The Season of Diseases: Monsoon

Rainy Season or Monsoon is known as the season of diseases. People are Living in COVID times and are under tremendous stress and trauma due to the deadly virus and now mutants like Delta Plus. On top of that monsoon diseases like flu, diarrhea, dengue, malaria and many more are causes of worry.

Monson is labeled as the season of diseases as many infections and diseases mushroom during this time. On one hand, mother nature is at its best, with overflowing rivers, lakes, and falls, green foliage everywhere on the other hand diseases are worrisome. ETV Bharat Sukhibhava was in conversation with our Expert General Physician Dr. Rajesh Vukkala, Hyderabad, and he opined that “Due to monsoon, sanitization is usually compromised due to which there are chances that the curve may go up”. Therefore, proper hygiene, social distancing, and strong immunity are essential during this pandemic as well as to beat seasonal diseases.”

This is also the season to strengthen immunity

A person with a weak immune system gets infected easily. Have a balanced diet including fruits, vegetables, and cereals. Drinking green tea can also help in strengthening your immunity. Monsoon is the perfect time for pathogens to thrive. This time of the year cases of viral fevers, bacterial, and other parasitic infections are rampant. A strong immune system guards our body against harmful infections and bacteria. The best way of strengthening immunity is by increasing intake of foods rich in Vitamin C, leafy vegetables, proteins like sprouts and soya, Dr. Suranjit Chatterjee, Senior Consultant, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi.

Let’s Find out about the most common diseases during monsoon:

Diarrhea or loose stool is a common problem the causes of which can be:

• Viral infection
• Typhoid
• Amoebic dysentery

The reasons for diarrhea can be unhealthy food and unhygienic practices. The most common presentation for them is that they start with a stomach ache followed by mild fever, loose motions, and vomiting. Therefore, we can classify the cause of diseases into two categories i.e. viruses (Viral Infections) and bacteria (Typhoid and amoebic dysentery). The temperature may be more in a bacterial infection than in a viral infection.

Mosquito Bites:

Mosquitoes are very common in this season and some of the mosquito-borne diseases are:

• Dengue fever
• Malaria
• Chikungunya

The symptoms of these diseases are common in body ache, weakness, fatigue, and fever that may vary from low to moderate. They may also cause skin reactions and problems with blood cell counts in the form of low counts of White Blood Cells (WBC) and platelets. Since the virus affects the whole body, it may also affect:

• Brain
• Heart
• Liver
• Kidney

Amongst them, 90% chances are of the liver getting affected. One usually recovers from it within 7-10 days. However, there may be a Post Viral Syndrome where a person may experience multiple joint pains, swelling, difficulty in walking, etc. It can range from 3 to 6 weeks according to various physical and health factors of a person. It can sometimes also lead to further health complications as well.

Seasonal Flu:

These are most commonly experienced later during the monsoon season, around August and September.

• Common cold
• Influenza Pneumonia / Pneumococcal pneumonia
• Swine flu

Preventive Measures

These are very common diseases many people experience every year and thus, we need to learn how they can be prevented. Dr. Rajesh suggests some of the following measures:

• Avoid eating outside food where you might experience unhygienic food practices being followed.
• Keep your cooking place clean. Boil vegetables properly and ensure sanitization in the kitchen.
• Mosquitoes generally brood in dark humid and dirty grounds. Make sure that such places don’t grow around your surroundings.
• Keep your environment clean and avoid stagnation of water anywhere in your house or cover it up so that it remains unexposed.