Dengue disease has a wide clinical spectrum that spans from asymptomatic or mild infection to life-threatening disease. The approach to dengue has recently been revised and dengue can be classified in terms of disease severity. This new approach, which makes use of warning signs, is useful to the primary care physician who is often the first line of contact as it guides triaging, serves as decision support for who can be managed in the outpatient setting, and flags up those who should be sent to hospital for further evaluation and management. This review article aims to familiarise primary care physicians with the use of this new classification, provide background on its development and give an understanding of principles of this new approach.