In the critical phase of DHF usually appear warning signs and must be watched out for.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — A pediatrician from the Indonesian Pediatrician Association (IDAI) Dr. Mulya Rahma Karyanti, SpA(K), IBCLC, urges parents to be vigilant and aware of the danger signs of dengue infection or or hemorrhagic fever dengue (DHF). This disease is very common in children.
“Be aware of the danger signs of dengue infection. So after the third day in the critical phase, you usually have to watch out for the danger signs,” said Mulya who is a Member of the IDAI Tropical Infection and Infectious Disease Coordination Work Unit (UKK) during a virtual media briefing, Thursday (26/1/2023).
Furthermore, Mulya explained, usually the body temperature decreased after the third day of fever. Even so, this condition must be watched out for considering that the critical phase of dengue infection actually occurs on the third to sixth day. Therefore, parents are advised to check their child’s temperature regularly.
“In the fever phase on the first day the temperature is usually still high. But after the third to sixth day, it will enter a critical phase where the blood starts to leak and the temperature actually drops,” he said.
Other signs of danger to watch out for include when the child loses his appetite for food and drink, especially accompanied by persistent vomiting. Such conditions are feared for children to become dehydrated.
Mulya encourages parents to provide their children with more frequent fluid intake to prevent dehydration. However, if the child cannot receive fluid intake and continues to experience vomiting, the child must be taken to the hospital immediately.
Children tend to be weak and sleepy, have severe stomach pain, bleeding in any part of the body, restlessness, cold and clammy leg skin, convulsions and loss of consciousness are signs of danger that must also be watched out for. In this condition, the child must be immediately taken to the hospital for integrated services.
“And pay attention to his urination. If a child should urinate every 3 to 4 hours or every 4 to 6 hours he should be able to urinate enough,” added Mulya.
He added that the population of children aged 5-14 years is the group most often infected with the dengue virus. Even though during the last two years of the pandemic the population was dominated by teenagers to young adults or 15 to 44 years old.
“If we look at the proportion of deaths due to dengue by age group, the 5-14 year old group is still the highest (since 2018),” he said.
Finally, Mulya also reminded that the case dengue hemorrhagic fever it increases almost every 10 years and starts to increase again in 2022. Even if seen from the mortality rate there has been a decrease from 41 percent in 1968 to below 1 percent in 2022.
source: Between
