Airborne Diseases
Back in the year 2009, there was an outbreak of a new airborne disease that was commonly known as swine flu. Its real name was the H1N1 flu. Just like tuberculosis, this flu is also passed through respiratory droplets and you know how this happens. Simple things like sneezing in the open or spitting ensure that the droplets spread even more. Though the flu is not that serious, you might find information about its symptoms helpful. Diarrhea, fever, sore throat headaches and general body aches, coughing and vomiting are among the symptoms. These symptoms are shared by many other diseases as well thus making it almost difficult to know if you are suffering from the flu or not. It is worth noting that these symptoms usually develop after three to five days at most but will only last for roughly eight days.
H1N1 is a viral disease and as you know the case with most or all viral diseases, the cure is almost impossible to get. H1N1 influenza viruses are responsible for the flu and thus there’s no treatment available. This shouldn’t worry you; your only concern should be finding the right drugs like oseltamivir and zanamavir. Besides, if you have good immunity you shouldn’t even bother about taking drugs to suppress the symptoms since they won’t be of much concern. Unfortunately, children below the age of 5, pregnant mothers and HIV positive persons still have to rely on these medications. If H1N1 flu isn’t treated at an early stage (especially for the people mentioned above) then it may lead to pneumonia or respiratory arrest which are other complications all together.
Another airborne disease that we should look at is perhaps the most common or at least it used to be some few years back. Without a vaccination for measles, you can’t imagine how many people would have been affected. Thousands to millions of people isn’t enough to give you a brief idea. Among the symptoms, things like coughing, fever, light sensitivity, muscle pain and rashes on the skin are a sure sign of measles. You should note that this disease is very contagious and can even spread through contact in addition to spreading through the air we breathe. Rashes usually start appearing 3 to 5 days after these symptoms.
The symptoms may last for almost ten days and all along, you will notice the rashes becoming more red, flat and very itchy. Additionally, your eyes will be a little red; you’ll have a little sore throat and a runny nose. Unfortunately there’s no treatment for measles only vaccinations are available. The only ways of reducing these symptoms is by taking acetaminophen but that won’t guarantee that you will be less ill for long.
Now that you know of some of the airborne diseases, you should be asking yourself how you can avoid spreading or contracting the disease. One way to reduce their spreading is by covering your mouth or nose when sneezing and to avoid spitting in the open. Come on, handkerchiefs are quite cheap and its actually good manners to always have one in your pocket if you don’t want to be embarrassed some day in the future. Remember that some of the airborne diseases are incurable and you have to rely on vaccinations to shield yourself from them. It would thus be wise to still become immunized against them before anything bad happens.