How to prevent and treat diarrhea in summer?

Intestinal infectious diseases often occur in the summer. Rising temperatures and humid air are highly conducive to the propagation of bacteria such as escherichia coli, dysentery bacillus, salmonella and Vibrio cholerae.

 

 

People can get intestinal infectious diseases through water, food, contact and flies.

 

For instance, diseases such as cholera, typhoid fever and bacterial dysentery will break out when the sources of drinking water become contaminated by feces and vomitus of intestinal infectious disease patients and pathogen carriers.

 

Intestinal infectious diseases can take place when food becomes contaminated by relevant pathogens in processing, storage and preparation.

 

Shaking hands, and using and touching clothes, toys and door handles associated with intestinal infectious disease patients will also facilitate the transmission of pathogens.

 

Some pathogens of intestinal infectious disease can be transmitted through insects like flies and cockroaches surviving in these insects for some time.

 

Food is prone to spoilage in the summer. The sources of drinking water are more likely to become polluted because of rich rainfall in the season. People will get intestinal infectious diseases when they eat raw fruits and vegetables that haven't been washed or disinfected.

 

The temperature in refrigerators often stays between zero and five degrees Celsius, which can significantly prevent the reproduction of many bacteria. However, some psychrophilic bacteria, including escherichia coli, typhoid bacillus and staphylococcus aureus, are still very active. The large propagation of bacteria will cause food deterioration. The mixture of raw and cooked food in refrigerators can lead to contamination and deterioration as well.

 

 

Children with diarrhea should drink lots of fluids and electrolytes to stay hydrated. They can stay at home to drink warm water, diluted salt water or self-made oral rehydration solutions.

 

Patients with diarrhea should immediately lie flat, raise both lower limbs and quickly go to hospital for treatment when they throw up, and show such signs as dry mouth, sunken eye sockets, poor skin elasticity, thirst, cold limbs and fever.

 

Maintain good personal hygiene. Eat fresh and cooked food. Don't drink tap water, overeat or have raw, cold, spoiled and unclean food.

 

Put cooking utensils into boiling water, disinfect them, wash thoroughly before eating raw fruits and vegetables, wash hands before eating and after going to the toilet, and separate knife boards for raw and cooked food. Don't have raw and marinated seafood.

 

Thoroughly heat leftover food before having them. It is advisable to follow the practice of the serving of individual dishes.

 

Strike a balance between work and rest so as to strengthen immunity. Don't swim or bathe in rivers with acute intestinal infectious disease pathogens. People should wipe out all flies and cockroaches at home and maintain indoor and outdoor hygiene.