First things First

Infectious diseases are one of the major public health problems in developing countries. Interestingly, families in developing countries care for their loved ones at home before taking them to the hospital and it is during these early days that the disease can be easily spread to other family members. It is in this regard that I would like to focus on how families can take care of patients with infectious diseases at home.

With infectious diseases it is very important to remember that the disease is always transferred/ transmitted from a sick individual (infected person) to the healthy individual (person not infected by disease). Therefore it is very crucial to protect the infected individual first to make sure that they do not spread the disease to the healthy individuals.

Since infectious diseases are transmitted in various ways, I will present scenarios which represent a mode of transmission of disease as this is crucial when handling the patient.

  

SCENARIO 1; Patient with Malaria/Dengue (Diseases transmitted by mosquitoes)

Having suffered from malaria myself and all my family members, I know what the risk of transmission is within the household. When one person got malaria, we knew that there is going to be one or two more people who are also going to fall sick in the coming days or weeks.  With mosquitoes roaming around the house, there is a high possibility that the infected mosquito will bite someone else in the house thereby transmitting the disease.  Therefore, with infectious diseases transmitted by mosquito bites, it is very important for the patient to sleep under a treated bed net and that the patient wears insect repellent so that he/she is not bitten by mosquitoes. Make sure that each family member also sleeps under a treated bed net and is using repellent to protect themselves from bites. Make sure that the patient is taken to hospital to get treatment, the earlier they start taking medication the better. 

SCENARIO 2; Patient with Diarrhoea and Dysentry(Diseases spread by contact)

Yes Diarrhoea, it can be a result of food poisoning, contaminated water/food, and so on. These are the most challenging infectious diseases because they can be easily transferred from the patient to the whole family.  It is very crucial to explain the risk of spread of diarrhoea to the whole family and that if any member of the family has got it, they have to notify the rest of the family.  I remember taking care of a patient who had a viral diarrhoea infection and vomiting. I was doing my best to wash my hands as often as I could but in less than 24hours I got it too. When we went to the hospital the doctor said I had to clean my hands thoroughly and make sure I scrubbed my nails. Even if we wash our hands, the nails (if you have long nails) can harbour infectious material.  Therefore washing hands properly and thoroughly is crucial.

Make sure that the patient’s room is always clean and dry and if there is any contaminated material it has to be disinfected and cleaned immediately. Take the patient to the hospital immediately do not wait until they get very sick. The earlier the diarrhoea is stopped, the lower the risk of spreading it to everyone and the risk of dehydration of the patient. Wash your hands before and after going into the patient’s room and after changing the patient or cleaning up after the patient. Wash your hands thoroughly; scrub your nails to get rid of anything that may be stuck in your nails.  It is very important to take the patient to the hospital so that they can identify what is causing the diarrhoea because there are other types of diarrhoea which are very dangerous and can kill in less than 48hours. 

SCENARIO 3; Patient with Mumps (Transmitted through Saliva)

Just like I mentioned in diarrhoea, it is important to wash your hands before and after touching the patient.  Do not eat any food left over by the patient. I remember growing up and one of us got mumps. Mumps are a rare infection and they usually occur once in early childhood before the age of 10 years. I remember my mother telling us not to eat in the same plate with the infected person and not to eat anything left over in their plate. We were not to use the same spoon, plate or cup.  She explained to us that the disease is spread through the saliva.

It is therefore very crucial to wash the plates, cups, spoons, any utensils used by the patient separately with hot water. You can still hug and cuddle the child but no kissing.

SCENARIO 4; Patient with HIV and AIDS

Many are the times that patients with HIV and AIDS are taken care of at home and they are in and out of the hospital. Since with the infection, the patient’s immune system is compromised as such they can catch all sorts of infections around them. These include tuberculosis, malaria, diarrhoeal infections and many more. It is therefore very important to reduce the risk of spread of the HIV virus among the family members. HIV is spread through body fluids (especially blood, vaginal and seminal fluids, saliva (minimal but probable) and it is important to reduce the risk of contact to these fluids. Wear appropriate protective wear, such as gloves whenever you are cleaning after the patient and cleaning the patient. It is very important to explain to the patient why you have to protect yourselves, so that they do not feel stigmatised.  

Always disinfect contaminated material and wash utensil with hot water.

The challenge still remains disseminating this information to the remote areas in developing countries and even to most populations who have no idea on the risks of spread of these diseases in both developed and developing countries.

Infectious Diseases and Family

For the rural communities in developing countries, health care and sanitation are always one of the major public health challenges. When it comes to infectious diseases and caring for the sick, they have limited resources and knowledge. As such they rely on information passed on down the family from generation to generation as a way of caring for a patient with such and such a disease. The problem comes in as some of the ideas that are used to care for these patients result in putting the whole family at high risk of contracting the disease.

In as much as there are many organisations that are helping in disseminating information on how to prevent the risk of spread of disease, it is crucial that training is carried out to bring awareness on infectious diseases and their effects.  Many are the times that we focus on prevention of the disease but not on how to take care of a patient when they are infected by the disease. We focus so much on how the patient is affected but on the family that is around this patient and how the infectious disease can actually spread to them as well.

It is high time that organisations involved in public health awareness also put focus on how a family with a patient carrying an infectious disease can be affected/ infected. It is important that organisations focus on the infectious diseases that exist in a particular area and their risks to the family. In addition to prevention of the disease, advice on the correct ways to care for patients with a particular disease may reduce the risk of spread of infectious diseases within the family hence the community.

I must say, campaigns on prevention of disease have really helped a lot in bringing awareness on the dangers of various diseases. But there is need to also focus on what happens when the disease is in the family, how do we protect the family members and the community at large as they care for their patients from home before they take them to hospital.

As I mentioned area, most of the rural areas in developing countries lack hospitals/ medical facilities, some populations live tens of kilometres away from the nearest hospital. As such families tend to wait for a day or two some even a week whilst they care for the patient at home trying to find a way to get them to hospital. And sadly most of the times some of the patients don’t make it to the hospital, while others make it to the hospital, unfortunately the do not survive the disease because they arrived too late. Well some people may be asking why not call an ambulance? Well with the lack of ambulances, there are areas where they have one ambulance covering an area over 100 square kilometres while others there is no Ambulance at all, hence people have to find their own way to the hospital. Apart from that, there are certain areas that are inaccessible during the rainy season due to flooding and other forces of nature. I can go on and on with the reasons why people don’t make it to the hospital on time in rural areas of most developing countries. But my main focus is the need to train families how to care for their loved ones at home while they are preparing to take them to the hospital. It is important to determine the various infectious diseases that are common in communities and train these communities on how to take care of patients with any of these diseases, while they are preparing to tke them to hospital.

Mosquitoes and You

The beautiful tropical paradises around the globe are a source of great beauty and relaxation. People move from other parts of the world in search for that relaxed beautiful moment but there are also other individuals who enjoy the treat, mosquitoes. Mosquitoes are some of the most irritating insects to be around, their bites are itchy and painful, and those that fly in the night can be loud and noisy, not forgetting that their bite can also transmit some of the deadly and nasty infectious diseases such as malaria and dengue fever.

Mosquitoes transmit diseases by biting a person infected with a disease and thereafter biting another person during their next meal. This cycle is very critical as it is challenging to control the spread of the disease without human intervention. This intervention includes humans protecting themselves from mosquito bites and controlling mosquito breeding.

Today I am going to focus on the second part how do we control mosquito breeding?

Mosquitoes breed in stagnant water, because that is where they can easily lay their eggs hatch and develop to the adult stages. Since the water is not moving, there is plenty of food for the developing mosquito stages. 

Stagnant water is water that is not moving and usually collects in;

1.  holes/pools on the ground,
2.  old utensils that are lying around in the open, e.g. pots, plates, cups, cans, water fountains, etc.
3. plates/base of flower pots, 
4.  on big leaves and  hollow stems,
5.  hollow stems in tree trunks,
6. old tyres,
7. anything that is hollow and can collect water.

It is therefore very important to drain and turn upside down all things that can collect water and be a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Fill all water pools so that there is no water collecting there anymore. As simple as these ways sound, they go a long way to reduce the breeding grounds for mosquitoes thereby reducing the population of mosquitoes hence reducing the risk of spread of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes.

Remember to always protect yourself against mosquitoes when you are in areas that are prone to mosquito borne diseases. Use insect repellents and always sleep under a treated bed net if you can.

If you have flowers or potted plants, fountains and huge plants in your garden, make sure to drain any water that collects and clean them to ensure that mosquito eggs are destroyed.