What are Breakbone Fever and Its Causes?

Breakbone Fever is one of the many names by which doctors address an unusual fever caused by insects in the area. Also called dengue fever, an unexplained severe mosquito-borne viral infection of sudden onset which usually follows a brief, benign course having fever, joint pain, extreme muscle and joint pain, loss of appetite, headaches, and vomiting. It usually begins at night and slowly ebbs off during the morning hours. Breakbone Fever often affects children and pregnant women. There is no treatment for breakbone fever, but certain home remedies may be able to relieve the symptoms.

Breakbone Fever is a name given to the disease because of its similarity to dengue fever. These are both named "inflammation of bones," but while dengue fever has a well defined pattern of symptoms, Breakbone Fever exhibits no such set. A person with Breakbone Fever experiences flu-like symptoms (temporary weakness, loss of appetite, inability to move) for several days prior to the onset of symptoms, and symptoms usually last two to five days after that. Some cases have no clear pattern of illness or no apparent cause. Breakbone Fever is therefore usually diagnosed on the basis of symptom presence and duration.

Breakbone Fever is caused by the bites of various species of mosquito, primarily Aedes Aegypti, Aedes Albicans, and Labeo Bactrim. In a case where there are bite marks from mosquitoes, the disease is known as "bite mark fever." Common signs and symptoms in such a case are: intense itching (which may result in skin lesions), redness, swelling, fever, and Muscle and joint pain. In most cases, bite marks are found only when the victim looks in the mirror after developing a rash. In severe cases, it is possible to determine if a person has been bitten by a mosquito simply by looking at the bite marks.

In most of the cases where there are bite marks, the diagnosis of Breakbone Fever can be difficult, even though the symptoms are similar to those of several other fever-like illnesses. There is, for example, no common test to confirm the diagnosis, and in many of the cases the diagnosis is made on the basis of the patient's history. In young children who suffer from fever-like symptoms, it is not uncommon to find that the diagnosis is wrong, as the child might have other fevers as well. Similarly, in cases in which other diseases have co-occurred with Breakbone Fever, such as Diabetes, AIDS, and Lymphedema, the diagnosis might be wrong.

One of the most common reasons for the incorrect diagnosis of Breakbone Fever is the tendency of medical professionals to use lab tests that do not properly reflect the characteristics of fever. For instance, in a case where the patient shows symptoms similar to chicken pox, blood tests that measure antibody levels can show high site, but this does not necessarily indicate that the person has Breakbone Fever. Likewise, in cases where lab tests show unusually high virus load in the blood, this does not necessarily mean that one has Breakbone Fever. In many cases, the reason why the patient shows signs and symptoms of chicken pox or breakouts is unknown, and these signs and symptoms might well point to other diseases.

At times, there is a possibility that the diagnosis of Breakbone Fever may be wrong due to some obscure symptom that mimics chicken pox or some other similar illness. In such cases, it is always better to consult a physician who is an expert in fever and disease. It is important to note that in almost all the cases in which the diagnosis of this fever is wrong, the cause is often very simple and easy to diagnose, and therefore in most of the cases it is easy to treat fever caused by viral infections like chicken pox.

The common treatment of fever caused by chicken pox is antiviral drugs. This is followed up with injections of corticosteroids in order to reduce inflammation in the affected areas. Surgical operations may also be required in rare cases in which the presence of bone marrow shows that the patient might be suffering from severe complications of the disease.

To make sure that one doesn't have Breakbone Fever, one should look out for the symptoms of the disease, which are moderate fever and severe headache, skin rash, swollen lymph nodes and fever blisters. If at any point these symptoms present themselves in you are sure that they are caused by chicken pox or some other similar disease, then you should immediately go to your doctor for a diagnosis. Treatment of Breakbone Fever involves proper medication and early diagnosis, followed by effective medication to fight off the virus. It is advisable to rest if you have been infected with chicken pox; otherwise, complications may arise from the infection, making it difficult to treat. In extremely serious cases of Breakbone Fever, surgery may also be required in order to cure the fever.