The problem is, we have very little awareness about dengue. So many people do not seek medical advice even after experiencing problems like fever, joint pain and extreme fatigue. And therein lies the problem.
Also, one more thing must be discussed. If you look around a little, you will know that the price of papaya leaves has increased suddenly in the midst of such an increase in dengue. People believe that drinking the juice of this leaf will increase platelets. But the question is, how true is this idea that has penetrated the minds of the people? It was with this question that we approached Dr. Arindam Biswas, a prominent medicine specialist in Kolkata . He told us about this in detail.
Why does the platelets of dengue patients decrease?
Dr. Biswas said, Dengue patient's body produces some antibodies to fight against the virus. And this antibody directly destroys blood platelets. Therefore, many dengue patients have a rapid decrease in platelets. But why antibodies attack platelets is not yet known. More research is needed on this.
Does eating papaya leaves increase platelets?
According to Dr. Biswas, a trial is needed to prove something in science. A substance can only be proven to work in a large proportion of people. However, no such trial has yet been done with papaya leaves. It is not even mentioned anywhere that this leaf is very effective in increasing platelets. So the mindset that platelets will increase by eating papaya leaves, needs to be changed. However, eating papaya leaf juice does not cause any harm to the body, so doctors do not prohibit eating it. That's the point.
How to increase platelets?
Dr. Biswas said that if the incidence of the disease decreases a little, the platelets will increase within a few days. In his words, there is no point in worrying too much about platelets. If you eat properly and drink enough water, you can recover from this disease quickly. Even platelets will increase. So there is no point in thinking more about this. But if the platelets fall below 10,000 or the patient starts vomiting , abdominal pain and bleeding, he needs to be admitted to the hospital and treated according to the doctor's advice.
What is the treatment?
Paracetamol is still the hope for this disease. Taking this medicine will reduce fever, pain in body, hands and feet. However, if the effect of dengue on the patient's body is very high, an antiviral drug called ribavirin is used. However, there has been no large trial on the effectiveness of this drug. Therefore, Dr. Biswas expressed his opinion that ICMR should conduct a trial on the effectiveness of this drug in the treatment of dengue.
If you leave it, you will regret it
At this time, if you or someone in your family has symptoms like fever, pain in the body, hands and feet, headache, definitely take a dengue test as advised by the doctor. You can recover quickly if you can start the necessary treatment by doing this. So leave the mistake of neglecting dengue to stay healthy.
