Chikungunya fever is a disease classified as "bone-breaking fever" along with dengue fever which is sometimes misdiagnosed. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the virus causes high fever and severe joint pain that begins suddenly, and can also be accompanied by headaches, muscle aches and rashes. Chikungunya is not fatal in most cases, but some people can have complications. There is no specific vaccine or drugs available to treat this virus, and the only way to avoid it is prevention.
Steps
Step 1. Recognize the symptoms of chikungunya fever
Verify:
- Fever.
- Persistent headache.
- Nausea.
- He retched.
- Muscle aches.
- Articolar pains.
- Fatigue, lethargy and weakness.
- Skin rashes.
- Symptoms are due to the body's reaction to the virus which triggers inflammatory responses.
Step 2. Know that some infected people have suffered from disabling joint pain or arthritis for weeks or even months
Step 3. The virus incubation period can be 2-12 days, but is normally around 3-7 days
Step 4. Laboratory diagnosis of arthropod-borne viruses is usually done by testing serum or cerebrospinal fluid to detect specific neutralizing antibodies for that virus
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Chikungunya rarely has complications that warrant laboratory diagnosis. The diagnosis is made clinically on the basis of the signs and symptoms that arise, and the viral culture is done on the third day of the disease.
Recognize Chikungunya Fever Symptoms Step 4
Step 5. Avoid mosquito bites
- Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants when traveling to endemic areas.
- Use mosquito repellent on exposed skin.
- Wear permethrin-treated clothing to repel mosquitoes.
Advice
- The best way to prevent chikungunya virus infection is to avoid mosquito bites. Take all normal necessary precautions.
- You shouldn't take aspirin if you have the infection.
- Infected people should protect themselves, to avoid further exposure to mosquitoes, during the first days of the disease. If they are bitten again, the cycle will continue because the now infected mosquito will bite someone else and spread the disease.
- Strengthen the immune system by taking or drinking liquids rich in beta-glucan; you can find this natural element in mushrooms or in the form of herbal tea. Drinking 3 sachets a day can cure the virus and strengthen the immune system.
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Treatment is symptomatic, meaning that the symptoms of the infection can be treated, but not the infection itself. These treatments consist of:
- Rest in bed.
- Drink lots of fluids.
- Take medications to relieve fever symptoms and pain.
Warnings
- There have been rare cases of abortion in the first trimester after a chikungunya infection.
- There is currently no vaccine or drug available to prevent the virus.
