Star News Agency
The Dengue situation in the city has created an unnecessary panic, said Dr K K Aggarwal, President Heart Care Foundation of India. Dengue is both preventable and manageable. The risk of complications is in less than 1% of dengue cases and, if warning signals are known to the public, all deaths from dengue can be avoided.
A platelet transfusion is not needed if the platelet counts are more than 10,000. Unnecessary platelet transfusion can cause more harm.
Most complications of dengue occur after the fever is over. The 2 days after the last episode of the fever are crucial and during this period, a patient should be encouraged to take plenty of oral fluids mixed with salt and sugar. The main complication is leakage of capillaries and collection of blood outside the blood channels leading to intravascular dehydration. Giving fluids orally or by intravenous routes, if given at a proper time, can save fatal complications.
Physicians should remember the ‘Formula of 20’ i.e. rise in pulse by more than 20; fall of BP by more than 20; difference between lower and upper BP less than 20 and presence of more than 20 hemorrhagic spots on the arm after a tourniquet test suggest a high risk situation and the person needs immediate medical attention.
The onus of preventing dengue lies with the public and not with the Government authorities. The dengue mosquitoes are found only in fresh water collected outside the house and not in dirty water in the drains or ‘nallas’, flowing all over the country. In dengue, one should NOT use aspirin for fever as aspirin also has anti platelet effects.
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