Dengue patients have increased in the last 15 days in many other states including the capital Delhi-NCR. Health experts say the way flood-like conditions have been created due to heavy rains in the past, has also increased the risk of other mosquito-borne diseases including dengue. As per the latest reports, 136 cases of dengue have been reported in the country till July this year. The number of patients in hospitals is increasing, although most people are also returning home after recovering.
Doctors say dengue cases can be both mild and severe symptoms. Hemorrhagic dengue has been considered to be of severe severity. You must also have often heard that platelets count decreases in dengue patients, which is considered dangerous.
But what are these platelets, why it starts decreasing in dengue and what efforts should be made to increase it, let us understand in detail.
Know about platelets
Platelets, or thrombocytes, are tiny, colorless cell fragments in our blood that form clots and stop bleeding. Platelets are made in our bone marrow. The platelet count in a healthy person ranges from 150,000 to 450,000 platelets per microliter of blood. Having more than 450,000 platelets is known as thrombocytosis and less than 150,000 is known as thrombocytopenia. The problem of low platelet count is more common in dengue patients.
The problem of low platelets in dengue
There can be mainly three reasons for low platelets in dengue.
Our bone marrow gets suppressed, resulting in a decrease in platelet production.
The blood cells affected by the dengue virus start damaging the platelets and destroying them.
Platelets also start decreasing due to the antibodies formed during this time.
Low platelets and risk of bleeding
The platelet count can usually remain low till the 3rd-4th day of severe dengue illness. However, improvement also starts coming on the eight to the ninth day. Since platelets help in blood clotting, their deficiency in the body can result in vomiting or bloody stools in dengue cases.
Doctors say that during the dengue fever season, everyone should try to increase their platelet count to help fight the infection.
If platelets are low then how to increase it?
During dengue, the condition of decreasing platelets is a sign of serious disease. The patient should be admitted to the hospital so that the problem of bleeding along with other symptoms can be controlled. Doctors improve it through medicines. Apart from this, increasing the intake of foods rich in omega-3, vitamins, iron, and other minerals can give you benefits. These help fight pathogens and can also increase platelet count in dengue.
Dengue patients should consume more and more liquid, fruit juices, and coconut water.
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