KOCHI:Diarrhoea is a commonly seen disease across the world after a flood. Most of the death rates are due to this. Cholera, typhoid,Shigella, E coli, Rota virus can also result in Diarrhoea. Contaminated water and lack of purified drinking water are the reasons.
Prevention
a) Boil water to kill the bacteria. Chlorine tablets can be used in case you could not boil the water. For 20 l, 500 mg tablet can be used. 99.99 per cent virus and bacteria can be destroyed with this.
b) Use soap without fail after using the toilet. This is the best method to prevent the spread of gems. Those with diarrhoea should not cook food.
c) After going home, clean the surrounding and utensils with bleaching powder. Six teaspoons of bleaching powder should be mixed with one litre of water and kept for half an hour. For the well water, one teaspoon of bleaching power for 1,000 litres need to be followed.
d) Housefly used to spread disease. A clean surrounding will keep them away.
WATCH | Kerala floods: How to prevent spread of diseases
Treatment
a) Antibiotics like Ciprofloxacin, Doxycycline can be taken on the instruction of doctor, if needed.
b) ORS: prevents contamination of water and reduce the death rate. ORS can be prepared by mixing six teaspoon sugar and half teaspoon salt in five glass of water.
Other diseases
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Hepatitis A, E have chances of spreading. Entry of virus through contamination of water is the reason. Lack of appetite, tiredness can occur. Boil water for one minute. hepatitis A can be prevented through vaccination There is no need for any other medicines.
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Measles can spread through people who haven’t taken vaccination. As a precautionary measure to prevent Tetanus, a tetanus booster vaccine can be taken. Viral fever is normal. Only if fever rises, paracetamol, necessary water and rest will help.
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Leptospirosis - through direct contact with urine from infected animals like a rat. Eyes becoming red, Hepatitis A, body pain and fever are some of the symptoms. Doxycycline is a helpful antibiotic. As it is Complicated, it should be treated in the hospital. Those who walked through the water for a long time can take Doxycycline to avoid Leptospirosis.
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Malaria and Dengue will be seen in the next months as the mosquito will start rising from the waters. High fever and body pain can be symptoms of dengue. Treatment should be done after the consulting in the hospital. Use of mosquito net and clean area might act as prevention.
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There are two types of snake bite. One, neurotoxin which affects our nervous system and other that prevents the blood from clotting. Special care needs to be taken. Antivenin is the treatment.
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A cough and cold usually do not lead to any issues. But if you have wheezing, severe fever, continuous cough, it should be consulted. Aged people and asthma patients should be more careful.
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Conjunctivitis can also be spread. Wash hands and don’t use any stuff used by patients. This can help in prevention.
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Urinary Infection is mostly seen among girls. The major reason being lack of toilets which in turn leads less intake of water. Norfloxacin, Nitrofurantoin is useful.
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Skin diseases are quite common during these days. Wearing wet clothes, standing in water could result in fungus infections. Fluconazole tablets or Clotrimazole cream can help. If not treated, this can become infectious in diabetic patients.
Dr Rajeev Jayadevan
Vice-President of IMA
(The views expressed by the author are his own)
