Homeopathic Medicines for Dengue Prevention

Dengue Fever triggers an instant scare, and rightly so. It’s a viral fever that spreads by the bite of female mosquitoes of Aedes genus mainly Aedes aegypti which is itself infected with dengue virus. The mosquito gets dengue virus on biting a person carrying dengue virus in his/ her blood. It is also known as ‘break bone fever’. Dengue fever can range from mild to severe. Severe dengue fever can be life-threatening and needs to be urgently treated at a hospital. In any case of dengue fever, one needs to be vigilant regarding the signs and symptoms and if any warning signs of severe form come up, take immediate help from conventional mode of treatment without any delay.

Homeopathic Treatment

Homeopathic medicines for dengue fever are very effective. Eupatorium Perfoliatum leads the chart of homeopathic medicine to manage dengue fever. These medicines are made of natural substances, are completely safe with no side effects and have shown effective cure in treating thousands of dengue cases. These medicines can be considered in mild to moderate cases under the supervision of homeopathic physician. In no case self- medication be done. In case of severe cases/dengue hemorrhagic fever, dengue shock syndrome immediately rush to the hospital for emergency help from conventional mode of treatment.

Note: Please note that Dengue and Dengue Hemorrhagic fever can turn into a critical life-threatening condition, hence should not be treated only with homeopathic medicines and they should only be considered as an additional help along with conventional mode of treatment. Hospital supervision of the patient is very essential.

Top Homeopathic Medicines For Dengue Fever

1. Eupatorium Perfoliatum – One Of The Best Homeopathic Medicines For Dengue Fever

Homeopathic physicians rank Eupatorium Perfoliatum as the best Homeopathic medicine for Dengue Fever. It is undoubtedly the first medicine to be used in dengue fever cases. The characteristic feature to use it is severe muscle, bone and joint pains with high fever. This medicine is also popularly known as ‘bone set’ as it brings about the quickest relief in severe bone and joint pains in fever. The pain can be present in any bone or it may generally be felt in the whole body. In general body ache, it feels as if the whole body is broken. Apart from relieving joint pains, it is also very beneficial if there is severe pain in the eyeballs caused by dengue fever. It helps in recovering from headache with nausea and vomiting too. The headache is present mostly on the top (vertex) of head. Mainly the patients requiring this remedy for Dengue have severe chill with shivering and severe body pains. After the chill is over, vomiting occurs. In majority of the cases, sweat brings relief in all the symptoms, with the exception of pain in head. Weakness, tiredness may attend above symptoms.

Eupatorium Perfoliatum as a preventive homeopathic medicine for dengue

Although there is no concrete research on the role of Eupatorium Perfoliatum as preventive homeopathic medicine for dengue fever, it is widely used as a prophylaxis for dengue. It is used as its usage is in accordance with homeopathic laws of prophylaxis (Laws stated in homeopathic philosophy suggest that the homeopathic medicine that is closest in symptom-match to the symptoms of an outbreak of a disease can be used as a prophylaxis). The homeopathic medicine which closely matches the symptoms of dengue outbreak is Eupatorium Perfoliatum. It can be used in 30C potency twice daily during an outbreak of dengue fever.

2. Bryonia Alba – To Manage Fever And Muscle / Joint Pains

Bryonia Alba is of great help in providing relief from muscle/ joint pains in dengue fever. This medicine offers the best help when there is worsening of pains by any movement even in the least degree. Complete rest gives relief from pain. There is fever with marked chills. With chills, there is heat in the head.  Extreme thirst for water with a dry mouth may be felt along with this specific feature.

3. Rhus Tox – To Relieve Pain (Muscle, Bone, Joint Pains)

Rhus Tox is another highly recommended medicine to relieve pain in body during fever. It works best when muscle bone or joint pains get worse from rest and are better from movement. There is fever with alternating heat and chill stage. There occur burning heat in body followed by chills and shivering.

4. Gelsemium – For Dengue Fever With Weakness And Prostration

Gelsemium is the best for dengue fever patients who experience utmost weakness and prostration. A state of dullness, dizziness and drowsiness is the perfect description to select gelsemium. The patients needing it seem lethargic and have a desire to lie down in perfect silence without any disturbance. He or she also wants to be quiet and dislikes conversation. The patient experiences shaking chills which is most typically marked in the back and travels up and down the back. Another feature is headache with heaviness of eyes. The headache is mainly present in the back of the head that in most cases travels up to the forehead and eyes. There is also an absence of thirst in majority of cases. Muscle pains may attend above symptoms.

5. Belladonna – To Manage Headache, Pain Behind Eyes And Fever With Marked Heat

Belladonna is the best choice to manage headache. In cases needing it, though pain may be felt in any part of the head but is mostly marked on the sides of head (temples). For using Belladonna, the pain is very violent, and throbbing in nature. Tight binding of the head provides relief. It is also helpful in relieving pain behind the eyes. During fever, there is intense heat in body with red flushed face and lack of thirst.

6. Arsenic Album – To Manage Weakness And Fever

Arsenic Album is an ideal homeopathic medicine to manage weakness during fever. Even standing and walking result in fatigue where this medicine is required. There is a need to lie down all the time because of tiredness. There may be internal chills in the body but the body is hot to touch from outside. Fever mostly comes at night and is attended with marked anxiety and restlessness. There is thirst for little quantity of water at very small intervals. Arsenic can also be given for managing nausea and vomiting. Nausea gets worse by the smell or sight of food and vomiting gets worse from eating or drinking anything.

7. Ipecac – To Manage Nausea And Vomiting

For relieving nausea and vomiting, Ipecac can be used as a first medicine. It is of great help when there is persistent nausea and vomiting. Nausea does not get better even after vomiting. There is vomiting of watery fluid, along with cutting pain in abdomen.

8. Homeopathic Medicines For Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever

Although there are certain homeopathic medicines to manage bleeding in dengue hemorrhagic fever, it is strictly advised to take urgent medical help from conventional mode of treatment in such cases as this condition can be life-threatening and may need urgent hospitalization. For help to manage bleeding, homeopathic medicines can be used along with conventional treatment and should not be in any case considered as a substitute treatment to conventional mode. The main homeopathic medicines that can help in dengue hemorrhagic fever are Hamamelis and China.

Hamamelis is a brilliant medicine to manage bleeding from any body part. It is indicated to manage bleeding under skin, from nose, gums, rectum, in urine, in vomitus. There is excessive exhaustion. China is equally important medicine to manage bleeding. It is of great help when there is profuse bleeding along with marked exhaustion. Debility and utmost prostration with hemorrhages is its main indication.

Symptoms Of Dengue fever

The symptoms start anytime between 4 days to 14 days after bite of an infected mosquito. However, in 80% cases no symptoms arise. Recovery occurs in three to seven days approximately in most cases. But it may develop into a severe disease known as dengue hemorrhagic fever/ dengue shock syndrome.

The main symptoms of dengue fever are:

1. Sudden onset High fever (over 104 degree F). Fever is saddleback (or biphasic) type means after the first peak of fever, subsidence of fever occurs for at least a day which is followed by a second peak of fever for a day or two.

2. Pain typically behind eye worsened by eye motion or pressure

3. Severe muscle, bone and joint pains

4. Severe headache

5. Nausea or vomiting

6. Skin rash: It is noted in about 50 % to 80% of the cases. Initially, skin appears red, flushed and later on a measles-like rash occurs.

Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever

A few cases of dengue fever (around 1 in 20) progress to a serious disease called dengue hemorrhagic fever. It is a serious life-threatening condition needing emergency medical help in hospital. In this serious form, bleeding occurs from different body parts. It usually starts to happen in 24-48 hrs after fever has subsided. In such cases, the platelets (cells responsible for clotting of blood) in the blood significantly decrease leading to hemorrhages (bleeding).

The bleeding may be

1. Under the skin

-Petechiae – tiny bleeding points under skin

– Ecchymosis – blue or purple spots on skin from breaking of blood vessels near skin

– Purpura is similar to ecchymosis but lesions in it are small as compared to ecchymosis

2. From the nose (Epistaxis)

3. From gums

4. Vomiting of blood (Hematemesis)

5. Blood in stool

6. Blood in urine

Along with bleeding, severe abdomen pain and persistent vomiting, fatigue, restlessness, irritability can attend. Those having weak immunity and those having dengue infection for the second time are at a high risk to suffer dengue haemorrhagic fever.

Dengue Shock Syndrome

Like dengue hemorrhagic fever, it is also a serious life-threatening condition needing emergency medical help at hospital.

In case severe bleeding occurs, shock may develop with very low blood pressure, rapid or weak pulse with cold clammy skin and restlessness. It may eventually result in death. Such severe cases with shock are referred to as Dengue Shock Syndrome.

Cause of Dengue Fever

Dengue fever is caused by dengue virus. A person gets this virus infection on being bitten by Aedes mosquito itself infected with dengue virus.

After the entry of dengue virus into the skin of the person, it enters white blood cells and starts reproduction. Certain proteins – cytokines and interferons – are produced by WBCs as a response to virus multiplication resulting in symptoms like fever and pains. If infection gets severe, virus multiplication increases rapidly and affects organs like liver and bone marrow. This may decrease the number of platelets required for blood clotting that may lead to bleeding from various body parts.

Dengue fever cannot pass directly from person to person like via direct skin contact. But one may get infection if they come in contact with infected blood.

In pregnant women, dengue virus can pass to the baby in womb.

There are five strains of dengue virus that can cause dengue fever. Getting infected by any dengue virus strain gives you lifetime immunity to that particular strain of dengue virus. But this does not nullify the chances of getting infected by rest of the strains of dengue virus. A person may suffer infection from all the five strains (only once with each of them) of dengue virus in his/her life. The chances of severe dengue rises on getting dengue fever more than once.

Complications

The complications include internal bleeding, seizures (fits), brain inflammation and damage, liver damage, lung damage, shock due to low blood pressure from excessive bleeding that if not promptly treated, can turn fatal.  In pregnant women having dengue infection, the dengue virus may pass to the baby in womb, it also increases the risk of miscarriage and the chance of low birth weight of baby and pre-term birth also increases.

Diagnostic Investigations

1. Dengue RNA PCR test:  It can detect dengue virus in early stage of infection and also help to detect the particular strain of dengue virus causing infection.

2. Viral antigen detection test – NS1 (named Dengue NS1 Antigen Test). NS1 means non structural protein 1. It can also detect virus in early infection stage and should be done within the first 5 days of appearance of symptoms.

3. Dengue serology – Dengue virus-specific antibodies IgG and IgM test.

Among these, IgM antibodies appear in early stage of infection and their detection while symptoms have already appeared indicates dengue infection. The presence of IgM antibodies cannot be detected one to three months after infection.

IgG antibodies detects infection in late stage as IgG levels increase slowly. It can be detected till over 60 yrs age or even through a lifetime indicating past infection.

4. Platelet count: This is lowered in dengue hemorrhagic fever. Normal platelet count is 1.5 lac to 4.5 lac/microliter of blood. Low platelet count is medically termed thrombocytopenia. In dengue cases platelet count may drop to as low as 20000 to 40000 / microliter of blood.

Prevention of Dengue Fever

1. The best possible way to prevent dengue fever is to prevent mosquito bites and control mosquito breeding.

2. Take measures to stop breeding of mosquitoes. Do not let water collect in any pot, can, old tyres or any other box as mosquitoes breed in standing water. Throw away any pots or boxes where rainwater can collect.

3. Keep windows and doors closed as far as possible to prevent mosquito entry in house.

4. When going out, wear full sleeves clothes, and clothes that cover legs and also wear socks.

5. Use mosquito repellents containing 20% to 30% of DEET.

6. Use of mosquito nets can be helpful.