Who doesn’t love the cool showers and that nostalgic smell of wet earth! A monsoon is a most awaited season as it comes at the perfect time when everyone is tired of being sweaty throughout the summers. But this wait may soon become dreadful due to monsoon borne diseases and health issues. All you need is an awareness and a knowledge of protective measures that can be followed to keep these health issues miles away from you and your family.
India is a vivid country in terms of culture, traditions and even climate. Our land is blessed with 6 different seasons – Spring (Vasant Ritu), summer (Grishma Ritu), monsoon (Varsha Ritu), autumn (Sharad Ritu), prewinter (Hemant Ritu) and winter (Shishir or Shita Ritu). Each has its own charm. Every change in Indian season is celebrated with different festivals as well as food like Saag (spinach) with Makki (corn) chapati is basically healthy to eat during the winter season.
India is a typical agricultural country since agriculture serves as the backbone of our economic prosperity. And monsoon has its major contribution in having a healthy and enough agricultural yield. Hence, this season has a special significance for the people of India. Also, monsoon is the transitive season between scorching summers and mellow autumn. So, everyone loves to enjoy it, in their own ways.
Who doesn’t love the cool showers and that nostalgic smell of wet earth! A monsoon is a most awaited season as it comes at the perfect time when everyone is tired of being sweaty throughout the summers. But this wait may soon become dreadful due to monsoon borne diseases and health issues. All you need is an awareness and a knowledge of protective measures that can be followed to keep these health issues miles away from you and your family.
But monsoon also comes with certain health challenging issues. Since water is pouring down and getting absorbed by almost everything, the dampness of the atmosphere results in the growth of harmful bacteria and viruses. There are several health concerns one need to keep a watch over.
Lookout for these Monsoon-borne diseases and health conditions
Though the rains are the lifeline of our country as they provide water for irrigation and for replenishing the natural water resources, including the groundwater, the improper rainwater management is a leading cause of all water-borne diseases. For instance, the open road pits in cities collect rainwater, making it a perfect environment for mosquitoes to breed and spread life-threating health problems.
Here is the list of monsoon-borne diseases that you must know and get yourself immune to their ill-effects:
Malaria
Malaria is the most common disease that is spread by the female Anopheles mosquito when it stings human. The mosquitoes need dirty water to breed which can be found in abundance in the open dirty pits on roads and gardens, during the rainy season. Following symptoms are its characteristics of Malaria
- Fever
- Body ache chills
- And sweating.
It is the treatable but severe case can lead to complications like jaundice, severe anaemia, liver, and kidney failure.
Dengue
Since last few years, Dengue has become an epidemic in India. In every monsoon, thousands of life-threatening cases have been reported in the different states. The Aedes Aegypti mosquito is a different species of mosquito with black and white stripes, who breed in clean, fresh water and is responsible for spreading Dengue.
There are distinguishable symptoms for identifying Dengue
- Severe joint and muscle pain
- Swollen lymph nodes
- A headache and fever
- Exhaustion
- And rash
The Dengue causes a drop of blood platelet counts to an extremely low level. The treatment involves a regular monitoring of the blood platelets along with lots of care.
Chikungunya
Aedes Aegypti and Aedes Albopictus spread Chikungunya to humans when they themselves are infected with a chikungunya virus. Sometimes, Chikungunya is misdiagnosed for malaria or dengue. It shows symptoms including high fever, joint pain, swelling, rash, and headache.
Influenza (The flu)
The common cold is not regarded as a serious ailment, but it is, in fact, a most serious health problem. Caused by a virus, it is highly contagious as the flu virus can travel via air and infect everyone that would come in contact. The virus infects the upper respiratory tract, mainly nose, and throat. It causes a runny or stuffy nose, body ache, sore throat, and fever. The complications can also lead to more serious problems like bronchitis.
Diarrhoea
The mosquitoes and other parasites not only infect human directly, they can also contaminate the food and drinking water. The consumption of contaminated food and water can lead to severe gastrointestinal infections. The poor hygiene makes the situations worse. The viruses, bacteria, and parasites can cause inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract which involves the stomach and small intestines. Diarrhoea, vomiting, and abdominal pain are the major symptoms. Remember to keep yourself hydrated with electrolyte and clean, boiled water.
Leptospirosis
Kerala is facing the worst floods since 1924. Along with the above-mentioned monsoon-borne diseases, there is one more dangerous disease the people of Kerala are facing- Leptospirosis. The disease is a bacterial infection passed on to humans through contact with urine of animals such as dogs, rodents, and livestock. Inflammation, shivers, muscle pain, headache, and fever are the most common symptoms. Around 225 people have lost their lives to Leptospirosis in Kerala floods 2018.
Jaundice
Jaundice is characterised by weakness, yellow urine, yellowing of eyes, vomiting and liver dysfunction and is a result of consuming the contaminated water and food.
Typhoid
The poor hygiene and sanitation cause Typhoid, especially during monsoon. The Salmonella Typhi bacteria is responsible for transmitting this disease. The patient complains about high fever, headache, weakness, pain, and sore throat. The blood, stool, urine or bone marrow test is done to confirm the Typhoid.
Prevention is better than the cure
To enjoy the monsoon to its fullest, the following preventive measures are recommended:
Prevention from mosquitoes
- Prevent water from accumulating in air conditioners and potted plants to prevent mosquito breeding.
- Prefer wearing full-sleeved clothes to avoid mosquito sting.
- Use mosquito-repellent creams, mosquito nets and electronic repellent devices to restrict mosquitoes from coming indoors.
- Mosquito fogging sprays must be scheduled at adequate intervals.
Personal cleaning & sanitation measures
- Keep your hands washed and cleaned, as much as possible.
- Drink only filtered or boiled water stored in clean containers.
- Keep every food item covered.
- Street-foods are unhygienic during monsoons. Avoid their consumption.
- Avoid sneezing in your hands; use a handkerchief and in its absence, sneeze or cough into your sleeves or elbow instead of using your bare hands.
- Flu vaccines are readily available. Consider having ones, especially for kids, if it is recommended by their paediatrician.
- Drink herbal tea which would build up immunity against flu and cold conditions.
- Do not forget to clean the rooftop gutters, which may also cause the breeding of mosquitoes.
Chaitanya’s aim towards betterment
Chaitanya Rainwater Harvesting Products & Systems Pvt. Ltd. is a socially responsible organization, that aims at spreading health-related awareness among the common people. With this blog, we are aiming at every household across the country to remain healthy during every monsoon season. After all, healthy India is a prosperous India.
For your information, we are a Maharashtra-based company who deals in the rainwater harvesting products like rooftop drainage gutters, PVC pipes collar rings, gravels for rainwater harvesting systems and rooftop rainwater filters.