What is Typhoid?
Typhoid fever is an acute illness. It is often caused by a specific type of bacteria. Typhoid fever is also linked to what we eat and drink. This illness can also spread to other people in the area so it is important to be aware of what type of water we are drinking and what food we are eating. Unhygienic food, especially water spreads typhoid.
Major Symptoms You Should Be Aware Of
What Happens In Early Illness
- Fever
In typhoid, fever starts from a lower temperature and increases immediately reaching as high as 104-105 - Headache
Typhoid brings frequent headaches that can disturb you often. - Weakness and fatigue
There is a lot of weakness and fatigue when you’re suffering from typhoid, it can take a lot of your energy so you’ll have to take special care of your diet and keep yourself hydrated. - Muscle aches
In this situation, you may also experience stiffness and uncomfortable restlessness in your muscles. Muscle aches are a common symptom of typhoid. - Sweating
If you are experiencing unusual sweating, you need to get yourself checked because it can also be a sign of typhoid. - Loss of appetite and weight loss
If you are losing all the interest in food, even in your favourite snacks and dropping all that weight quickly, you need to be careful and get yourself checked. Losing weight and appetite is also a sign of typhoid that you need to get checked. - Diarrhoea or constipation
Either upset stomach or severe constipation, these symptoms need to be addressed. Get yourself check by a professional so they can diagnose what is upsetting you. - Extremely swollen abdomen
Typhoid can cause a major upset in our lower abdomen and can also cause it to swell. If you feel you’re experiencing a similar situation, get yourself properly checked.
What Happens In Later Stages
Many people do not take this illness seriously and keep treating themselves with self medication, which leads to more serious complications. In this case, people become:
- Weak to the extent that they can’t even move without help
- Lie helpless and exhausted with eyes half-closed which literally is known as the ‘Typhoid State’.
- Many people, who get into very serious stages, doctors recommend them to get their surgery done.
What Else Should We Know?
You need to be aware of the fact that even if you and your family members are typhoid vaccinated, it will lose its effect after some time and you can be exposed to the infections again. To save yourself beforehand, you need to take care of a few things.
Sanitize Water
Whenever we decide to drink water, we need to make sure the water is either boiled or properly disinfected. Filtered water should be used for drinking, washing dishes, cooking food, preparing ice, brushing teeth or for anything which is supposed to go into our mouth. We need to be careful about the cans we drink from, we need to get it wiped from the outside before using and also, teach our children to follow the same. Teach them to avoid drinking tap water, fountain drinks or anything which is not coming out filtered.
Cook All Food
Try to eat food at home as a first priority. If you decide to eat out, avoid food which is not properly cooked or was stored before. Eat food which you can get freshly cooked and is served steaming hot because all bacteria die at boiling temperature.
Avoid Raw Food
Whenever dining our, try to be careful about the fruits and vegetables you are eating. Try to avoid the fruits which are peeled and cut, try to peel them yourself. If you are eating this stuff, try to keep your children away from it to keep them safe.
Wash Hands Often
Make washing hands your first priority. If you go to someone’s place, a restaurant or any other place, wash your hands with soap. If there’s no soap available, carry a sanitizer in your bag all the time.
Typhoid and Pakistan’s Health Situation
All around the world, there are different reasons and different situations why people suffer from typhoid. But these above mentioned conditions are specifically written in regard to Pakistan’s health situation. There are a lot of issues regarding clean water, the water majority of people drink is not filtered. Moreover, the humid weather we experience here brings a lot of diseases which we do not even know of. This article is written to aware you about how to keep yourself safe and if due to any reason you do suffer from typhoid, it is a guide to get you through it as well. If you are still confused, book yourself an appointment by calling at 03111222398 to get professional help. You can also get yourself an online consultation by contacting at the same number.
