In India, we experience all kinds of seasons, chilly winter, scorching summer, muddy monsoon and flowery spring. However, along with it brings a lot of seasonal diseases too. Did you know that the illnesses in summer bring about a lot of other health problems that range from headaches, skin rashes, to jaundice, measles, chickenpox, and others? Here are 5 common diseases which occur in the summer and how to protect yourself against them.
1. Food Poisoning
Contaminated food/water leads to food poising. The common carriers of this disease-causing microbes are raw meat, roadside food which is kept in the open by vendors and contaminated water.
Symptoms: Stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea or vomiting.
How to protect yourself?
- The most important thing is to always wash your hands before eating. If you don’t, then the bacteria, viruses and toxins will enter your body, causing food poisoning.
- When you’re cooking at home, do not forget to wash the utensils thoroughly before cooking.
- Always keep raw meat aside.
- In your refrigerator, always keep raw food and cooked food separately and keep raw food at the bottom of the fridge so that no juices are dripping from it.
2. Chickenpox
Chickenpox is one of the most common diseases that happen during the summer season. It starts with small red rashes and a very high fever; this rashes ultimately turn into blisters, which are also filled with fluid, which crust or chip over leaving marks. People who have diabetes, cancer, blood pressure problem, HIV, tuberculosis, on specific steroids or those with a weak immune system are prone to chickenpox.
Symptoms: Scabs, blisters, itchy skin, redness, extremely high fever, loss of appetite and headache, which is usually there for more than a week or two.
How to protect yourself?
Getting chickenpox vaccine, is the best solution. It is very safe as well as effective in protecting yourself against the disease. Treatment for this disease also includes applying calamine lotion and taking a cool bath with added baking soda, uncooked oatmeal to help with the itching. No scratching and keeping your fingernails trimmed will also help.
3. Measles
Measles or rubeola or morbilli is same as chickenpox in the way it is transmitted.
Symptoms: Cough, high fever, sore throat, and reddening in eyes are the initial symptoms while the later symptoms include tiny white spots and measles rash, which are found all over the body.
How to protect yourself?
Another disease for which the best way to prevent is to be vaccinated. You should take the MMR vaccine if you haven’t already. This vaccine can protect you from measles, mumps, and rubella.
4. Jaundice
Jaundice is a waterborne disease which can be a result of Hepatitis A and occurs mainly due to having contaminated food and water. When an uninfected person has food or water which has already been contaminated with the faeces of another person, then the person might get this disease. As a result, it can be either foodborne or waterborne.
Symptoms: The visible symptoms are yellow discolouration of the skin, mucous membranes and the whites of the eyes, light-coloured stools, dark-coloured urine and itchy skin.
How to protect yourself?
- Stay within limits while consuming alcohol.
- Maintain a healthy weight.
- Always keep a check on your cholesterol levels.
- Try to avoid contaminated food.
5. Mumps
Mumps is an extremely contagious viral disease. In India, it happens in peak summertime and is seen mainly in children. As it is contagious, it gets transmitted when a person sneezes or coughs.
Symptoms: The visible symptoms are swelled salivary gland, muscle ache, fever, headache, loss of appetite, dry mouth, tiredness and weakness.
How to protect yourself?
Vaccinatination is one of the best solutions. Doctors recommend the mumps vaccine, which is usually given as a combined measles-mumps-rubella (MMR). The treatment for this disease includes having lots of fluid, especially water and also having liquid food so that no chewing is required.
This summer let’s be prepared to fight some of the seasonal diseases by being aware of the same.
