Why do so many diseases appear in the summer?

Hot and humid summer weather is ideal for viruses and disease-carrying mosquitoes to thrive, causing difficult-to-control epidemics in both adults and children.

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?

Basic symptoms to recognize 3 common summer diseases: Hand, foot and mouth disease, Chickenpox, Dengue fever.

The number of cases of hand, foot and mouth disease, chickenpox and dengue fever is increasing.

Hand, foot and mouth disease: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), each year Vietnam records about 50,000–100,000 cases of HFMD, of which the Southern region accounts for more than 60% of the total number of cases. HFMD can occur year-round, appearing most frequently from March to May and from September to December, mainly in children under 5 years old. HFMD 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, feet, buttocks, and sometimes on the knees or elbows. Children often cry, refuse to breastfeed and drool a lot.

Chickenpox: Chickenpox is prevalent year-round in Vietnam, with peaks usually occurring during the hot and humid months from February to June. In recent years, chickenpox has been one of the five diseases with the highest infection rates in Vietnam. Chickenpox usually begins with a mild 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 all over the body. The spots quickly turn into clear blisters, which can appear in the mouth, causing ulcers, pain, and difficulty eating, especially in children.

Dengue fever: All four dengue virus serotypes (DENV1–4) are endemic in Vietnam, with peaks occurring year-round, usually during the rainy season. In 2024, Vietnam recorded a decrease in dengue cases (122,423), but the number of deaths increased to 117, 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 begins 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 and have black stools. Children usually only have a mild fever, rash and fatigue.

Proactively prevent disease and treat promptly to prevent complications

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 health care.

According to Master, Doctor Nguyen Hien Minh, to prevent hand, foot and mouth disease, chicken pox and dengue fever, it is necessary to maintain personal hygiene, wash hands regularly with soap, especially before eating and after using the toilet. Avoid close contact with sick people, cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing. For chicken pox, vaccination is the most effective measure. For dengue fever, it is necessary to kill 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 hand, foot and mouth disease, chickenpox, dengue fever at home. According to Master, Doctor Nguyen Hien Minh, arbitrarily treating summer infectious diseases such as hand, foot and mouth disease, 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, ashes 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 ugly 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 the 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 proper examination and treatment, avoiding unfortunate complications that may occur.

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 from pharmacists to prevent the above summer diseases as well as receive specific instructions to be able to promptly visit medical facilities and treat when there are signs of infection. If not detected and treated promptly, these diseases can cause many dangerous complications such as encephalitis, respiratory failure or dengue fever. Proactive disease prevention and health monitoring in the summer is extremely important for public health.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/y-te/tai-sao-mua-he-lai-xuat-hien-nhieu-dich-benh--i770424/