According to BS.CKII Nguyen Tran Nam - Deputy Director of the City Children's Hospital, currently there is no specific treatment for dengue fever. Treatment is mainly focused on monitoring and treating symptoms and complications depending on the condition of each patient.
When the child has a fever, the doctor will use appropriate fever-reducing medicine. If the child is dehydrated, they can be rehydrated orally; in case of non-responsiveness or severe dehydration, the doctor may prescribe intravenous fluids. When bleeding occurs, the patient may need blood transfusions. In severe cases, with liver and kidney damage, the child may need blood filtration.
Dengue fever does not have specific treatments like bacterial infections that can use antibiotics. This is a viral disease, so the main treatment is to closely monitor and promptly handle symptoms and complications," said Dr. Nguyen Tran Nam.
According to doctors, each child has a different constitution and progression of the disease. In particular, some groups of children at risk of severe progression need to be closely monitored such as infants, young children, obese children or children with chronic diseases.
Among them, obese children with dengue fever have a higher risk of severe progression, shock and organ damage. Children with underlying diseases of the heart, kidneys, lungs or nerves can also progress more severely and unpredictably, and treatment is more difficult.
Not only children, but also the elderly can get dengue fever and develop severely. Therefore, according to Dr. Nguyen Tran Nam, proactive disease prevention, especially removing mosquito breeding grounds and limiting mosquitoes transmitting diseases, is important in reducing the number of cases and the number of hospitalizations.
According to MSc.BS Le Hong Nga - Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control (HCDC), in daily life, many families have to use containers to store water. This can also become a place for mosquitoes to lay eggs if not covered and properly cleaned.
To limit the occurrence of larvae, the first important measure is not to let mosquitoes come into contact with water sources. For water containers for daily life, people should cover them tightly when not using and open them when needing water.
However, the lid also needs to be designed and used correctly. The lid must be closed, preventing mosquitoes from entering, and should have a flat surface to avoid forming a waterlogged area. If the lid is low, rainwater may accumulate, creating conditions for mosquitoes to lay eggs right on the lid.
According to Dr. Le Hong Nga, the principle of preventing larvae and mosquitoes can be summarized in three steps: do not let water stagnate; limit mosquitoes from contacting water sources if they need to store water; regularly check, change water and clean containers.
Even when mosquitoes have come into contact and laid eggs, regular checks help detect larvae early and treat them before they develop into adult mosquitoes.
Grasping these principles, each family can proactively apply appropriate measures to prevent dengue fever," recommended Dr. Le Hong Nga.
