Dengue has been a constant source of headache for parents. This disease records its most cases during the rainy season usually starting from end-May up to November. According to WHO, the total tally of dengue cases in the Philippines is at 52,601 with 190 deaths (as of June 2020). This is lower than 2019 statistics but it doesn’t mean that we should dismiss it. With the coronavirus cases still on the rise and hospitals packed with patients, we should be vigilant against other potential illnesses.
Here are some friendly tips to prevent dengue:
- 1. Never let stagnant water be within your vicinity, have water containers cleaned and covered regularly. Any stagnant water over common household items can easily be a nest for mosquito larvae. May it be pails, plates, vases, or water containers, mosquito eggs can easily hatch as long as the water stays untouched. The same logic words for roof gutters, bathtubs, pools, and fountains.
- 2. Be proactive, wear pants and long sleeves to prevent manifestation of mosquito bites. Dress accordingly to the situation, so if you know that your area is a dengue hotspot for an outbreak, leave your shorts and t-shirts for another day.
- 3. Consider installing screens and mosquito nets. Mosquito-proof your household with door and window screens and mosquito nets hovering above your bed. This ensures that no mosquito would be able to enter the household given the impossibly small size of the mesh for the mosquito to enter.
- 4. Always have your household tidy and spot-on clean. Having excess food or wet trash laying around can easily be spots for stagnant water build-up; the same spots where mosquitoes can easily grow their larvae, furthering the infestation and the outbreak even more
- 5. Have insecticides for mosquitoes readily available in your household. Aside from maximizing the use of citronella and its oils, you may also opt to have yourself some anti-mosquito sprays and anti-mosquito coils that burn like incense. Do note that these spray and coils should be used with caution and should always be away from children’s reach
- 6. Use mosquito repellent and apply it all over the body. Given their very minute size, you’d never actually know when mosquitoes will bite. A good way to prevent this aside from wearing sleeves would be of course to apply mosquito repellent too for good measure.
These are easy ways to prevent dengue. But at the end of the day, we all want peace of mind that our household is safe. The best way to ensure your kids’ health is to invest in a good health plan. No one knows when they’d get sick, so it’s better to be prepared. Check out a variety of health plans for kids at Maria Health.