Submerged Lands

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.

If you are suffering from airborne related disease, whether it’s physically, mentally or whether you’re suffering from the embarrassment, it’s something that you will not like and no one around you will like it either. The end of this stage leaves you in a place that you wouldn’t wish to be… a secluded room or place where you cannot infect more people. True, you won’t be neglected but it’ll always pinch you that you can’t do the things you could usually do. It’s hard but that is basically the price for ignoring the symptoms stage. Usually, this stage is enough to scare you but in other cases, the symptoms may be so mild that you would feel like ignoring them… bad choice!

Here comes the stage where you are secluded. It won’t be so serious like locking you up in a room with only one window but it’ll hurt you more emotionally than it would physically. It’s “airborne” so you shouldn’t expect less. The rooms will be clean and the environment comfy but the feeling that “something extra is lacking” will never leave you and it’s honest enough to say that you won’t like it that much. A lot of drugs will be pumped into your body at this stage and as you know with all drugs, none lacks a side effect even if it is a magical drug. You will therefore find it difficult to view things the way you used to. Your favorite meals won’t be interesting anymore and you will find yourself puking at its very sight. The medication will get more serious but you have a high chance of making it out of here if you were keen about your health from the beginning but if not… the last stage will explain it.

At the critical stage is where you will weigh quite a lot of things right from the beginning and especially the ones that you did not take keen note of. You might start wondering of how many other people you’ve infected because of not taking any safety measures to ensure that you do not spread the airborne disease. Your health will also be at critical condition since the disease will have taken full control of your body and even though you can still be pulled back, it won’t be that easy to fight for you. Death is not always the immediate end point and someone can still be saved at this stage but not always.

That’s basically what happens with airborne diseases and as you know, these diseases can easily spread from one person to another and it can thus eliminate a lot of people especially if the cure is not found. We can always avoid this by seeking medical help at the start. Though not so many people usually reach this last stage, it was worth talking about what is bound to happen should we not do anything about airborne diseases. Scientists are still working on more and more ways of helping us to do away with airborne diseases but that doesn’t mean they don’t need help.

In 1992, the World Bank suggested that using improved fuels instead of using biomass fuel can help to reduce airborne disease. Such indoor air pollution has reference to poverty which is the major cause of airborne disease. Normally, people who are using these biomass fuels are poor and they suffer from overcrowding, malnutrition and exposure to tobacco smoke. These situations can cause airborne disease and are directly related to health problems regardless if you are young or old.

Another thing that can make one vulnerable to airborne disease is overexposure to the tobacco smoke. Those who are exposed to tobacco smoke are liable to suffer from one airborne disease or the other.  You can also develop lung cancer due to second hand cigarette smoke.

Such condition of poverty like enclosed spaces, overcrowding, unsanitary environment and low hygienic conditions can also favour the survival of these pathogens that cause airborne disease. People who are living under such condition are mostly affected by airborne disease. For instance, statistics has shown that many people who are living in overcrowded and dirty cities suffer from tuberculosis. Most of the cases of tuberculosis are noticed in developing countries of Africa, South Asia and even western Pacific.

Tuberculosis has killed about 3 million people just in 1996. It is the chief cause of adult mortality resulting from airborne diseases. Recently, also tuberculosis has also been noticed in developed countries especially among the poor class or population. This is all due to poor living condition and indoor pollution.

Lack of personal cleanliness is another factor that can lead to airborne disease. Cleanliness they say is next to godliness. In order to avoid being infected by these airborne diseases you need to keep yourself clean. Always wash your hand before eating. If you have children, make sure that they are not unkempt. They should wash their hands when they come back from school before eating. Keep your environment clean. These pathogens survive more in a dirty environment. You will be frustrating their growth by keeping yourself and your environment clean.

There are other airborne disease that can be caused by overcrowding and poverty. Such airborne disease as measles and diphtheria can also be spread in a dirty environment. Measles for instance has killed many children in the past and it is one of the major causes of infant mortality in developing world. However, it has been eliminated in the developed countries in recent times thanks to the invention of better vaccines. Due to lack of vaccine in the developing countries, measles is still affecting and killing children there. Cold and flu are also other airborne disease that can be caused by indoor population.   

In the light of the above, everybody has to be careful in taking care of his environment. Do you know that mold and fungi that develop in the walls of your bathroom or house can also cause airborne disease? This is why you have to use improved building technology in erecting your building.