Top 5 monsoon diseases

The rain clouds have arrived with a vengeance this year -- bringing with them endless potholes, waterlogged roads and never-ending traffic jams. Here are top 5 sinister monsoon-related diseases from which you need to protect yourself and your family.

1. Malaria

What is it?
Malaria is an infection caused by single-celled parasites that enter the blood through the bite of an Anopheles mosquito.

Symptoms
Symptoms of malaria can begin as early as six to eight days after a bite by an infected mosquito. They include:

• High fever (up to 105 degrees Fahrenheit) with shaking chills
• Profuse sweating when the fever suddenly drops
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Muscle aches 
• Abdominal discomfort
• Nausea, vomiting
• Feeling faint when you stand up or sit up quickly 

Treatment
Malaria is treated with antimalarial drugs and measures to control symptoms, including medications to control fever, antiseizure medications when needed, fluids and electrolytes. The type of medications that are used to treat malaria depends on the severity of the disease and the likelihood of chloroquine resistance.

The drugs most commonly used include chloroquine, quinidine (Cardioquin, Quinaglute Dura-Tabs, Quinidex Extentabs, Quin-Release), atovaquone (Mepron), proguanil (sold as a generic), mefloquine, clindamycin (Cleocin) and doxycycline.

For pregnant women, chloroquine is the preferred treatment for malaria. Quinine, proguanil and clindamycin typically are used for pregnant people with malaria that is resistant to chloroquine.

2. Diarrhea

What is it?
Diarrhea is more frequent and more liquid bowel movements than normal. Diarrhea often is caused by an infection with bacteria, viruses or a parasite. Bacteria cause diarrhea either by invading the intestine or by producing a toxin that makes the intestine secrete more water. When the diarrhea is caused by food contaminated with bacteria or parasites, people often refer to this as food poisoning.

Symptoms
People with diarrhea usually have loose, watery stools. Less commonly, people pass frequent, small amounts of loose stool with mucous and blood. Other symptoms can include:

• Abdominal pain and cramping
• Vomiting
• Fever
• Chills
• Bloody stools
• Lack of bowel control

Frequent vomiting and diarrhea can lead to dehydration (abnormally low levels of body water) if too much fluid is lost from the body. Signs of dehydration include:

• Dry mouth
• Thirst
• Dry eyes
• Infrequent urination

Treatment

• When symptoms start, try to rest more and switch to a diet of clear liquids.
• Drink water, juice, bouillon and weak tea to avoid becoming dehydrated. Replace lost fluids and electrolytes with sports drinks.
• Avoid coffee or soft drinks that contain caffeine, since caffeine increases the loss of water and salt.
• If you have nausea in addition to diarrhea, take very small sips of fluid frequently and suck on ice chips.
• As you begin to feel better, start eating solid foods gradually to prevent stomach cramps. Start with soft, starchy foods (cooked cereal, steamed rice, unbuttered toast, and applesauce) before returning to your normal diet.
• To ease stomach cramps, apply warmth (a hot water bottle, warm compress or electric heating pad set on low heat) to your abdomen. You also may consider over-the-counter medications such as bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol) or loperamide (Imodium). 

3. Cold and Flu

What is it?
Sneezing, scratchy throat, runny nose—everyone knows the first signs of a cold, probably the most common illness known.

Although the common cold is usually mild, with symptoms lasting 1 to 2 weeks, it is a leading cause of doctor visits and missed days from school and work.

Symptoms
Symptoms of the common cold usually begin 2 to 3 days after infection and often include:

• Mucus buildup in your nose
• Difficulty breathing through your nose
• Swelling of your sinuses
• Sneezing
• Sore throat
• Cough
• Headache 

Fever is usually slight but can climb to 102 degrees Fahrenheit in infants and young children. Cold symptoms can last from 2 to 14 days, but like most people, you’ll probably recover in a week. If symptoms recur often or last much longer than 2 weeks, you might have an allergy rather than a cold.

Treatment
There is no cure for the common cold, but you can get relief from your cold symptoms by:

• Resting in bed.
• Drinking plenty of fluids.
• Gargling with warm salt water or using throat sprays or lozenges for a scratchy or sore throat.
• Using petroleum jelly for a raw nose.
• Taking aspirin or acetaminophen—Tylenol, for example—for headache or fever.

4. Hepatitis A

What is it?
Hepatitis A is a viral infection that can inflame and damage the liver. Unlike other forms of hepatitis, hepatitis A is usually mild and does not last long. Usually spread in contaminated food or water, hepatitis A also can be passed during sexual practices that involve the anus.

In rare cases, hepatitis A can be spread by contact with the blood of a person who has the infection, for instance, when intravenous drug users share needles.

Symptoms
If the infection is mild, there may not be any symptoms, especially in a child. When symptoms appear, they can include:

• Tiredness 
• Loss of appetite 
• Fever 
• Nausea 
• Tenderness in the stomach area 
• Dark, tea-colored urine 
• Yellowing of the eyes and skin (jaundice)

Treatment
There are no drugs to treat hepatitis A. Doctors generally recommend getting bed rest, eating well-balanced meals, drinking plenty of fluids and avoiding alcoholic beverages. It is also essential to avoid medications that can be toxic to your liver, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol).

5. Chikungunya fever

What is it?
Chikungunya fever is caused by a virus and is transmitted by bite of Aedes aegypti mosquito which bites during the day. The symptoms of the disease are similar to dengue fever. In some patients it can cause severe, occasionally persistent, joint pain (arthritis), as well as fever and rash.

Symptoms
The symptoms of chikungunya fever generally start with fever 2-4 days after bite of an infected mosquito. The symptoms of chikungunya fever are:

• Rapid onset of joint pains (which is severe, crippling migrating, polyarticular arthritis) and it may or may not be associated with the following:
• Muscle pain
• High grade fever
• Conjunctivitis and
• Rash

The infection is rarely life-threatening and majority of the patients recover in a few days. But it can cause substantial morbidity such as prolonged fatigue lasting several weeks, pain in joints for months or years. The prolonged joint pain seen in chikungunya fever is usually not observed in dengue and hemorrhagic cases typical of dengue fever are not seen in chikungunya virus infection.

Treatment
Specific antiviral drugs or vaccine for treatment of chikungunya fever are not available. Hence early diagnosis and proper treatment are important for control of infection. People with chikungunya fever are treated symptomatically.

• Fever: Acetaminophen or ibuprofen are used to relieve fever. If you are in a hot environment, drink plenty of fluid to prevent dehydration.
• Pain in muscles and joints: Ibuprofen, naproxen, acetaminophen may be prescribed to relieve pain. Avoid aspirin especially in children.
• Rest: Take adequate rest.
• Use bed-nets: At home, patient should use bed-nets, preferably permethrin-impregnated nets while resting and other measures such as use of insecticide sprays should be considered to avoid further mosquito exposure (this is done so that they do not contribute to the transmission cycle).