dengue

The differences between chikungunya and dengue fever.

By taqidoc Medicine Add comments

Types	Chikungunya	Dengue
Causative agent	a virus which belongs to the genusAlphavirus, in the familyTogaviridae.	any of four closely related viruses, or serotypes: dengue 1-4. (DENV 1, DENV 2, DENV 3, DENV 4) Infection with one serotype does not protect against the others.
Season	widespread in most parts of the country but is most active after the rains.
Mode of transmission	Infected Aedes Aegypti /albopictus bite
Incubation period	Time from infection to illness 2-12 days but is usually 3-7 days	In order for transmission to occur the mosquito must feed on a person during a 5- day periodwhen large amounts of virus are in the blood; this period usually begins a little before the person become symptomatic. Some people never have significant symptoms but can still infect mosquitoes. After entering the mosquito in the blood meal, the virus will require an additional 8-12 days incubation before it can then be transmitted to another human. The mosquito remains infected for the remainder of its life, which might be days or a few weeks.
Symptoms	1. Fever 2. Headache 3. Fatigue 4. Nausea 5. Vomiting 6. Muscle pain 7. Rash 8. Joint pain It can also be asymptomatic. Acute chikungunya fever typically lasts a few days to a couple of weeks. Some patients have reported incapacitating joint pain, or arthritis which may last for weeks or months.	Symptoms of infection usually begin 4 – 7 days after the mosquito bite and typically last 3 – 10 days. In order for transmission to occur the mosquito must feed on a person during a 5- day period when large amounts of virus are in the blood. High fever and at least two of the following: · Severe headache · Severe eye pain (behind eyes) · Joint pain · Muscle and/or bone pain · Rash · Mild bleeding manifestation (e.g., nose or gum bleed, petechiae, or easy bruising) · Low white cell count Generally, younger children and those with their first dengue infection have a milder illness than older children and adults. Warning sign: (emergency) if · Severe abdominal pain or persistent vomiting · Red spots or patches on the skin · Bleeding from nose or gums · Vomiting blood · Black, tarry stools (feces, excrement) · Drowsiness or irritability · Pale, cold, or clammy skin · Difficulty breathing
Diagnostic testing	1. Based on the patient’s clinical features, places and dates of travel (if the patient is from a non-endemic country or area), activities, and epidemiologic history of the location where infection occurred. 2. Lab test à to detect virus-specific IgM and neutralizing antibodies in serum or CSF. 3. In fatal cases, nucleic acid amplification, histopathology withimmunohistochemistry, and virus culture of biopsy or autopsy tissues can also be useful.	1.Diagnosis of dengue fever is generally easy in endemic areas and during epidemics due to the typical symptoms and characteristic signs of dengue fever. But if the cases are mild, they may look like other viral disease. 2.Laboratory diagnosis of dengue fever is done by IgM ELISA (enzyme linked immunosorbant assay), paired serology during recovery or by antigen-detection ELISA during the acute phase. There is alsoleucopenia (lees number of leukocytes or white blood cells, generally less than 5,000) and thrombocytopenia (reduced number of platelets in circulating blood). Dengue virus also can be easily isolated from blood in the acute phase by using mosquito inoculation or mosquito cell culture.
Treatment	Symptomatic treatment: 1.Rest 2.Drink plenty of fluid 3.Use analgesics
Can pregnant women become infected and pass the infection to their child?	Yes. Most infections will not result in the virus being transmitted to the fetus. The highest risk for infection of the fetus/child occurs when a woman has virus in her blood (viremic) at the time of delivery	Yes. Transmission to the fetus is rare.
Can the virus transmitted to a child by breastfeeding?	No.	No. Research shows the presence of anti-dengue antibodies in breast milk and colostrum, which suggests that breastfeeding actually protects your baby from the dengue virus in case of a dengue infection.
Mortality rate	Fatalities are rare.	DHF is a more severe form of dengue infection. It can be fatal if unrecognized and not properly treated in a timely manner. DHF is caused by infection with the same viruses that cause dengue fever. With good medical management, mortality due to DHF can be less than 1%.
Prevention	Avoid mosquito bites. 1. Use insect repellent. 2. Wear long sleeves and pants. 3. Have secure screens on windows and doors to keep mosquitoes out. Get rid of mosquito sources such as emptying standing water from flower pots etc. Limit exposure to mosquito bites for infected person to avoid further spread.

References:

http://www.babycenter.in/pregnancy/complications/dengue/

http://nethealthsite.com/diseases-with-d/52-dengue-fever.html

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/Chikungunya/CH_FactSheet.html

http://www.cdc.gov/dengue/

Honey And Lemon Juice Diet Home Remedy for Weight Loss

They Laughed When I Told Them This Simple Weight Loss Remedy Melts Away Fat.

There are so many weight loss supplements on the market today that it is truly confusing as to what actually works and what does not. Now here is a statement that will help you clear that confusion...

"Nearly all weight loss pills and weight loss supplements do not work"

Most weight loss pills and supplements are being mass marketed to you for one simple reason...

...Money

And many of these weight loss pills are very dangerous for your health as well as being ridiculously expensive. The weight loss industry is fuelled by money, it is not governed for genuine concern for human health.

But do not worry...

I am going to share with you today a 5000 year old natural weight loss remedy that has worked on millions of people to lose bucket loads of fat and this simple remedy will work on you if you simply try it.

And here is even more good news, I am going to share this knowledge with you today...

...Absolutely free

This ancient remedy has worked for over five thousands years. It is a proven winner. This very simple home remedy costs you next to nothing and provides your body with health while helping you strip away truck loads of fat.

And lastly one more benefit is this extraordinary home remedy tastes damn good. In fact it is delicious.

Now you might ask be thinking if this home remedy is so great why is it not being shared and exposed to the whole world....

Well the reason is because...

Million dollar companies can not make money from it because...

You can make this simple honey weight loss remedy from your own home kitchen...

And secondly because the knowledge of this remedy is only contained in the ancient natural healing system known as Ayurvedic Medicine (I am a natural healer in this medical science).

This natural medical system is mostly unknown in the west. Many health secrets are revealed within this system that no other medical science on earth knows.

Ok lets now reveal this secret weight loss home remedy...Drum role...

The remedy is...

Raw Unheated Honey, Fresh Lemon juice and a Glass of room temperature water.

Here is how this amazing remedy works...

The Power of raw unheated honey...

Honey has been used as a home remedy in Ayurvedic medicine to help dissolve fat for thousands of years.

Honey scrapes away and dissolves fat. Fat by nature is oily. Honey has opposite qualities to fat. Honey has a drying astringent quality on fat helping to dissolve it.

According to the ancient medical scriptures raw unheated honey also has the following benefits...

 -anti fat substance
 -easily digestible
 -improves digestion
 -good for the eyes
 -good for the voice
 -gives suppleness to your body
 -purifies and clears the channels
 -bestows contentment
 -heals wounds
 -purifies and heals ulcers
 -gives good color and complexion
 -improves intelligence
 -cures many types of diseases
 -rejuvenates your body

Honey is opposite to sugar. Sugar actually makes you fatter but honey is the only sweet tasting substance that strips away fat.

Honey also should never ever be boiled, heated or cooked. It has been found that cooked or boiled honey has a deformed molecular structure turning it into a toxic glue like substance that sticks to the channels within your body and this glue like substance causes disease.

So please use only raw, unheated honey. Raw unheated honey is pure medicine. Raw unheated honey can be brought from any health food store in the world. It can also be brought on the internet.

The power of lemon juice...

Fresh lemon juice is excellent to help you lose weight. Lemon juice is a...

 -powerful weight loss substance
 -wonderful aid to internal cleansing
 -antiseptic
 -retards the presence of disease causing bacteria
 -cleanses the liver
 -helps reduce bloating and flatulence
 -aids elimination
 -antioxidant
 -helps keep your skin clear

The power of a glass of room temperature water...

A simple glass of water upon waking up helps remove constipation and detoxifies your body. A simple glass of water has several healing qualities:

 -Helps remove fatigue
 -Enhances glow of skin
 -Prevents constipation
 -Increases stamina
 -Provides satisfaction
 -Helps the heart
 -Helps digestion
 -Antioxidant

"How to take this potent home remedy"

First thing in the morning as soon as you wake up fill a glass with room temperature or luke warm water, add 1 teaspoon of raw unheated honey and add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, then drink. Take this remedy once every day on a empty stomach.

This home remedy is nature's medicine and is a million times more effective at shedding fat then any weight loss pill. You will be surprised how something so simple as this home remedy can help you not only shed huge amounts of fat but also increase your health and well being.

Now it must be remembered in order to lose weight effectively you need to combine many weight loss principles together.

"While this home remedy is very powerful it needs to be combined with other weight loss principles to be fully effective in a complete weight loss program"

These principles include: mastering your eating habits, eating a healthy diet, special weight loss exercises, potent fat shedding herbal supplements and lastly preventative medicine 

My Location@16:17,3/10 Faizabad Rd, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India http://m.google.co.uk/u/m/zoWApI

Homoeopathy, ayurveda and other alternative systems of medicine get mediclaim cover

Homoeopathy, ayurveda and other alternative systems of medicine get mediclaim cover

Till some time back, health insurance policies used to cover only allopathy treatment while ayurveda, homeopathy, naturopathy and unani treatments were left out of the ambit. Despite having a comprehensive health insurance plan, individuals who preferred such systems had to pay out of their own pockets.

These policyholders can now breathe easy as some insurance companies have started including alternative forms of treatment under their cover, especially ayurveda. “Ayurveda being the most prevalent of the alternate systems, we have designed a product to cover treatments under ayurvedic hospitalization,” says S S Gopalarathnam, MD, Cholamandalam MS General Insurance.

While some insurers only offer it under their group policies, others have started offering it to individual health insurance seekers. PSU insurer New India Assurance and standalone health insurance provider Star Health and Allied Insurance are other insurance firms that have started covering ayurvedic treatments under individual policies. ICICI Lombard General Insurance covers it under government scheme and Future Generali Insurance offers it to corporate group insurance buyers.

“Our policies as such do not cover any other line of treatment besides allopathy. However, in group policies, we do offer tailor-made packages to corporate clients to cover ayurvedic treatment subject to certain conditions,” says Shreeraj Deshpande, head of health insurance at Future Generali. Few insurance policies cover unani treatment.

How did the need to cover alternative forms of medicine in health insurance arise? According to S S Gopalarathnam, managing director, Cholamandalam MS General Insurance, “During various focus group discussions with customers and agents, we found that for chronic ailments like spondilytis, arthritis and epilepsy, many people preferred alternate streams of treatment such as ayurveda, siddha and homeopathy, etc.”

Though the coverage has been expanded, there are curbs on the amount and situations under which it can be claimed.
New India Assurance’s extends cover to individuals undergoing treatment with the help of Ayurvedic, homeopathic and Unani systems of medicine. “Such claims will be covered only to the extent of 25% of sum insured. Also, they need to have availed of the treatment at a government hospital to be eligible for the claim,” informs Segar Sampathkumar, deputy general manager, New India Assurance.

Similarly, Star Health also covers non-allopathic treatment, except Naturopathy, costs under its Unique Health Insurance Policy, “up to 25% of sum assured or a maximum of Rs 25,000 per occurrence, per year.”

Chola Individual Health line Insurance policy provides coverage for ayurveda during hospitalization, prior and post hospitalization. A policy holder can get treated in any of the government registered ayurveda hospitals across the country and claim if hospitalized for more than 24 hours.
Naturopathy treatments are excluded in all policies, while few cover unani and homeopathic. This is because other forms of treatments have no standard treatment protocols and highly varied costs thus making it difficult to actuarially compute the cost to be covered.
Even under ayurveda, select procedures are covered to ensure people do not misuse a policy for a basic rejuvenation procedure.

“We do not cover the unani system of medicine. Under ayurveda, hospitalization for panchkarma (five actions) meant to purify the whole body by eliminating accumulated toxins, is covered on a case to case basis,” explains Deshpande.

It is important to note that there is no standalone cover available for covering alternative treatments. You will have to buy a standard health insurance cover from these select insurers and others who start offering the non-allopathic coverage.

Before you head for alternative treatment and make a claim, see whether the treatment is listed in the insurance policy document.

Source: Times of India, 25-07-2011, Delhi edition