Recently, most areas across the country have experienced record heat waves, followed by sudden thunderstorms in both the morning and afternoon. The unusual weather changes have made it difficult for many people’s bodies to adapt, weakening their immune systems, causing respiratory diseases such as flu, pneumonia, bronchitis, etc. to increase.
Dr. Bach Thi Chinh, Medical Director of the VNVC Vaccination System, said that the rains will reduce the temperature, relieving the hot and humid atmosphere. However, the sudden drop in temperature makes the body unable to adapt, making it easy to get sick, especially high-risk groups such as children, the elderly, and people with chronic diseases.
"Extreme weather is also a favorable condition for the development of disease-causing viruses, such as Rotavirus, influenza, pneumococcus... In addition, the number of new Covid-19 cases is increasing again, mainly in the elderly, people with high risks such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, COPD... causing the risk of serious illness to increase," Dr. Chinh shared.
Accordingly, people need to prevent common infectious diseases during this period such as seasonal flu, diseases caused by pneumococcus, measles...
Seasonal flu
Seasonal flu occurs year-round, but the disease increases during the changing seasons, when the weather is erratic. Flu is easy to catch, easy to spread, and the initial symptoms are easily overlooked, leading to patients often not being diagnosed early and treated promptly. Flu can cause complications such as pneumonia, sepsis, heart damage, encephalitis/meningitis, respiratory failure, etc. Those susceptible to complications are children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with underlying diseases.
Experts recommend that all children and adults, especially high-risk groups, need to be protected from influenza.
"Enhancing resistance, drinking enough water, getting enough sleep, building a healthy scientific diet, and increasing vegetables and fruits play an important role in preventing flu. In addition, vaccination helps create antibodies to effectively prevent flu. One flu vaccine shot each year can help reduce the risk of hospitalization in the elderly by 50% and reduce the rate of hospitalization in children by 74%," Dr. Chinh shared.
Irregular sunshine and rain create favorable conditions for many types of disease-causing bacteria and viruses to thrive.
Pneumococcal diseases
Pneumococcus is usually located in the human nose and throat and often attacks the respiratory system when resistance is reduced, causing pneumonia, otitis media, meningitis and even sepsis. Pneumococcus has a high rate of antibiotic resistance. Patients co-infected with pneumococcus with Covid-19 or other diseases are at higher risk of severe illness and death.
Therefore, parents need to pay attention to their children's clothing when the weather changes, clean the nose and throat area, increase resistance by breastfeeding exclusively for the first 6 months of life, and build a balanced and nutritious diet for children who have started eating solid foods. Children from 6 weeks of age and adults are recommended to be vaccinated against pneumococcus. This is a measure to minimize complications and reduce the use of antibiotics when not really necessary.
Measles
Measles is a highly contagious disease. The Polinosa morbillarum measles virus can survive in the air and on surfaces for up to 3 hours. An infected person can spread the virus for up to 4 days before and after the rash appears. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), measles is a dangerous disease for everyone, from infants, young children, pregnant women, adults, to the elderly, but the disease is completely preventable with vaccines.
Currently, respiratory diseases are also on the rise, patients easily confuse measles symptoms with other common respiratory diseases, so they can easily become severe.
Acute diarrhea caused by Rotavirus
Rotavirus acute diarrhea is an acute gastroenteritis caused by the Rota virus with symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting, and fever. Unstable weather also increases the risk of spreading gastrointestinal pathogens in children. In the first 5 years of life, most children are infected with this virus. In Vietnam, acute diarrhea is among the leading causes of death in young children.
There is currently no specific treatment for acute diarrhea, and antibiotics are ineffective against the disease. If not detected and treated promptly, the disease can cause severe diarrhea, dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, malnutrition, and even death.
Meningococcal meningitis
Compared to some infectious diseases circulating in our country, meningitis caused by meningococcus bacteria has a small number of cases but is one of the most dangerous diseases and leaves the most severe sequelae. Patients can die within 24 hours of the first symptoms appearing if not treated promptly.
About 20% of surviving patients suffer from sequelae such as neurological retardation, paralysis, severe necrosis requiring amputation of limbs, etc. The disease has initial symptoms that can be easily confused with flu or common viral infections, so it is often not diagnosed early and treated promptly.
"The changing seasons create conditions for many types of bacteria and viruses to develop, making children, the elderly, and people with weak immune systems susceptible to illness. Therefore, strengthening the immune system by getting enough sleep, eating nutritious foods, and getting vaccinated... helps reduce the risk of illness and hospitalization rates," Dr. Chinh advised.
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