eyes, and sometimes throughout the entire body.
Also, if dengue is not treated on time, it may progress to dengue hemorrhagic fever, which might possibly prove fatal.
What causes Dengue fever?
Also known as break-bone fever, Dengue is a viral virus generated and spread by the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. Once the infected mosquito bites you, you get injected with a special venom which then sucks your blood.
The virus responsible for producing dengue is termed dengue virus (DENV). The transmission is feasible mosquito-to-human transmission or human-to-mosquito transmission. Both are frequent ways of generating dengue fever.
Here are 7 helpful strategies that might help you prevent Dengue fever
Although there is no medication or scientifically proven vaccination against dengue, you may still follow these 7 practical steps that will enable you to avoid and protect yourself from becoming infected with dengue fever.
Be vigilant and know your opponent
You must be vigilant and informed of the different forms of infection of Dengue. Only then, would you be able to defend yourself from the same? Dengue fever is generally transferred or disseminated by the bite of an infected female Aedes mosquito.
This dengue virus often spreads in the monsoon season when the weather is humid and it is particularly widespread in tropical and sub-tropical countries. Dengue fever may affect anyone within any age range, whether it's children or adults.
Commonly annunciated as den-gee, it is a terrible viral illness that leaves you with a high temperature, headache, discomfort in your eyes and entire body, weariness, etc.
Destroy their biological habitats
The most crucial measure to prevent mosquitoes from spreading is to remove their potential nesting locations. Dengue mosquitoes mainly grow in stagnant or motionless water like buckets, disused pools, containers, flowerpots, plugged drains, etc.
Therefore, you must always keep a check on wet places in your home and frequently wipe out any sources of standing water. Also, you must never let wet garbage gather near your residence. Adopting these actions will eradicate or destroy the ecological habitats of dengue mosquitoes.
Keep your surroundings tidy
This recommendation is a continuation of the preceding point as decreasing mosquito habitat and keeping your surroundings clean go hand in hand.
You must not simply eradicate mosquito habitat but also attempt to maintain your surroundings clean to minimize the breeding of mosquitoes in the first place. Always keep your toilet basins and garbage bin covered.
You may also grow mosquito-repelling plants in your house since they exude natural gases. Some mosquito-repelling plants include neem, tulsi, eucalyptus, lemongrass, etc. These plants will produce a fresh environment in your home and they also contain features that prevent mosquitoes from entering your property.
Light up your house
It is fairly typical that mosquitoes frequently favor moist and gloomy environments. Therefore, to avoid these viruses mating with mosquitoes, you must keep your home filled with streaming sunshine.
You can even have mosquito screens available if necessary. Also, at night, you must guarantee that all the doors and windows are closed when you sleep to minimize any mosquito invasion.
You may even fire camphor on alternate days for around 20-25 minutes in your home, as camphor smoke has the capacity to destroy bugs that carry illnesses.
Watch your timing and arrange your outside plans
The dengue virus often spreads in the monsoon season when the weather is humid and is highly frequent in tropical and sub-tropical countries. Therefore, planning your day out or any excursion during the rainy season would undoubtedly raise the danger of dengue illness.
While traveling to cities or areas where there is a danger of dengue fever, you must evaluate the degree of protection necessary and can even take preventative medications along with you.
Use insect repellent to repel mosquitoes
The most efficient strategy to avoid dengue fever is to use insect repellent lotions. You must use repellents with active chemicals such as DEET up to 30 percent, picaridin, or IR3535.
These repellents are designed using a delicate composition and are gentle on human skin. Also, these repellents are certified by the Environmental Protection Agency and are proven safe and efficient against mosquito bites.
However, you must use these repellents only as prescribed by medical specialists.
Wear protective clothes
This is the easiest and also the most critical preventive precaution you can take to protect yourself against dengue fever. You must wear fully covered attire like full-length sleeves or slacks to cover up every inch of your body.
This will decrease the area of your exposed skin. Hence, your garments will operate as an outer sheath, shielding you from major exposure to the mosquito invasion, and eventually keeping you safe.