Protecting against monsoon diseases

The onset of the monsoon brings relief from the sweltering heat. But as the rains come pouring down, the water is found to carry a lot of muck, animal waste and other chemicals. The arrival of monsoon also marks the onset of water borne and vector borne diseases. The high wind velocity allows viruses to shift from one sector to the other, resulting in a spurt of viral infections.

These shifts demand that people must be careful of what they eat, drink and also take sufficient care to not allow breeding of mosquitoes around their homes. These preventive steps will help them evade a spate of diseases that strike in the season.

Hepatitis

Hepatitis A is a viral disease that spreads through contaminated food and water.One of the best ways to avoid Hepatitis A is to stick to eating homemade food and purified water at home. The problem with Hepatitis A is that the signs and symptoms do not appear for a few weeks. There will be mild illness, which will be seen for a few weeks, and later the severe illness develops.

Dr P. Bhavani Raju, senior consultant gastroenterologist at Care Hospitals said, “Not everyone with Hepatitis A develops signs or symptoms. For that reason blood tests are done.”The virus is also found to spread through sex, hence, it is important to take precautions and also not indulge in rough sex where the activities are likely to cause cuts or abrasions.

At the same time, dirty or reused needles, blades used in sanitary hygiene or for making tattoos or piercings must not be used. It has been found that people affected with this virus appear healthy even in advanced stages as the disease does not show signs and symptoms that early.

Symptoms of Hepatitis A

Fatigue
Nausea and vomiting
Abdominal pain or discomfort, especially in the area of your liver, on your right side beneath your lower ribs
Clay-coloured bowel movements
Loss of appetite
Low-grade fever
Dark urine
Joint pain
Yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice)

Typhoid fever

Typhoid fever is most prevalent in urban areas. It usually strikes children 15 years of age or younger. It is found to peak from July to September every year as the contamination of water is very high.Dr Srirang Abkari, consultant for internal medicine at Aware Global Hospitals explained, “The bacteria are carried by humans in their blood stream and intestinal tract. Those who are affected pass it on from humans to humans. It is found to be more prevalent in places where hand washing is less frequent, such as roadside eateries.”
Prevention
1. If you drink water, buy it bottled or bring it to a rolling boil for one minute before you drink it. Bottled carbonated water is safer than uncarbonated water.
2. Ask for drinks without ice unless the ice is made from bottled or boiled water. Also avoid popsicles and flavoured ices.
3. Eat foods that have been thoroughly cooked.
4. Avoid raw vegetables and fruits that cannot be peeled. Vegetables like lettuce are easily contaminated and are very hard to wash well.
5. When you eat raw fruit or vegetables that can be peeled, peel them yourself. Wash your hands with soap first and do not eat the peels.
6) Avoid foods and beverages from street vendors.

Dengue

Dengue is a mosquito borne illness and is caused by the dengue virus. There are four serotypes of this virus (DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3 and DEN-4). They are transmitted by the Aedes mosquito. The mosquito lays eggs three times during its lifetime, up to 100 eggs each time. The eggs can lie dormant for up to nine months. They hatch in favourable conditions, when there is availability of water and food. Dr Suneetha Narreddy, Infectious Diseases Consultant at Apollo Hospitals said, “Severity of dengue typically occurs in cycles. It can be severe in one year and milder the next few years. But there seems to be a trend towards increase in the number of cases from year to year.” The problem is that the spectrum of the disease can be mild to severe and requires the patient to be brought to the hospital on time. Often there is a waiting period and that can lead to severe manifestations.

Symptoms of dengue:

Sudden, high fever
Severe headaches
Pain behind the eyes
Severe joint and muscle pain
Nausea
Vomiting
Skin rash, which appears three to four days after the onset
Mild bleeding in the nose, gums or even easy bruising