Yellow Fever Causes and How to Treat It
Yellow fever is a disease that can be caused by mosquito bites. It has that name because the person infected will have jaundice, which is a yellow discoloration of the whites of the eye and on skin level. Another trademark of this dangerous and contagious disease is the high fever. Depending on the stage of the disease, symptoms can vary from person to person.
It’s crucial that you see a doctor as soon as the symptoms become visible. If left untreated, yellow fever can damage vital organs such as your kidneys, liver, heart and your gastrointestinal system. The worst part of this disease is that once infected, you can’t cure it.
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Causes of Yellow Fever
Because mosquitoes come into direct contact with a person’s blood, it is similar to when the blood from an infected person mixes with the clean blood of another person. So, if a mosquito bites an animal or a human with yellow fever, it becomes the carrier of the flavivirus that it can spread from person to person. If the people aren’t vaccinated for yellow fever, the result can be a small-scale epidemic which can spread in both humid and semi-humid places.
You should also know that the level of contagion of this condition doesn’t apply from one individual to another. The disease can only be taken from the medium carrying the flavivirus, which is the mosquito bite.
How You Detect It and How to Treat It
Yellow fever can only be detected once the symptoms hit. The initial stage will be around the first 3 to 6 days when you will have symptoms similar to the flu. You can have headaches, chills, fevers, joint and muscle pain. After the 3rd or 4th day, when the disease will hit its peak, you will feel backaches and losses of appetite. Once the acute phase of the fever is over, most people will make a full recovery. However, about 15% of the people infected will continue with a toxic phase. This phase includes symptoms such as decreased urination, abdominal pain, bleeding from the nose, eyes and mouth, and also vomiting with traces of blood.
While there is no cure for this fever, some remedies can help you feel better:
- Rest: Let your body use your energy to cure the fever.
- Drink fluids: You can keep your organs functioning by hydrating yourself.
- Eat properly: Having a well-balanced diet full of nutrients can get you back on track.
- Add Cayenne pepper to your diet: Spices can reduce your fever and boost your immune system.
- Garlic tea: Since garlic has antiviral properties, it can help manage the symptoms.
- Fenugreek seeds: Many people claim that fenugreek is perfect for managing yellow fever symptoms.
Since no researcher has ever found a way to cure yellow fever, all a doctor can do is prescribe medicine to tone down the symptoms and strengthen your immune system. The only “cure” is to avoid getting it altogether with the help of a vaccine. However, if you are already infected with this flu-like disease, you can aid your treatment with the remedies mentioned above.
