With the immediate danger now gone, the people of Chennai will have to prepare for an aftermath of the flood – possibility of diseases and infections in an environment that is primed for it. Clean up operations are on, but garbage and other kinds of filth are rotting in the open all over the city and are breeding grounds for all kinds of diseases.
Infections to Watch out For
According to Dr Prabhu Shankar, Assistant Professor of Surgery at Saveetha Medical College, since the disaster involved flooding, water-borne diseases and vector-borne diseases are the ones to watch out for.
Diseases that could spread due to contaminated water include Typhoid, Cholera and Leptospirosis.
Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease caused due to contact with moist vegetation, or dirt contaminated with rodent urine. Vector-borne diseases include dengue and malaria.
Dr Shankar added that “Diabetic patients can get affected by the contaminated water. It can cause diabetic ulcer foot, that is any kind of infection on the foot of a diabetic patient. This is caused because of moving around in sewage water or flooded rainwater.”
How to Prevent Infections
Given that large parts of the city still have stagnant water, mosquito-breeding must be prevented by using insecticides and pesticides.
Diabetic patients should avoid walking in the rain water as much as possible.
One should wash their legs with clean water after coming in contact with the floodwater.
To prevent Leptospirosis, there are tablets which can be taken depending on the risk level of a person.
If one has any kind of infections, they should immediately get their wounds cleaned up and dressed by a surgeon and take appropriate antibiotics from a general physician, he said.
Prevention After a Flood
- Watch out for water-borne, vector-borne diseases.
- Water borne: Typhoid, Cholera and Leptospirosis.
- Vector-borne: Dengue and malaria.
- Ulcer foot might develop in diabetics.
- Wash your legs after coming in contact with floodwater.
- Get your wounds cleaned and dressed, in case of an infection.
- Before cleaning house, turn off electricity.
- Wear protective gear like rubber gloves.
- Clean hands with disinfectant after cleaning.
- Use hot water to clean house.
- Wash contaminated clothes, bedding at higher temperature.
How to Keep House Clean After Floods
Before one starts cleaning, make sure that the electricity supply is turned off. Do not touch any sources of electricity while cleaning the house.
Wear protective gears like rubber gloves and waterproof jackets. Clean hands with disinfectant after cleaning.
Use a house-cleaning fluid and hot water to clean the floors and walls. After cleaning, use disinfectant on everything which was in contact with the flood water.
Contaminated clothes and bedding must be washed at a higher temperature. It should be kept for drying for a few weeks.
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