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.