Avoiding Dengue Fever

One of the disease that I really dread is Dengue fever. I have been really paranoid lately because I keep hearing about dengue cases through friends and read about it on FB. Just last week the husband of a dear friend got dengue and thankfully he was cured after a week. Some may not be as fortunate as him. Some die because of Dengue. A three year old distant relative in Manila died recently because of dengue. Young and old alike are not spared from Dengue.  I hate the fact that you can contract it through a mosquito bite anytime because you can never protect yourself a 100% from those darn mosquitoes. Of course you can still do something to avoid it and here are somethings I've learned while scouring the net for info:

1. Educate yourself. Learn about the disease so you will be aware if any symptoms will arise and what to do. Search the internet or ask your physician about it.

2.Clean up your surroundings to ensure that there will be no breeding ground for mosquitoes. They breed on clean water so make sure to remove any cans, bottles, tires and etc in your area that can accumulate rain water.

3. As much as possible do not expose yourself to mosquito bites.Wear long sleeved clothing when going out at night esp. in beaches,lakes and outdoor areas. 

4.Apply mosquito repellent lotion and oils.Choose a DEET free repellent.I will post soon about the repellent we use even for our son.

6. Use mosquito net at night.

7. When you suddenly have a high grade fever esp. that isn't related to cough or colds don't hesitate to immediately consult your doctor and request for a CBC analysis to check your blood and  number of platelets. 

I really hope that through this post I can help spread the word about Dengue and how to avoid it as much as we can.