Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) has 3 phases, which are fever, critical, and recovery phases. The three phases of dengue fever are very important to understand so that optimal treatment can be done.

DHF virus infects humans through the bite of female Aedes aegypti and Aedes Albopictus. If not handled properly, DHF can cause bleeding which can result in shock and death.

Phases of Dengue Fever

Dengue hemorrhagic fever patients will usually experience 3 phases, ranging from symptoms appearing for the first time to recovery. Here are the three phases of dengue fever:

Febrile phase

In this phase, the patient will experience a high fever of up to 40º Celsius which lasts for 2-7 days. In addition, patients will also experience several other symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, headaches, sore throat, reddish spots appear on the skin, and muscle, bone, and joint pain.

In this phase, the doctor will monitor the number of pieces of blood (platelets), because usually the platelet count decreases rapidly to less than 100,000 / microliter of blood. This decrease in platelet counts occurs in a short time, which is 2-3 days.

Critical phase

After going through the fever phase, many patients feel that they have recovered because their body temperature has begun to fall. In fact, this is precisely the most dangerous phase of dengue fever, because of the possibility of bleeding and leakage of blood plasma that will cause shock and potentially life-threatening.

The critical phase can occur 3-7 days since the fever and lasts for 24-48 hours. In this phase, the patient's body fluids must be monitored closely. Patients must not be deficient or excess fluid.

In some cases, patients can experience shock or a drastic drop in blood pressure, and bleeding from the skin, nose, and gums. If not treated immediately, this condition can lead to death.

Recovery phase

After going through a critical phase, the patient will enter the recovery phase. This phase will occur 48-72 hours after the critical phase.

In this phase, the fluid that comes out of the blood vessels will return to the blood vessels. Therefore, it is very important to keep the incoming fluids from being excessive. Excessive fluid in blood vessels can cause death due to heart failure and pulmonary edema.

Thrombocyte levels will also increase rapidly to reach around 150,000 / microliter of blood, until then return to normal levels.

In handling DHF, actually there is no specific treatment that can be given. Patients are only advised to get plenty of rest and drink lots of water to prevent dehydration. If necessary, the doctor will give fluids through an IV. In addition, the doctor will also provide fever-reducing drugs to relieve fever.

During the phases of dengue fever above, the patient's condition must be monitored. If complaints arise in the form of shortness of breath, cold sweat, or bleeding, immediately go to the emergency room at the nearest hospital.

This article is supported by: Alodokter