Can i get dengue fever from another person

Rarely, dengue can be spread through blood transfusion, organ transplant, or through a needle stick injury. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link.

Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. You also should call a doctor if you develop symptoms of the infection after going to a region that has dengue fever. A doctor or nurse practitioner will examine you. He or she will ask you questions about how you're feeling, your medical history, and recent travels. Your doctor might want you to give a blood sample to test for the disease.

If you've been diagnosed with dengue, call your doctor or get to a hospital emergency room right away if your symptoms get worse or if new symptoms appear, especially in the day or two after the fever goes down. For mild cases, doctors usually recommend drinking plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration, getting lots of rest, and taking acetaminophen to relieve the fever and pain.

People with dengue shouldn't take medicines with aspirin or ibuprofen, which can make bleeding more likely. Most cases of dengue fever will go away within a couple of weeks and won't cause any long-term problems. But dengue hemorrhagic fever requires treatment in a hospital with intravenous IV fluids and close monitoring.

That's why it's really important to call a doctor or go to the ER if symptoms are severe or get worse in the first day or two after the fever goes away. That's when dengue hemorrhagic fever is most likely to develop.

You can help keep yourself free of dengue fever by avoiding mosquito bites. If you live in or will be visiting an area where there's dengue fever:. The warning signs usually begin the first day or two after your fever goes away, and may include:. Severe dengue fever is a life-threatening medical emergency. Seek immediate medical attention if you've recently visited an area in which dengue fever is known to occur, you have had a fever and you develop any of the warning signs. Warning signs include severe stomach pain, vomiting, difficulty breathing, or blood in your nose, gums, vomit or stools.

If you've been traveling recently and develop a fever and mild symptoms of dengue fever, call your doctor. Dengue fever is caused by any one of four types of dengue viruses. You can't get dengue fever from being around an infected person. Instead, dengue fever is spread through mosquito bites.

The two types of mosquitoes that most often spread the dengue viruses are common both in and around human lodgings. When a mosquito bites a person infected with a dengue virus, the virus enters the mosquito. Then, when the infected mosquito bites another person, the virus enters that person's bloodstream and causes an infection.

After you've recovered from dengue fever, you have long-term immunity to the type of virus that infected you — but not to the other three dengue fever virus types. This means you can be infected again in the future by one of the other three virus types. Your risk of developing severe dengue fever increases if you get dengue fever a second, third or fourth time.

Severe dengue fever can cause internal bleeding and organ damage. Blood pressure can drop to dangerous levels, causing shock. In some cases, severe dengue fever can lead to death. Causes Dengue fever is caused by a type of virus called a flavivirus, which is transmitted by infected Aedes mosquitoes. Symptoms Dengue fever can present in a number of different ways.

You may also have the following symptoms: severe headache muscle and joint pain - dengue fever is sometimes referred to as break-bone fever due to the severe muscle and joint pain it can cause pain behind your eyes, especially when you move your eyes flushing of your face sickness and vomiting a bumpy, red rash called a maculopapular rash which starts on your chest, back or stomach and spreads to your limbs and face These symptoms can also be caused by problems other than dengue fever.

Complications Dengue fever can sometimes develop into a more serious illness, called dengue haemorrhagic fever. Diagnosis You should visit your GP if you feel ill after returning from an area affected by dengue eg South East Asia. Treatment Mild symptoms There isn't a specific treatment that can be given for dengue fever.

Severe symptoms and dengue haemorrhagic fever If you are severely dehydrated, have severe symptoms of dengue haemorrhagic fever or your symptoms suddenly get worse, you will need to be admitted to hospital.

Prevention The only way to prevent catching dengue fever at present is to protect yourself from getting mosquito bites. Wear light-coloured, protective clothing, covering as much of the body as possible. Use an insect repellent on exposed skin and clothing, especially around dawn and dusk when the Aedes mosquito is most active. Use insecticide sprays to kill mosquitoes. Avoid areas where the mosquitoes breed normally in standing water in domestic containers, around urban areas.

You can also remove such sources of water or cover them to prevent access by mosquitoes. National travel health network and centre. Health Protection Agency, August Dengue and dengue haemorrhagic fever, factsheet no World Health Organisation. BMJ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever: a review of the history, transmission, treatment and prevention. Seminars in pediatric infectious diseases,