Symptoms of Dengue fever

Symptoms of Dengue fever

The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources for Dengue fever includes the 21 symptoms listed below:

• High fever - up to 105 degrees Fahrenheit
• Severe headache
• Retro-orbital pain - pain behind the eye
• Severe joint pains
• Muscle pains
• Muscle aches
• Swollen lymph nodes
• General weakness
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Rash
• Children get non-typical symptoms
• Fever
• Weakness
• Prostration
• Severe headache
• Pain behind the eyes
• Severe muscle pain
• Slowed heart rate
• Enlarge lymph nodes
• Maculopapular rash
• more information...»

Research symptoms & diagnosis of Dengue fever:

• Overview -- Dengue fever
• Diagnostic Tests for Dengue fever
• Home Diagnostic Testing
• Complications -- Dengue fever
• Doctors & Specialists
• Misdiagnosis and Alternative Diagnoses
• Hidden Causes of Dengue fever
• Other Causes -- causes of these or similar symptoms

Dengue fever: Complications

Review medical complications possibly associated with Dengue fever:

• Fatigue
• Tiredness
• Dengue hemorrhagic fever - this can cause several serious complications:
  • Bleeding
• more complications...»

Diagnostic Testing

Diagnostic testing of medical conditions related to Dengue fever:

• Blood tests
• Dengue virus lood test
• Dengue antibodies blood test
• more tests...»

Research More About Dengue fever

Do I have Dengue fever?

• Dengue fever: Introduction
• Dengue fever: Diagnostic Testing to confirm diagnosis
• Home Diagnostic Testing
• Alternative diagnoses and misdiagnosis for Dengue fever
• How serious is it?
• Treatments for Dengue fever
• More about Dengue fever

Dengue fever: Medical Mistakes

• Asthma -- Health Mistakes
• Allergies -- Health Mistakes
• more mistakes...»

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical tests related to Dengue fever:

• Cold & Flu: Home Testing:
  • Home Fever Tests
  • Home Ear Infection Test Kits
  • Home Flu Tests
  • Home Strep A Tests
• more home tests...»

Wrongly Diagnosed with Dengue fever?

The list of other diseases or medical conditions that may be on the differential diagnosis list of alternative diagnoses for Dengue fever includes:

• Influenza
• Measles
• Rubella
• Malaria
• Yellow fever
• more diagnoses...»

See the full list of 15 alternative diagnoses for Dengue fever

Dengue fever: Research Doctors & Specialists

• Ear, Nose & Throat Specialists:
  • Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose & Throat)
  • Pediatric Otolaryngology (Child Ear, Nose & Throat Specialist)
  • Otology / Neurotology (Ear/Hearing Specialists)
  • Plastic Surgery within the Head & Neck
• more specialists...»

Research all specialists including ratings, affiliations, and sanctions.

More about symptoms of Dengue fever:

More information about symptoms of Dengue fever and related conditions:

• Other diseases with similar symptoms and common misdiagnoses
• Tests to determine if these are the symptoms of Dengue fever
• Symptoms that may be caused by complications of Dengue fever
• Underlying causes of Dengue fever
• Risk factors for Dengue fever

Other Possible Causes of these Symptoms

Click on any of the symptoms below to see a full list of other causes including diseases, medical conditions, toxins, drug interactions, or drug side effect causes of that symptom.

• Children get non-typical symptoms
• Enlarge lymph nodes - see all causes of Swollen lymph nodes
• Fever - see all causes of Fever
• General weakness - see all causes of Weakness
• High fever - see all causes of High fever
• Maculopapular rash - see all causes of Maculopapular rash
• Muscle aches - see all causes of Muscle aches
• Muscle pains - see all causes of Muscle pain
• Nausea - see all causes of Nausea
• Prostration - see all causes of Prostration
• Rash - see all causes of Rash
• Retro-orbital pain - see all causes of Pain
• Severe headache - see all causes of Severe headache
• Severe headache - see all causes of Severe headache
• Severe joint pains - see all causes of Joint pain
• Severe muscle pain - see all causes of Muscle pain
• Swollen lymph nodes - see all causes of Swollen lymph nodes
• Vomiting - see all causes of Vomiting
• Weakness - see all causes of Weakness

Medical Books Online about Dengue fever

Medical Books Excerpts Excerpts of published medical book chapters related to Dengue fever are available from published medical books for more detailed information about Dengue fever.

Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

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Symptoms of Dengue fever: Online Medical Books

16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE! Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration, for more information about the symptoms of Dengue fever.

Allergic purpuras: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Characteristic skin lesions of allergic purpura are purple, macular, ecchymotic, and of varying size. They’re caused by vascular leakage into the skin and mucous membranes. (See Purpuric lesions.) The lesions usually appear in symmetric patterns on the arms, legs, and buttocks and are accompanied by pruritus, paresthesia and, occasionally, angioneurotic edema. In children, skin lesions are generally urticarial and expand and become hemorrhagic. Scattered petechiae may appear on the legs, buttocks, and perineum.

Henoch-Schönlein syndrome commonly produces transient or severe colic, tenesmus (spasmodic contraction of the anal sphincter) and constipation, vomiting, and edema or hemorrhage of the mucous membranes of the bowel, resulting in GI bleeding, occult blood in the stool and, possibly, intussusception. Such GI abnormalities may precede overt, cutaneous signs of purpura. Musculoskeletal symptoms, such as rheumatoid pains and periarticular effusions, mostly affect the legs and feet.

In 25% to 50% of patients, allergic purpura is associated with GU signs and symptoms: nephritis; renal hemorrhages that may cause microscopic hematuria and disturb renal function; bleeding from the mucosal surfaces of the ureters, bladder, or urethra; and, occasionally, glomerulonephritis. Also possible are moderate and irregular fever, headache, anorexia, and localized edema of the hands, feet, or scalp.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005

Colorado tick fever: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

After a 3- to 6-day incubation period, Colorado tick fever begins abruptly with chills; temperature of 104° F (40° C); severe aching of back, arms, and legs; lethargy; and headache with eye movement such as extraocular movement. Photophobia, abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting may occur. Rare effects include petechial or maculopapular rashes and central nervous system involvement. Symptoms subside after several days but return within 2 to 3 days and continue for 3 more days before slowly disappearing. Complete recovery usually follows.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005

Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Clinical features of ITP common to all forms of thrombocytopenia include petechiae, ecchymoses, and mucosal bleeding from the mouth, nose, or GI tract. Generally, hemorrhage is a rare physical finding. Purpuric lesions may occur in vital organs, such as the lungs, kidneys, or brain, and may prove fatal. In acute ITP, which commonly occurs in children, onset is usually sudden, causing easy bruising, epistaxis, and bleeding gums. Onset of chronic ITP is insidious.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005

Lassa fever: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

After a 7- to 18-day incubation period, this disease produces a fever that persists for 2 to 3 weeks, exudative pharyngitis, oral ulcers, lymphadenopathy with swelling of the face and neck, purpura, conjunctivitis, and bradycardia. Severe infection may also cause hepatitis, myocarditis, pleural infection, encephalitis, and permanent unilateral or bilateral deafness.

Virus multiplication in reticuloendothelial cells causes capillary lesions that lead to erythrocyte and platelet loss; mild to moderate thrombocytopenia (with a tendency toward bleeding); and secondary bacterial infection. These capillary lesions may also cause focal hemorrhage in the stomach, small intestine, kidneys, lungs, and brain and, possibly, hemorrhagic shock and peripheral vascular collapse.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005

Relapsing fever: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

The incubation period for relapsing fever is 5 to 15 days (the average is 7 days). Clinically, tick- and louse-borne diseases are similar. Both begin suddenly, with a temperature approaching 105° F (40.6° C), prostration, headache, severe myalgia, arthralgia, diarrhea, vomiting, coughing, and eye or chest pains. Splenomegaly is common; hepatomegaly and lymphade-nopathy may occur. During febrile periods, the victim's pulse and respiratory rates rise, and a transient macular rash may develop over his torso.

The first attack usually lasts from 3 to 6 days; then the patient's temperature drops quickly and is accompanied by profuse sweating. A skin rash on the trunk lasting 1 to 2 days is common after the primary febrile episode. The rash may be petechiae, macular, or papular. About 5 to 10 days later, a second febrile, symptomatic period begins. In louse-borne infection, additional relapses are unusual; but, in tick-borne cases, a second or third relapse is common. As the afebrile intervals become longer, relapses become shorter and milder because of antibody accumulation. Relapses are possibly due to antigenic changes in the Borrelia organism.

Complications from relapsing fever include nephritis, bronchitis, pneumonia, endocarditis, seizures, cranial nerve lesions, paralysis, and coma. Death may occur from hyperpyrexia, massive bleeding, circulatory failure, splenic rupture, or a secondary infection.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005

Rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

In 95% of patients, rheumatic fever characteristically follows a streptococcal infection that appeared a few days to 6 weeks earlier. A temperature of at least 100.4° F (38° C) occurs, and most patients complain of migratory joint pain or polyarthritis. Swelling, redness, and signs of effusion usually accompany such pain, which most commonly affects the knees, ankles, elbows, or hips. In 5% of patients (generally those with carditis), rheumatic fever causes skin lesions such as erythema marginatum, a nonpruritic, macular, transient rash that gives rise to red lesions with blanched centers. Rheumatic fever may also produce firm, movable, nontender, subcutaneous nodules about 3 mm to 2 cm in diameter, usually near tendons or bony prominences of joints (especially the elbows, knuckles, wrists, and knees) and less often on the scalp and backs of the hands. These nodules persist for a few days to several weeks and, like erythema marginatum, often accompany carditis.

Later, rheumatic fever may cause transient chorea, which develops up to 6 months after the original streptococcal infection. Mild chorea may produce hyperirritability, a deterioration in handwriting, or an inability to concentrate. Severe chorea (Sydenham’s chorea) causes purposeless, nonrepetitive, involuntary muscle spasms; poor muscle coordination; and weakness. Chorea always resolves without residual neurologic damage.

The most destructive effect of rheumatic fever is carditis, which develops in up to 50% of patients and may affect the endocardium, myocardium, pericardium, or the heart valves. Pericarditis causes a pericardial friction rub and, occasionally, pain and effusion. Myocarditis produces characteristic lesions called Aschoff bodies (in the acute stages) and cellular swelling and fragmentation of interstitial collagen, leading to formation of a progressively fibrotic nodule and interstitial scars. Endocarditis causes valve leaflet swelling, erosion along the lines of leaflet closure, and blood, platelet, and fibrin deposits, which form beadlike vegetations. Endocarditis affects the mitral valve most often in females; the aortic, most often in males. In both females and males, endocarditis affects the tricuspid valves occasionally and the pulmonic only rarely.

Severe rheumatic carditis may cause heart failure with dyspnea; right upper quadrant pain; tachycardia; tachypnea; a hacking, nonproductive cough; edema; and significant mitral and aortic murmurs. The most common of such murmurs include:

❑ a systolic murmur of mitral insufficiency (high-pitched, blowing, holosystolic, loudest at apex, possibly radiating to the anterior axillary line)

❑ a midsystolic murmur due to stiffening and swelling of the mitral leaflet

❑ occasionally, a diastolic murmur of aortic insufficiency (low-pitched, rumbling, almost inaudible). Valvular disease may eventually result in chronic valvular stenosis and insufficiency, including mitral stenosis and insufficiency, and aortic insufficiency. In children, mitral insufficiency remains the major sequela of rheumatic heart disease.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005

Rocky Mountain spotted fever: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

The incubation period is usually about 7 days, but it can range from 2 to 14 days. Generally, the shorter the incubation time, the more severe the infection. Signs and symptoms, which usually begin abruptly, include a persistent temperature of 102° to 104° F (38.9° to 40° C); a generalized, excruciating headache; nausea and vomiting; and aching in the bones, muscles, joints, and back. In addition, the tongue is covered with a thick white coating that gradually turns brown as the fever persists and rises.

Initially, the skin may simply appear flushed. Between days 2 and 5, eruptions begin around the wrists, ankles, or forehead; within 2 days, they cover the entire body, including the scalp, palms, and soles. The rash consists of erythematous macules 1 to 5 mm in diameter that blanch on pressure; if untreated, the rash may become petechial and maculopapular. By the third week, the skin peels off and may become gangrenous over the elbows, fingers, and toes.

The pulse is strong initially, but it gradually becomes rapid (possibly reaching 150 beats/minute) and thready.

Alert A rapid pulse rate and hypotension (systolic pressure less than 90 mm Hg) herald imminent death from complete vascular collapse.

Other signs and symptoms include a bronchial cough, a rapid respiratory rate (as high as 60 breaths/minute), anorexia, constipation, abdominal pain, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, insomnia, restlessness and, in extreme cases, delirium. Urine output falls to half of the normal level or less, is dark in color, and contains albumin. Complications, although uncommon, include lobar pneumonia, otitis media, pa-rotitis, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and, possibly, renal failure. In rare cases, RMSF leads to death.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005

Toxic shock syndrome: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Typically, TSS produces intense myalgias, fever over 104° F (40° C), vomiting, diarrhea, headache, decreased level of consciousness, rigors, conjunctival hyperemia, and vaginal hyperemia and discharge. Severe hypotension occurs with hypovolemic shock. Within a few hours of onset, a deep red rash develops — especially on the palms and soles — and later desquamates.

Major complications include persistent neuropsychological abnormalities, mild renal failure, rash, and cyanotic arms and legs.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005

Hypovolemic shock: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Hypovolemic shock produces a syndrome of hypotension, with narrowing pulse pressure; decreased sensorium; tachycardia; rapid, shallow respirations; reduced urine output (less than 25 ml/hour); and cold, pale, clammy skin. Metabolic acidosis with an accumulation of lactic acid develops as a result of tissue anoxia, as cellular metabolism shifts from aerobic to anaerobic pathways. Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is a possible complication of hypovolemic shock.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005

Cardiogenic shock: Signs and Symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Cold, pale, clammy skin; hypotension; tachycardia; rapid, shallow respirations; oliguria; restlessness, confusion; obtundation; narrowing pulse pressure; cyanosis

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005

Electric shock: Signs and Symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Muscle contraction, loss of consciousness, loss of reflex control, respiratory paralysis, arrhythmias, myocardial infarction, burns, hearing loss, cataracts

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005

Septic shock: Signs and Symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Onset: fewer, chills. Warm phase: pink, flushed skin; low urine output; blood pressure normal or slightly elevated; rapid, bounding pulse; rapid, shallow respirations; altered level of consciousness (anxiety, irritability, shortened attention span, agitation). Cool phase: pale, cool, mottled skin; decreased level of consciousness; obtundation; rapid, shallow respirations; peripheral pulses rapid, weak and thready, possibly irregular, or absent; low blood pressure

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005

GI hemorrhage: Signs and Symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Bright red blood from rectum or mouth, hypotension, tachycardia, nausea, decreased urine output, decreased level of consciousness, increased respiratory rate, cold, clammy skin

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005

Allergic purpura: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

Allergic purpura is characterized by purple skin lesions that are macular, ecchymotic, and varying in size, usually appearing in symmetrical patterns on the arms and legs. The lesions are caused by vascular leakage into the skin and mucous membranes and are accompanied by pruritus, paresthesia and, occasionally, angioneurotic edema. In children, the lesions are generally urticarial, and they usually expand and become hemorrhagic. Scattered petechiae may appear on the legs, buttocks, and perineum.

Henoch-Schönlein syndrome commonly produces transient or severe colic, tenesmus (spasmodic contraction of the anal sphincter) and constipation, vomiting, and edema or hemorrhage of the mucous membranes of the bowel, resulting in GI bleeding, occult blood in the stool and, possibly, intussusception. Such GI abnormalities may precede overt, cutaneous signs of purpura. Musculoskeletal symptoms, such as rheumatoid pain and periarticular effusion, mostly affect the legs and feet.

In 25% to 50% of patients, allergic purpura is associated with GU signs and symptoms: nephritis; renal hemorrhages that may cause microscopic hematuria and disturb renal function; bleeding from the mucosal surfaces of the ureters, bladder, or urethra; and, occasionally, glomerulonephritis.

Other signs and symptoms include moderate and irregular fever, headache, anorexia, and localized edema of the hands, feet, or scalp.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003

Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

Signs and symptoms of ITP common to all forms of thrombocytopenia include petechiae, ecchymoses, and mucosal bleeding from the mouth, nose, and GI tract. Generally, hemorrhage is a rare physical finding. Purpuric lesions may occur in vital organs, such as the lungs, kidneys, or brain, and may prove fatal.

With acute ITP, which is common in children, onset is usually sudden and without warning, causing easy bruising, epistaxis, and bleeding gums. Onset of chronic ITP is insidious.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003

Rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

In 95% of patients, rheumatic fever characteristically follows a streptococcal infection that appeared a few days to 6 weeks earlier. A temperature of at least 100.4° F (38° C) occurs.

Joint pain

Most patients complain of migratory joint pain or polyarthritis. Swelling, redness, and signs of effusion usually accompany such pain, which most commonly affects the knees, ankles, elbows, or hips.

Skin lesions and nodules

In 5% of patients (generally those with carditis), rheumatic fever causes skin lesions, such as erythema marginatum. This nonpruritic, macular, transient rash gives rise to red lesions with blanched centers.

Rheumatic fever may also produce firm, movable, nontender, subcutaneous nodules ⅛" to ¾" (0.5 to 2 cm) in diameter, usually near tendons or bony prominences of joints (especially the elbows, knuckles, wrists, and knees) and less commonly on the scalp and backs of the hands. These nodules persist for a few days to several weeks and, like erythema marginatum, often accompany carditis.

Chorea

Later, rheumatic fever may cause transient chorea, which develops up to 6 months after the original streptococcal infection.

Mild chorea may produce hyperirritability, a deterioration in handwriting, or an inability to concentrate. Severe chorea causes purposeless, nonrepetitive, involuntary muscle spasms; poor muscle coordination; and weakness. Chorea always resolves without residual neurologic damage.

Carditis

The most destructive effect of rheumatic fever is carditis, which develops in up to 50% of patients. It may affect the endocardium, myocardium, pericardium, or the heart valves.

Pericarditis causes a pericardial friction rub and, occasionally, pain and effusion. Myocarditis produces characteristic lesions called Aschoff bodies (in the acute stages) and cellular swelling and fragmentation of interstitial collagen, leading to formation of a progressively fibrotic nodule and interstitial scars.

Endocarditis causes valve leaflet swelling, erosion along the lines of leaflet closure, and blood, platelet, and fibrin deposits, which form beadlike vegetations. Endocarditis usually affects the mitral valve in females and the aortic valve in males. In both sexes, endocarditis affects the tricuspid valves occasionally and the pulmonic valve only rarely.

Severe rheumatic carditis may cause heart failure with dyspnea, right-upper-quadrant pain, tachycardia, tachypnea, significant mitral and aortic murmurs, and a hacking, nonproductive cough.

The most common murmurs include:

❑ a systolic murmur of mitral insufficiency (high-pitched, blowing, holo-systolic, loudest at apex, possibly radiating to the anterior axillary line)

❑ a midsystolic murmur caused by stiffening and swelling of the mitral leaflet

❑ occasionally, a diastolic murmur of aortic insufficiency. Valvular disease may eventually result in chronic valvular stenosis and insufficiency, including mitral stenosis and insufficiency and aortic insufficiency. In children, mitral insufficiency remains the major after-effect of rheumatic heart disease.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003

Toxic shock syndrome: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

Typically, TSS produces intense myalgias, fever over 104° F (40° C), vomiting, diarrhea, headache, decreased level of consciousness, rigors, conjunctival hyperemia, and vaginal hyperemia and discharge. Severe hypotension occurs with hypovolemic shock. Within a few hours of onset, a deep red rash develops — especially on the palms and soles — and later desquamates.

Major complications include persistent neuropsychological abnormalities, mild renal failure, rash, and cyanotic arms and legs.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003

Hypovolemic shock: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

Hypovolemic shock produces a syndrome of hypotension with narrowing pulse pressure; decreased sensorium; tachycardia; rapid, shallow respirations; reduced urine output; and cold, pale, clammy skin. Metabolic acidosis with an accumulation of lactic acid develops as a result of tissue anoxia as cellular metabolism shifts from aerobic to anaerobic pathways. Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is a possible complication of hypovolemic shock.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003

Cardiogenic shock: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

Cardiogenic shock produces signs and symptoms of poor tissue perfusion: cold, pale, clammy skin; a drop in systolic blood pressure to 30 mm Hg below baseline or a sustained reading below 80 mm Hg not attributable to medication; tachycardia; rapid, shallow respirations; oliguria (less than 20 ml of urine/hour); restlessness, mental confusion and obtundation; narrowing pulse pressure; and cyanosis.

Although many of these signs and symptoms also occur in patients with heart failure and other shock syndromes, they’re usually more profound in those with cardiogenic shock.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003

Electric shock: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

Severe electric shock usually causes muscle contraction, followed by unconsciousness and loss of reflex control, sometimes with respiratory paralysis (by way of prolonged contraction of respiratory muscles or a direct effect on the respiratory nerve center).

After momentary shock, hyperventilation may follow muscle contraction. Passage of even the smallest electric current — if it passes through the heart — may induce ventricular fibrillation or another arrhythmia that progresses to fibrillation or myocardial infarction.

Electric shock from a high-frequency current (which generates more heat in tissues than a low-frequency current) usually causes burns as well as local tissue coagulation and necrosis. Low-frequency currents can also cause serious burns if contact with the current is concentrated in a small area — for example, when a toddler bites into an electrical cord.

Contusions, fractures, and other injuries can result from violent muscle contractions or falls during the shock; later, the patient may develop renal shutdown. Residual hearing impairment, cataracts, and vision loss may persist after severe electric shock.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003

Seizures - Case 19-1: 8-Day-Old Girl: IV. Clinical Presentation
(Pediatric Complaints and Diagnostic Dilemmas)

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Pediatric Complaints and Diagnostic Dilemmas, 2003

Seizures - Case 19-2: 10-Day-Old Boy: IV. Clinical Presentation
(Pediatric Complaints and Diagnostic Dilemmas)

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Pediatric Complaints and Diagnostic Dilemmas, 2003

Article Excerpts About Symptoms of Dengue fever:

Dengue Fever: NIAID (Excerpt)

Symptoms of typical uncomplicated dengue usually start with fever within 5 to 6 days after a person has been bitten by an infected mosquito.

• High fever, up to 105 degrees Fahrenheit
• Severe headache
• Retro-orbital (behind the eye) pain
• Severe joint and muscle pain
• Nausea and vomiting
• Rash

The rash may appear over most of the body 3 to 4 days after the fever begins. A second rash may appear later in the disease.

Interestingly, most children infected with dengue virus never develop typical symptoms.

HOW IS DENGUE FEVER DIAGNOSED?

A doctor or other health care worker can diagnose dengue fever by doing a blood test. The test can show whether the blood sample contains dengue virus or antibodies to the virus. In epidemics, dengue is often clinically diagnosed by typical signs and symptoms.

HOW IS DENGUE FEVER TREATED?

There is no specific treatment for dengue fever, and most people recover completely within 2 weeks. To help with recovery, health care experts recommend

• Getting plenty of bed rest.
• Drinking lots of fluids.
• Taking medicine to reduce fever.

CDC advises people with dengue fever not to take aspirin. Acetaminophen or other over-the-counter pain-reducing medicines are safe for most people.

HOW CAN DENGUE FEVER BE PREVENTED?

The best way to prevent dengue fever is to take special precautions to avoid contact with mosquitoes. Several dengue vaccines are being developed, but none is likely to be licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the next few years.

When outdoors in an area where dengue fever has been found,

• Use a mosquito repellant containing DEET.
• Dress in protective clothing—long-sleeved shirts, long pants, socks, and shoes.

Because Aedes mosquitoes usually bite during the day, be sure to use precautions especially during early morning hours before daybreak and in the late afternoon before dark.

Other precautions include

• Keep unscreened windows and doors closed.
• Keep window and door screens repaired.
• Get rid of areas where mosquitoes breed, such as standing water in flower pots or discarded tires.

CAN DENGUE FEVER LEAD TO OTHER HEALTH PROBLEMS?

Most people who develop dengue fever recover completely within two weeks. Some, however, may go through several weeks of feeling tired and/or depressed.

Others develop severe bleeding problems. This complication, dengue hemorrhagic fever, is a very serious illness which can lead to shock (very low blood pressure) and is sometimes fatal, especially in children and young adults.

NIAID RESEARCH

Scientists supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) are trying to develop a vaccine against dengue by modifying an existing vaccine for yellow fever. Researchers in NIAID laboratories in Bethesda, Maryland, are using weakened and harmless versions of dengue viruses as potential vaccine candidates against dengue and related viruses.

Other researchers supported by NIAID are investigating ways to prevent dengue viruses from reproducing inside mosquitoes.

Because dengue virus has only recently emerged as a growing global threat, scientists know little about how the virus infects cells and causes disease. New research is beginning to shed light on how the virus interacts with humans — how it damages cells and how the human immune system responds to dengue virus invasion.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Road
Atlanta, GA 30333
1-888-232-3228
http://www.cdc.gov/

U.S. National Library of Medicine
8600 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20894
301-496-6308
http://medlineplus.gov/

World Health Organization
Avenue Appia 20
1211 Geneva 27
Switzerland
41-22-791-21-11
http://www.who.int/ (Source: excerpt from Dengue Fever: NIAID)

CDC Dengue Fever Home Page: DVBID (Excerpt)

Infection with dengue viruses produces a spectrum of clinical illness ranging from a nonspecific viral syndrome to severe and fatal hemorrhagic disease. Important risk factors for DHF include the strain and serotype of the infecting virus, as well as the age, immune status, and genetic predisposition of the patient. (Source: excerpt from CDC Dengue Fever Home Page: DVBID)

Dengue and Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever: Questions and Answers: DVBID (Excerpt)

The principal symptoms of dengue are high fever, severe headache, backache, joint pains, nausea and vomiting, eye pain, and rash. Generally, younger children have a milder illness than older children and adults. (Source: excerpt from Dengue and Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever: Questions and Answers: DVBID)

Spotlight on: Preventing Dengue and Dengue Hemmorhagic Fever: DVBID (Excerpt)

Dengue fever may begin suddenly. Symptoms usually include high fever, severe headache, and joint and muscle pain. Nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite are also common. A rash may appear 3 to 4 days after the fever begins and may spread from the torso to the arms, legs, and face. These early symptoms do not usually last more than 7 days and dengue does not produce long-term health effects. Because of the incubation period, travelers may not become ill until arriving home. (Source: excerpt from Spotlight on: Preventing Dengue and Dengue Hemmorhagic Fever: DVBID)

Dengue and Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever: Information for Health Care Practitioners: DVBID (Excerpt)

Classic dengue fever is characterized by acute onset of high fever, frontal headache, retro-orbital pain, myalgias, arthralgias, nausea, vomiting, and often a maculopapular rash. In addition, many patients may notice a change in taste sensation. Symptoms tend to be milder in children than in adults, and the illness may be clinically indistinguishable from influenza, measles, or rubella. The disease manifestations can range in intensity from inapparent illness to the symptoms described. (Source: excerpt from Dengue and Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever: Information for Health Care Practitioners: DVBID)

Dengue fever as a Cause of Symptoms or Medical Conditions

When considering symptoms of Dengue fever, it is also important to consider Dengue fever as a possible cause of other medical conditions. The Disease Database lists the following medical conditions that Dengue fever may cause:

• Coagulopathy
• Haematuria
• Haemoptysis
• Hepatocellular jaundice
• Lymphadenopathy
• Maculopapular rash
• Neutropenia
• Purpura
• Pyrexia
• Splenomegaly
• Thrombocytopenia
• Viral haemorrhagic fever
• Zoonosis

Dengue fever: Onset and Incubation

Incubation period for Dengue fever: 5-6 days; or 3-15 days

Incubation period for Dengue fever: There is an incubation period of 3-14 days (usually about 4-7) between the bite from an infected mosquito and the onset of dengue symptoms. (Source: excerpt from Spotlight on: Preventing Dengue and Dengue Hemmorhagic Fever: DVBID)

Medical articles and books on symptoms:

These general reference articles may be of interest in relation to medical signs and symptoms of disease in general:

• Diagnostic Testing for a Diagnosis of Dengue fever
• Research Alternative Diagnoses for Dengue fever
• How serious is Dengue fever?
• More about Dengue fever
• Online Diagnosis
• Self Diagnosis Pitfalls
• Pitfalls of Online Diagnosis
• Symptoms of the Silent Killer Diseases
• Lesser known silent killer diseases
• Books on signs and symptoms

Full list of premium articles on symptoms and diagnosis

About signs and symptoms of Dengue fever:

The symptom information on this page attempts to provide a list of some possible signs and symptoms of Dengue fever. This signs and symptoms information for Dengue fever has been gathered from various sources, may not be fully accurate, and may not be the full list of Dengue fever signs or Dengue fever symptoms. Furthermore, signs and symptoms of Dengue fever may vary on an individual basis for each patient. Only your doctor can provide adequate diagnosis of any signs or symptoms and whether they are indeed Dengue fever symptoms.