Protect yourself from monsoon maladies
COMMON DISEASES Increased mosquito breeding, high humidity and contaminated water supply cause a host of diseases during the rainy season
The rains spell relief from the sweltering heat but they also bring along viral and bacterial infections that can take away the fun.
A host of water-borne illness such as typhoid, diarrhoea, jaundice, etc. can line up if one consumes contaminated water or food in this weather.
Mosquito-borne illnesses such as dengue, chikungunya and malaria also peak during monsoon and so one should watch out for the symptoms to get treated in time.
As humidity rises, people are also left battling heat-related health conditions as minor as dehydration, heat cramps and heat exhaustion. Excessive loss of salt
Public transport and traffic jams and minerals in this weather can cause the body to dehydrate severely.
Dehydration is one of the most common complaints.
“Drinking merely plain water does no good; the body loses essential minerals through sweat that needs to be replenished to maintain the body’s electrolyte balance,” says Dr Srikant Sharma, senior consultant, department of medicine, Moolchand Hospital.
Coconut water, fruit juice, butter milk and lime water mixed with salt and sugar replenishes lost vital minerals.
Water-borne diseases primarily spread through contaminated water. A person falls sick by drinking polluted water either directly or by use of such water in cooking, washing or for other personal purposes. Eating spoilt food can also cause severe stomach infection.
“This is the time when we see an increase in the number of cases of waterborne illnesses, as people tend to drink water and juices from vendors in the open. Having cut fruits is a bad idea as bacteria formation is quite fast in this weather,” says Dr RK Singal, director, department of internal medicine, BLK Super-Specialty Hospital.
Many land up in hospital with dual infections.
“I am getting cases of people suffering from cross-infection, and it appears to be due to consuming contaminated water,” says Dr Atul Gogia, senior consultant, department of medicine, Ganga Ram Hospital.
Your skin and hair also bear the brunt of the hot and humid weather.
Irritation, itching, redness and rashes on the skin, and pimples, dandruff, hair fall and fungal infections are all symptoms of damage.
Doctors strongly recommend using a sunscreen even during the rainy season. “People usually avoid applying sunscreen during rains, thinking there is no sun. But it is equally important as harmful ultraviolet rays are in the atmosphere even when its not sunny. In fact, one must keep reapplying sunscreen after every 3-4 hours as people sweat excessively in this humid weather,” says Dr Deepali Bhardwaj, skin and hair expert.
High humidity also makes the hair lose lustre, rough and unmanageable. “Deep conditioning, using various hair masks can reduce the damage to quite an extent,” says Shahnaz Husain, beauty expert.