Basic symptoms to recognize 3 common summer diseases: Hand, foot and mouth disease, Chickenpox, Dengue fever
According to MSc. Dr. Nguyen Hien Minh - Medical Director of Pharmacity Pharmacy System, there are three common infectious diseases in the summer: hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD), chickenpox and dengue fever. These are diseases that will leave dangerous complications if not treated promptly or properly. So how to prevent diseases in the hot season?
Number of cases of hand, foot and mouth disease, chickenpox and dengue fever increased
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Vietnam records about 50,000-100,000 cases of HFMD each year, with the southern region accounting for more than 60% of the total. HFMD can occur year-round, with the highest incidence occurring between March and May and September and December, mainly in children under 5 years old.
Hand, foot and mouth disease usually begins with fever, sore throat, runny nose, fatigue and loss of appetite. After 1-2 days, painful mouth ulcers appear, accompanied by small, non-itchy blisters on the palms of the hands, feet, buttocks, and sometimes on the knees or elbows. Children are often fussy, refuse to breastfeed and drool a lot.
Chickenpox is prevalent year-round in Vietnam, with peaks usually occurring during hot and humid months (February to June). In recent years, chickenpox has been one of the five diseases with the highest infection rates in Vietnam.
Chickenpox usually starts with a low-grade fever, chills, fatigue, loss of appetite, and headache. After 1-2 days, a rash of small, itchy red spots appears, starting on the face or upper body and spreading over the body. The spots quickly turn into clear blisters, which can also appear in the mouth, causing ulcers, pain, and difficulty eating, especially in children.
Regarding dengue fever, this disease is prevalent in Vietnam with all four types of Dengue virus (DENV1-4). The disease occurs year-round, with the peak of the epidemic usually during the rainy season.
In 2024, Vietnam recorded a decrease in dengue cases (122,423 cases), but the number of deaths increased to 117 cases, 17% higher than the previous year. By the end of March 2025, the country had reported 17,126 dengue cases, with 2 deaths.
Dengue fever usually starts 4-10 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito, with symptoms of sudden high fever, headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pain, nausea, rash and swollen lymph nodes. The rash does not disappear when the skin is stretched, accompanied by nosebleeds, bleeding from the gums or under the skin. Severe cases may vomit blood, have black stools. Children usually only have a mild fever, rash and fatigue.
Pharmacity cooperates with major medical units across the country to organize many medical examination and treatment programs combined with propaganda and dissemination of knowledge about common diseases so that people can be more proactive in taking care of their health.
Proactively prevent disease and treat promptly to prevent complications
According to Master, Doctor Nguyen Hien Minh, to prevent TCM, chickenpox and dengue fever, it is necessary to maintain personal hygiene, wash hands regularly with soap, especially before eating and after going to the toilet.
Avoid close contact with sick people, cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing. For chickenpox, vaccination is the most effective measure. For dengue fever, it is necessary to kill mosquito larvae, sleep under mosquito nets, avoid mosquito bites and keep the living environment airy, do not let water stagnate around the house.
Currently, many people arbitrarily use medicine or folk remedies to treat summer diseases such as TCM, chickenpox, dengue fever at home. According to Master, Doctor Nguyen Hien Minh, arbitrarily treating summer infectious diseases such as TCM, chickenpox or dengue fever with folk remedies, herbal medicines of unknown origin or word-of-mouth remedies can lead to many serious consequences.
First of all, these methods often only temporarily relieve symptoms, masking acute signs, making it difficult for doctors to accurately diagnose when the disease becomes severe. As a result, patients easily miss the "golden time" for effective treatment intervention, thereby increasing the risk of serious complications, even death.
In addition, incorrect treatments such as applying leaves, ash or homemade solutions to damaged skin areas (especially in chickenpox or hand, foot and mouth disease) not only do not help cure the disease but also easily cause secondary skin infections. Staphylococcus and streptococcus bacteria can penetrate through open skin, leading to widespread cellulitis, sepsis, skin abscesses and leaving permanent skin damage with unsightly scars.
More seriously, many herbal medicines and folk remedies are passed on by word of mouth but the ingredients and dosage are unknown and can cause poisoning, affecting the liver, kidneys and overall health of the patient.
Therefore, when there are signs of suspected illness, it is best to take the patient to a medical facility for examination and proper treatment to avoid possible unfortunate complications.
Currently, the Pharmacity pharmacy system with more than 1,000 stores across the country and a team of well-trained pharmacists, people can rest assured to go to the above pharmacies to get advice on preventing summer diseases as well as specific instructions to be able to promptly visit medical facilities and receive treatment when there are signs of infection.
If not detected and treated promptly, these diseases can cause many dangerous complications such as encephalitis and respiratory failure. Actively preventing diseases and monitoring health during the summer is extremely important for public health.
Van Linh
Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/chu-dong-phong-benh-va-theo-doi-suc-khoe-trong-mua-he-102250603173535834.htm
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