Dakshina Kannada District Health and Family Welfare Officer (DHO) H.R. Thimmaiah has cautioned people with dengue against consuming paracetamol tablets without consulting a doctor.
When a person is down with dengue the count of the white blood cells in the body declines. Consuming a painkiller tablet (paracetamol) in such a condition without the recommendation of the doctor is dangerous to one’s health. It may lead to serious side effects or sometimes even death, he said.
Dr. Thimmaiah was speaking at an emergency meeting in the office of the Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner on Wednesday. The meeting was called in connection with creating awareness among people on precautions to be taken to prevent the spread of dengue.
The DHO said that many people have the habit of consuming paracetamol on their own to get rid of the fever. They should be cautious against doing so.
He said that some people drink juice made from the leaves of a papaya tree to get cured of dengue. This is also dangerous to the health. People should not resort to self medication, the DHO said.
District Vector-Borne Disease Control Officer Naveenchandra Kulal said that there is no medicine specifically prescribed to get rid of dengue, the spread of which can be controlled only by destroying breeding spots of dengue-causing mosquitoes, which breed in fresh water.
Dr. Kulal said that having severe fever, body and joint pain for more than three days, severe headache, eye pain, vomiting, and bleeding from the mouth and the nose are symptoms of dengue. He said that people should drink boiled water.
Additional Deputy Commissioner G. Santhosh Kumar asked taluk-level officials to identify breeding spots and destroy the larvae within two days. Mr. Kumar asked officials to create awareness on the spread of dengue in schools and colleges. If possible, children should be asked to wear full-sleeve clothes to protect themselves from mosquitoes, he added.
