As Indonesia is entering its rainy season, flooding in Jakarta and other cities heightens the risks of a couple of diseases. The humid, wet and dirty environmental conditions have a bad influence on our health. One of those factors made viruses, bacteria even parasites appear frequently attacking our immune system.
It’s important to know the variety of diseases that might appear when the flood hits so you’ll know how to protect yourself and your family. A couple of prevention can also be done beforehand so that we can strike right away when the symptoms first appear.
Which diseases that you need to be alerted of during a flood? Here is the list of common diseases that appears during flooding
Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DBD)
Flooding due to high rainfall increases the risk of this disease that is transmitted by the bite of the Aedes Aegypti mosquitos. It’s because this type of mosquito breeds in puddles that appear during floods. DBD can infect anyone regardless of their age with symptoms such as fever, muscle and bone soreness, headache, and the appearance of red spots on your skin.
Leptospirosis
Another disease that may appear during the flooding season is Leptospirosis. This is caused by the bacteria that spread through the urine of infected mice being carried by the water and entering the human body. Those with open or dried wounds in exposed skin are much more suspectable to Leptospirosis. Some of the symptoms are headache, nausea, vomiting, red eye, stomach ache, and pain in the calves.
Influenza
One of the most common sicknesses that appear during flooding or rainy season causes more serious respiratory infections. The virus can easily spread from the patient’s bodily fluids like saliva or mucus. If not treated immediately, influenza can develop into a worse sickness like pneumonia.
Typhoid Fever (Tipes)
Flooding affects the cleanliness of the environment where we live, making typhoid fever much more common. Salmonella typhi bacteria enter the body through what we eat, affecting our immune system. It’s not rare that people realized it was typhoid fever since the symptoms are similar to ordinary fever. Therefore, we have to pay attention to what we eat and its cleanliness.
Diarrhea
Diarrhea can happen during flooding due to unhygienic environmental conditions. The main symptom of Diarrhea is the intensity of defection with a watery to liquid texture. Other symptoms that might be experienced are an intense stomach ache, difficulty holding in defection, nausea, and feeling weak due to lack of fluids.
Skin diseases
During flooding, we often have to move through puddles that are dirty and mixed with different kinds of bacteria. The skin makes direct contact with this contaminated water which can trigger a variety of skin diseases. Symptoms such as itching, and redness of the skin can lead to infection if not treated immediately.
During this rainy season, it’s really important for us to keep ourselves healthy and away from these diseases. Make sure to eat vitamins and medicines that can help strengthen our immune system. If you find this article useful, make sure to share this with your friends and family through your social media!
