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Suggest Ways To Rule Out Dengue

Posted on Tue, 13 Jun 2017

Question: I am 33 years old , living in a congested place of XXXXXXX XXXXXXX Last 2 weeks its been raining here everyday , and there are few places with stagnant water. Last night I had kept the window open and slept off next to it , i woke up early morning with mosquito bites all over my body.

Is there any post exposure preventive pills for any of the mosquito bourn disease ?
Can you suggest what i should do right now about it.
4 years back I suffered from Dengue one time . Now I am worried about other stances of Dengue or malaria and chikungunya .
Can I take any anti malarial drugs? Are there any side effects to it?

I am IBS and GERD patient , on PPI (nexium) over the counter and use enzyme supplements now and then.

Answered by Dr. Anshul Varshney (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
No Prophylaxis

Detailed Answer:
Welcome to Healthcaremagic.
Hi, I am Dr Anshul Varshney , I have read your query in detail , I understand your concern.

There are thousand's of mosquito borne diseases and prophylaxis is just prevention of mosquito bite.

In general, in XXXXXXX we don't offer regular prophylactic medicines for this purpose as we don't know, which disease the mosquito has been carrying.

There are no pills for prophylaxis of dengue.

There are medicines for malaria prophylaxis but are not indicated in such case scenario.

The best advice that goes for you, that even i would follow, if i have been at your place, is to wait and watch.

In case, you develop any fever, that will probably occur with next 5 days, get your self tested for dengue, malaria and chikungunia and get the appropriate treatment.

This is my personal opinion based on details available here. If you still have any other query, you may please ask me.

Stay Healthy.
Dr Anshul Varshney , MD

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Anshul Varshney (30 minutes later)

Hello Doctor ,

Thanks for the detailed answer , much appreciated.

I read in few cases Malaria might take months to show symptoms , is it true?
So which cases malaria prophylaxis are prescribed usually , only after a positive blood report?
And what is the window period for Malaria , Chkungunia and Dengue antigen to be detectable by any normal blood tests?
Suppose one is exposed to the virus and the symptoms are yet to show up , will still the blood test be able to detect the virus present in body at this phase?

Thanks & Regards XXXXXXX

Answered by Dr. Anshul Varshney (38 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Detail follows

Detailed Answer:
Malaria comes positive with 3-4 days of fever.

Dengue NS-1 with in 1-2 days of fever

Chikungunia PCR with 2-3 days of fever.

These tests are available widely.

If fever has not appeared the test would be probably negative. So, i would not recommend any testing.

Malaria prophylaxis is given to people visiting malaria endemic countries like XXXXXXX and that too specially pregnant women and old aged people.

Now, a days with recent advances in tests, malaria test easily comes positive.

Good Luck.

Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar