Touching your face as little as possible, not sitting at the table with dirty hands, not even putting a lid on a cup of coffee without washing your hands – that’s all right. But which of us observes it?
Conjunctivitis, stomatitis, rotavirus – this is not a complete list of what you can get infected if you do not wash your hands in time. There are worse diseases.
Infectious disease doctor of the highest category, candidate of medical sciences, head of the infectious diseases department
“This is one of the most common intestinal infections,” says infectious disease physician Roxana Loverdo. – The outbreak usually occurs in the summer. The first signs of the disease may appear after a few hours: abdominal pain, weakness, nausea, vomiting, loose stools (10 or more times a day). The patient’s temperature rises. “
The most important thing to do before the doctor arrives is to prevent dehydration. How to “calculate” it? Low urine output, dry mouth, thirst, dark circles under the eyes, sagging skin, weight loss, fatigue. You need to drink water or special solutions (they are sold in a pharmacy), for example, “Regidron”. How much should you consume? It is believed to be twice the weight lost during the illness.
Dysentery has many complications – from intestinal bleeding to pneumonia, and the sorbents that moms love to use for self-medication may not always help. According to the WHO, 750 people die every year from various types of dysentery on Earth.
The disease often affects children, it is especially dangerous for babies under five years old. Symptoms: a sharp jump in temperature (although it may not be), nausea, diarrhea, as well as signs of SARS – a runny nose, loss of energy, red throat, inflamed lymph nodes. The peak of infection in Russia occurs during the non-hot season – from November to April.
To prevent infection, you need to disinfect toys and children’s furniture more often, and wash your hands. And if you do get sick, then the main thing, as in the case of dysentery, is to cope with dehydration. In addition, doctors may prescribe antiviral drugs or antibiotics. It is important to follow a diet (boiled vegetables, cereals in water) and completely abandon dairy products. On the planet, 600-900 thousand deaths are recorded during the year.
Usually accompanied by nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever. Pneumonia (cough with copious sputum of red currant color) may develop, including in newborns, urogenital infection (back pain and suprapubic discomfort), meningitis. In difficult cases, they are hospitalized, treated with antibiotics. However, they may not work, since Klebsiella, according to WHO, is resistant to existing antibacterial drugs. Do you need such “happiness”?
Salmonella, which cause infection, tolerate temperatures well below freezing, but at high temperatures they are not able to exist. You can get salmonella from the most common foods. In water, the bacterium lives up to 120 days, in meat, sausage and butter – up to four months, in milk – up to ten days, in cheese – up to a year. Therefore, as a preventive measure, we observe hygiene and properly prepare products that can be inseminated by this bacterium. Admit it, who washes the egg before boiling under running water? But you must! And cook not seven minutes, but twenty. Fried eggs should be discarded altogether.
The likelihood of contracting salmonellosis increases during vacation periods – in summer and autumn. Most often, the infection “hits” children under two years of age. From the moment of infection to the first symptoms – high fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, lack of appetite, sweating, and sometimes cramps – it usually takes from two to six hours to five to seven days.
During treatment, it is important to follow the regimen, diet, maintain water-salt balance, take antibiotics correctly, and, if necessary, hemostatic drugs. In severe forms of the disease, the liver and spleen suffer, and the development of renal failure is possible.
This is the infection of a person with lower worms, or, in the common people, worms. In Russia, there are about 20 of their species. The most common, especially among children, is the pinworm. They are very tenacious and infectious. So, having found pinworms in one family member, it is recommended to treat everyone at once, including pets.
Helminths affect general well-being, mental and physical development, suppress the immune system, reduce appetite and can even cause cancerous tumors. Worms are capable of infecting any organs and tissues up to their destruction. One thing pleases: there are fewer creeping reptiles in the city than in the village.
Giardia live in the human intestine and duodenum. They live on food for up to two days, in water – up to two months. These protozoa are resistant to chlorine, so be careful in swimming pools.
The disease can last up to four months, sometimes asymptomatic, and sometimes with all the “delights” of life – stools alternating with constipation; bloating; Hungry pains; nausea and vomiting; rash; weight loss; peeling of the feet and palms; hair loss. By the way, antiparasitic drugs are not used in the treatment of giardiasis, they are ineffective. While taking medications, the patient follows a diet: flour, sweet, dairy, pickled foods are prohibited, protein foods are welcome.
In especially severe cases, from the poison that lamblia is secreted into the blood, a monstrous intoxication occurs, as a result – Quincke’s edema or anaphylactic shock.
Acute liver disease. About 10 million people are infected with the virus every year. Children tolerate the disease more easily than adults, and they also have less obvious symptoms. In the first week after infection – weakness, pain in muscles and joints, as with the flu, fever, pain in the right hypochondrium – they will not say unequivocally that you have Botkin’s disease until the skin and whites of the eyes turn yellow.
Treatment lasts up to two months, and recovery – up to six months. A sense of proportion at a feast (with an eye to the capabilities of your liver) will have to be observed all your life. Spicy, fried, fatty, chocolate, smoked meats, soda – these foods can be banned for a long time, especially if you have suffered an acute form of hepatitis A. Keep in mind: the transient form of the disease can cause encephalopathy and coma. Complication statistics: one to eight cases per thousand of the usual course.
By the way
If you think that wiping with a damp cloth or dripping a drop of antibacterial agent on your palms is enough to cope with the problem, we will upset you – only washing your hands with soap and warm water works. In antibacterial agents, the concentration of alcohol must be very high in order to kill all germs, and wet wipes, for the most part, only cope with visible dirt.