Summertime is great because of the sun, which makes us feel content and at ease. However, it also brings some difficulties that might ruin our summertime enjoyment. Long days and warm weather are ideal for outdoor sports and recreation, hiking, swimming, family vacations, and creating wonderful memories.
During this season, we may experience a variety of health issues, such as heat exhaustion or insect stings. Health experts advise the public to be on the lookout for the return of diseases like chickenpox as the summer heat builds, especially for vulnerable populations like children, the elderly, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems. Experts have cautioned against the spread of infections and diseases specific to the summer season amid concerns that high temperatures could result in serious health problems like sunburn, sunstroke, and dehydration. Summertime brings with it a variety of viruses and bacteria, so staying clean and maintaining hygiene is essential to avoiding illness and staying.
However, be at ease! We'll discuss the most typical summertime health issues in the following article and provide you with crucial preventative tips. Let's explore the summer diseases and discover practical ways to have a safe and healthy summer full of fun, whether your plans involve a backyard barbecue, an exciting hike or just lounging in the sun.
List of Health Issues in Summers
Following are common summer diseases and health issues:
- Heat Stroke: Prolonged exposure to high temperatures can lead to the common summertime disease known as heat stroke or hyperthermia.Heat exhaustion symptoms like headaches, lightheadedness, and weakness come on first, and it ends with organ failure, unconsciousness, and finally death. Using ice packs, cold air, or water to cool the body outside is one method of treating hyperthermia.
- Food Poisoning: Consuming tainted food or water can result in food poisoning, one of the most prevalent summertime illnesses. Food contamination can occur as a result of bacterial growth flourishing in the warm and muggy weather. These bacteria, viruses, toxins, and chemicals get transmitted in our body through this water. Once they enter the body, it can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pain. Contaminated water, roadside vendors selling food in the open, and raw meat are all common sources of pathogenic microorganisms.
- Dehydration: When water intake isn't enough to offset water loss during the summer, this becomes one of the most prevalent problems during the season. We often lose a lot of water and salts through sweating throughout the summer months. For the body to function normally, this must be restored. Drinking plenty of water is needed to prevent dehydration.
- Mumps: Mumps is another common summertime illness. It happens due to viruses that spread very easily. It is known to mostly affect kids in the height of summer. When an infected person sneezes or coughs near another person, it can spread. It causes extreme swelling in the cheeks below the ears, pain, and fever when it affects the parotid gland in front of the ears.
- Chicken Pox: Chicken pox is among the most prevalent summertime illnesses. Blisters, vesicles, itchy skin, redness, high fever, appetite loss, and headache are typical symptoms.
- Measles: This common summertime illness is a virally-induced contagious respiratory infection. High fever, cough, runny nose, sore throat, and red eyes are some of its early symptoms. Later on, measles rash, fever, cough, runny nose, and small white spots inside the mouth develop from these symptoms. Most often, the face and hairline are where the rashes generally appear.
- Typhoid: It is an illness spread by the orofecal route and is water-borne. High fever, exhaustion, weakness, headache, nausea, and abdominal pain are some of its typical symptoms.
- Sunburn: UV (ultraviolet) radiation from the sun damages the cells in your skin, resulting in sunburn. Skin rashes can result from prolonged exposure to the sun's damaging UV radiation.
- Heat rash or prickly heat: It is a pink or red rash that typically appears on body parts that are clothed. Children are most likely to experience it, and it usually occurs in hot, humid weather. Sweat ducts swell up and become clogged, resulting in heat rash, which appears as tiny pimples or dots on the skin. It frequently results in pain and itching.
- Other waterborne illnesses: The most frequent water-borne illnesses are cholera, dysentery, and diarrhea, which are also common summer diseases.
Preventive Tips for Summer Related Health Issues
- To stay hydrated, both at home and at the workplace. Increase your intake of fluids like coconut water, buttermilk, and lemon water. Make sure you consume ten or twelve glasses of water during the day.
- Wear light-colored, loose-fitting clothing because tight clothing prevents your body from sweating and dark-colored clothing absorbs more heat. Choose materials like cotton that are absorbent and light.
- Avoid strenuous exercise while traveling or engaging in outdoor activities. Take a nap in between working hours.
- Always try to park your car in a shaded area to avoid sitting in a heated car.
- For comfort, apply ice packs and painkillers to sunburns that are the result of exposure to sunlight.
- When handling food, always wash your hands thoroughly and observe basic hygiene precautions. To avoid contracting infections from contaminated food and water, wash your hands before handling or preparing any food.
- Always wash your hands after using the loo.
- Eat nothing undercooked, stay indoors, and don't eat street food. Make an effort to consume fresh produce, such as mangos, sugarcane, cucumbers, and watermelon.
- To prevent heat from being trapped indoors during sunny hours like the afternoon, keep your windows closed.
- Avoid areas where mosquitoes breed and apply insect repellent.
- Use sunscreen with at least 15 SPF to keep your skin covered and protected.
- Common summertime illnesses tend to manifest during the day. To minimize excessive solar radiation exposure, particularly from midday to approximately 3 p.m., when solar radiation is at its peak.
- Wear a cap and sunglasses to protect yourself from the sun's heat when traveling or engaging in outdoor activities. Wearing a hat and sunglasses will shield delicate areas from damaging UV rays.
Also, read: Tips to Survive the Heat Wave This Summer
Conclusion
With its unending sunshine, festivities, and beach days, summer is unquestionably one of the best four seasons ever. But there may be more health risks associated with all that fun in the sun. Learn about these health issues and how to avoid them to stay on top of summer safety.
Don’t forget to get tested for your infections and health parameters during summers to avoid summer diseases and health issues. Get accurate results at Dr. B. Lal Lab and make informed decisions.
FAQs
Q1: Which are the common diseases in summertime?
A: Sun stroke or heat stroke is the most common health issue during summertime.
Q2: How to prevent stroke during summertime?
A: By staying hydrated and avoiding hot radiations of sun as much as possible, we can prevent stroke during summertime.
Q3: Is the summer flu season?
A: Although it's not very common, you can catch the flu in the summer. During the winter, the influenza virus is more active.