Most of the studies are saying that the word 'Chikungunya' stands with the meaning "that which bends up", originated from the Makonde language. And the meaning explains that the affected people will get severe bone joint pain with arthritic symptoms, and severe pain would give the patient a curved shape, as the intense of pain try to twist the whole body of the patient. In 1952 there was an outbreak of this disease among Makonde Plateau, was a rural place between Mozambique and Tanzania. That was a massive outbreak of the history. In 1955 Marion Robinson and W.H.R. Lumsden described the disease first. Since that Chikungunya's outbreak has occasionally occurred in other part of Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia.
Now let's know what Chikungunya really is: a type of fever, which occurs on patient's body with severe pain and extreme temperature. And it occurs bitten by female Aedes Albopictus and Aedes azipati mosquito. Noteworthy that only bites of female Aedes mosquito can bring this severe fever. The symptoms of this disease are seen on the body after 5 days of mosquito bites, which I mentioned earlier. And body temperature can rise up to 104 degrees Fahrenheit, which can stays 3 to 12 days maximum. But usually, it stays a week. During this time patient would have a headache, cold and nausea. Every joint of the body have extreme pain, hand-feet joints, even fingers' knuckles would have the pain in the same ratio. Blisters can be seen and by the intense of pain, the whole body would be bent.
The disease can be detected through blood tests. There is no vaccine for Chikungunya yet. And the treatment of common fever is carried out for Chikungunya: Need to take absolute rest, have to take much-more liquid, and need to take simple paracetamols according to Doctor's advice to make the intensity of the fever lower. One has to be aware of mosquitoes, as well as need to stop the reproduction of Aedes mosquito in the home ground along with the neighboring places. Don't let any source of water stay on the home ground. Have to keep a sharp eye on our balcony flower tops and roof top pots, have to confirm their proper cleansing. Usually Aedes mosquito bites at the day time.
So make sure use of mosquito-net both day time and night sleeping hours. Whether anyone gets affected by Chikungunya keep him or her always into mosquito-net; because other family members would get affected by the mosquito, which bite the patient. Therefore, we have to keep the patient in an isolated place into mosquito-net. It's a mosquito-borne viral disease, so we have to keep our household clean enough to have a free healthier life. Though we have varieties of mosquito killers, but somehow these chemical killers are bringing much silent harm to our body. So we have to look for something else. We can use some easy natural ingredients, which can keep away mosquitoes. And these natural homely ingredients will keep safe our environment too. Here are the homely ways -
*Boil some water with garlic, put it in a bottle and make it spray. Thus your room will get some unexpected bad smell; but within while the smell will dissolve. With this spray, you will find some moments with absolute mosquito free.
*Camphor is very useful to keep mosquitoes away. First, shut all your doors and windows and then keep some Camphor in one or two corner of your room. Wait for at least 20 minutes outside of the room. And after that when you will come back, you will find the change. It's 98 percent undoubting that mosquitoes have left your room.
* Mix some Citrolina oil with a candle, light it on and put it in the corner of your room. Or you can spread Citrolina oil through evaporation in your room. It would be the effective one to keep away mosquitoes.
*Place a Lavender, Catnip or Citrolina plant just beside your window. These are very effective against mosquitoes.
*Never let water to stay anywhere in your room. It would be the breeding field for mosquitoes. And they will carry various harmful diseases from one to another. Whether you are bound to store some water inside your room, please make sure that water and its container must have regular cleaning.
The writer is a Sub-Editor (Feature) of The Asian Age
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