What are the signs and symptoms of dengue?

After being bitten by a mosquito carrying the virus, the incubation period ranges from three to 15 (usually five to eight) days before the signs and symptoms of dengue appear. Dengue starts with chills, headache, pain upon moving the eyes, and low backache. Painful aching in the legs and joints occurs during the first hours of illness. The temperature rises quickly as high as 104° F (40° C), with relative low heart rate (bradycardia) and low blood pressure (hypotension). The eyes become reddened. A flushing or pale pink rash comes over the face and then disappears. The glands (lymph nodes) in the neck and groin are often swollen.

Fever and other signs of dengue last for two to four days, followed by rapid drop in temperature (defervescence) with profuse sweating. This precedes a period with normal temperature and a sense of well-being that lasts about a day. A second rapid rise in temperature follows. A characteristic rash appears along with the fever and spreads from the extremities to cover the entire body except the face. The palms and soles may be bright red and swollen.

How is dengue contracted?

The virus is contracted from the bite of a striped Aedes aegypti mosquito that has previously bitten an infected person. The mosquito flourishes during rainy seasons but can breed in water-filled flower pots, plastic bags, and cans year-round. One mosquito bite can inflict the disease.

The virus is not contagious and cannot be spread directly from person to person. There must be a person-to-mosquito-to-another-person pathway.

What areas are at high risk for contracting dengue fever?

Dengue is prevalent throughout the tropics and subtropics. Outbreaks have occurred in the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Cuba, and Central America. Cases have also been imported via tourists returning from areas with widespread dengue, including Tahiti, the South Pacific, Southeast Asia, the West Indies, India, and the Middle East.

Dengue fever is common and may be increasing in Southeast Asia. Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, and Malaysia have all reported an increase in cases. According to the World Health Organization, there are an estimated 50 million cases of dengue fever with 500,000 cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever requiring hospitalization each year. Nearly 40% of the world's population lives in an area endemic with dengue.

WHAT IS DANGUE FEVER

Dengue fever is a disease caused by a family of viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes. It is an acute illness of sudden onset that usually follows a benign course with headache, fever, exhaustion, severe joint and muscle pain, swollen glands (lymphadenopathy), and rash. The presence (the "dengue triad") of fever, rash, and headache (and other pains) is particularly characteristic of dengue.

Dengue (pronounced DENG-gay) strikes people with low levels of immunity. Because it is caused by one of four serotypes of virus, it is possible to get dengue fever multiple times. However, an attack of dengue produces immunity for a lifetime to that particular serotype to which the patient was exposed.

Dengue hemorrhagic fever is a more severe form of the viral illness. Manifestations include headache, fever, rash, and evidence of hemorrhage in the body. Petechiae (small red or purple blisters under the skin), bleeding in the nose or gums, black stools, or easy bruising are all possible signs of hemorrhage. This form of dengue fever can be life-threatening or even fatal.

WOMEN LIFE SAVING MONEY

Set up a schedule.

As with food shopping, you should have a plan of attack for dining out. Instead of buying another $10 salad at lunch or hitting a casual dining spot after work because you're not in the mood to make dinner, sit down each week and figure out what dishes and what places you really want to enjoy. Then find out when you can get a great deal—such as early dinner specials or lunch, says Roxanne Weber, associate editor at chow.com. And carve out time in your schedule to pack a lunch or cook at home—it saves a ton of cash. Insurance and Financial Fees Save almost $600 a year Some credit cards sock you with fees of $30-plus, the FDIC reports, if you’re even a day late with your payment. Say you have a bad math week and bounce a check—that’s a fortune right there. Stay on top of these painful fees and save yourself from spending money that does nothing for you. Set up an overdraft account. “Link your checking account to your savings account, so that if you overdraw, the money comes from savings, says Luke Reynolds, head of the FDIC’s community outreach efforts. Just make sure you always have a $300 cushion in your account.

Set up automatic withdrawal. Avoid late fees on your card by having your card issuer automatically withdraw the minimum amount before your due date. Many issuers also let you pay by phone. This helps during those months when you realize the due date is…today.Don’t pay for credit reports. You know those ads promising free credit reports? Despite the catchy tune, the reports really aren’t free, notes Reynolds—they can cost about $15 per month. For a truly free report, head to AnnualCreditReport.com. You can get one free credit report each year; for most people, that’s plenty, he adds.Cut ATM fees. Sure, having an ATM on every corner is convenient. But it’s also pricey, if you go outside your own bank’s network. Some ATMs charge $2-to-$3 per transaction. Your own bank may take on another couple bucks. If you use these once a month, that’s $60 out the window by next year. To avoid the fees, head to your bank’s website, and find the branches and ATMs near your usual stomping grounds. Make a point of using these whenever possible. What if you’re away from home and need cash? Use stores as your ATM—pay with your debit card and then ask for extra cash back when you check out, Reynolds suggests. Many times they do this without changing any fees.Raise your deductible. The average annual bill for homeowner’s insurance was $804 in 2006, according to the Insurance Information Institute. However, by raising your deductible from $500 to $1,000, you could save up to 25 percent on your premium, the Institute says. If your annual tab is about the average, that works out to $200 per year. Same with car insurance: Kick it up from $250 to $500 and you’ll save between $171 and $257 per year, says Sam Belden, vice president with Insurance.com.Revisit your policy. If you’ve changed jobs, for instance, and drive less to work, you may be able to reduce your car insurance rate. Low mileage rates, which can save you five to 15 percent, typically come into play if you drive less than about 7,500 miles each year, Belden says.

Get steamed.

Home dry-cleaning products, such as a $12 kit of Dryel (which uses the heat from your dryer to steam clean your clothes), can help you get a fresh-pressed look at a lower price. "It really works," says Lilliana Vazquez, founder of cheapchicas.com. While it won't completely replace dry cleaning, you can probably alternate between home cleaning and sending it out. But keep in mind that some items—suits and wool sweaters in particular—aren't meant to be cleaned frequently. "Any more than two times a year and you'll wear out the fabric," says Kathryn Finney, founder of thebudgetfashionista.com.Food Shopping Cut $30 a week x 52 weeks = $1,560 You don't have to live on soup to save money on groceries. "Take a strategic approach to shopping and you'll save a lot of money without having to eat poorly," says Stephanie Nelson, founder of couponmom.com.

Plan ahead.

If you stop at the supermarket every night on the way home from work, you're wasting a lot of extra cash. A study found that people who take numerous quick trips buy 54 percent more food than those who carefully plan a once-a-week attack. A smarter move: Come up with a week's worth of meals, then shop on the weekend for only what's on the list. To speed up your planning, build a grocery list online (check out grocerywiz.com, knotler.com, and ziplist.com).

Go no-name.

"Today, many generics or store brands taste great and run about 25 percent less than their big-name counterparts," says Jim Hertel of the market research firm Willard Bishop, which specializes in the grocery industry. But you don't have to go completely off-label—just experiment and see what you can live with. Rice, pasta, and cereals are less likely to have noticeable differences in flavor or texture than, say, a spicy tomato sauce or peanut butter. Eating Out $30 x 24 times a year = $720 Going to restaurants is usually the first victim of the cost-cutting guillotine. But with the right strategies, you don't need to be a slave to your stove.

Buy gift certificates on the cheap.

Websites like restaurant.com offer them well below face value. Type in your zip code and you'll find a list of nearby participating restaurants that offer $25 certificates for $10. (Sometimes they have killer 80 percent off sales, so you can get a $25 one for only $2.) Done twice a month, you can pocket several hundred dollars over the course of a year.

WOMEN LIFE

Sneaky Money Suckers
Covert cash leaks are draining your bottom line this very minute. Stop them and you could save more than three grand this year—painlessly!

We've all heard it a thousand times: If you're trying to tighten your financial belt, cut back on Starbucks runs. But what if you just loooove Starbucks? What if it's a caffeinated oasis in your crazy, full-throttle life? Instead of dropping something that's meaningful to you, how about ferreting out the real money suckers—those small purchases that contribute little to your quality of life but subtract a whole lotta cash from your bank account?

Do some smart trimming and you can save yourself thousands of bucks a year without missing a thing.

Dry Cleaning

Cut $25 a month x 12 months = $300The cost of wearing nice clothes doesn't end at the cash register. It's the upkeep of those gorgeous things that takes you to the cleaners—literally and figuratively. So here's how to look freshly pressed without spending a ton of dough.

Shop around.

The cost of dry-cleaning a blouse, for example, can range anywhere from $1.50 to $7, depending on where you go—so comparison shop to make sure you're getting the best deal possible. While you're at it, ask each cleaner for a full price list to make sure you're being treated fairly. For instance, some places charge more to clean women's shirts than they do to clean men's shirts. "A reputable cleaner should have a gender-neutral pricing policy," says Lara Hollenczer, a spokesperson with the Laundry and Drycleaning Institute. If they don't, demand the lower price, and take your shirts elsewhere if they don't concede.