Dengue Fever

Diagnosing dengue fever can be difficult because its signs and symptoms can be easily confused with those of other diseases — such as chikungunya, Zika virus, malaria and typhoid fever.

Your doctor will likely ask about your medical and travel history. Be sure to describe international trips in detail, including the countries you visited and the dates, as well as any contact you may have had with mosquitoes.

Your doctor may also draw a sample of blood to be tested in a lab for evidence of infection with one of the dengue viruses.

No specific treatment for dengue fever exists.

While recovering from dengue fever, drink plenty of fluids. Call your doctor right away if you have any of the following signs and symptoms of dehydration:

Decreased urination

Few or no tears

Dry mouth or lips

Lethargy or confusion

Cold or clammy extremities

The over-the-counter (OTC) drug acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) can help reduce muscle pain and fever. But if you have dengue fever, you should avoid other OTC pain relievers, including aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) and naproxen sodium (Aleve). These pain relievers can increase the risk of dengue fever bleeding complications.

If you have severe dengue fever, you may need:

Supportive care in a hospital

Intravenous (IV) fluid and electrolyte replacement

Blood pressure monitoring

Transfusion to replace blood loss