Take a mental note of these 7 common diseases and stay healthy during the hottest time of the year to prevent your summer from being a bummer.
1. Flu
Yes, you can still get cough and colds this season, especially when your body experiences frequent temperature transitions from cold to hot and vice-versa. Common flu symptoms include sore throat, coughing, sneezing, congestion, and fever.
Avoid it: It is always best to get yourself and your family vaccinated against the flu virus on a yearly basis. Contact your family doctor to be reminded of yearly vaccine schedule that you can follow. If you are already feeling unwell, it is best to stay home and wear a mask to make sure your nose and mouth are covered when you are coughing or sneezing so that you won’t spread the virus to others. Home remedies for flu include drinking enough water and sipping hot ginger tea.
2. Sore eyes
Sore eyes can be caused by a lot of things, including irritation from excessive rubbing, from your eye makeup, or from prolonged wearing of contact lens. These things can cause inflammation to your eyes, making them appear red and swollen.
Avoid it: Make sure that your face is bare during bedtime, sans makeup and contact lens. In most cases, having sore eyes is not serious but you should always consult a doctor once you have one, also to identify if you have other symptoms that might be indicative of serious conditions. Along with doctor-prescribed eye drops, you should be able to heal your eyes fast by observing proper hygiene through regular handwashing
3. Stomach ailments
Food spoils easily in summer when left unrefrigerated because bacteria that cause foodborne illnesses thrive in warmer temperature. Consumption of spoilt food can cause food poisoning that can become life threatening when left untreated.
Avoid it: Spoilt food generally have a distinct unpleasant smell. Before you consume anything, check for unusual odor and any sign of mold or threadlike growth. Make sure that you keep in the fridge any leftover that you intend to continue consuming later. And try to follow first-in, first-out when choosing what leftover in the fridge to eat first. But the best practice, still, is making sure that you prepare food cleanly by observing personal hygiene and thoroughly washing fruit, meat, vegetables, and kitchen utensils. You should also drink enough water for good hydration because vomiting and diarrhea that are signs of stomach ailments can cause dehydration.
4. Sun burn and skin diseases
The extensive heat of the sun can cause allergies and UV damage that can leave unsightly marks on our skin like discoloration, bumps, and blisters – and worst, even cancer.
Avoid it: Apply sunscreen, wear protective clothing, and try to avoid unprotected sun exposure as a general rule. Also, you should wash yourself and change into a fresh set of clothes more often as we tend to sweat more during this season that causes rashes and other irritations. For a quick sunburn treatment, try aloe vera juice or potato peels. Steps to try this can be googled.
5. Rabies
Prevalence of rabies peak during summer as more people travel and engage in outdoor activities, increasing the risk of encountering stray animals or unvaccinated pets. When a rabies infection is contracted, it is highly likely to become fatal.
Avoid it: Make sure that your fur babies are vaccinated against rabies to give protection to them, to yourself, to your family, and to the people around you so that no one will contract this viral disease. Once you get dog or cat bites, immediately visit the nearest hospital or animal bite center for urgent medical attention.
6. Heat stroke
Intense hot temperature can lead to heat exhaustion that may become life threatening. Heat stroke requires medical emergency. Its symptoms include: fainting, nausea, disorientation, dizziness, and throbbing headache.
Avoid it: Keep yourself hydrated by drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day. Only consume caffeinated drinks in moderation, around 1-2 cups, so that they won’t be enough to cause dehydration. And if you are engaging in a vigorous physical activity like exercise, make sure that you drink more water than your usual intake.
It’s good to have fun under the sun but make sure that you do it safe. When you take steps to protect yourself and your loved ones from potential dangers, you will get to enjoy things better because you have peace of mind. If you like to be safer from possible health uncertainties, check out our health insurance products here.
Source: Department of Health
Image used under Creative Commons from romaneau
 thumb.jpg)
.png)
