It's raining cold and cough

MONSOON WOES

Dr J M Hans advices and offers tips for the best possible home care during the rainy season

Monsoon, with its cloudy skies, sudden rains, and sudden sunshine, makes it one of the most beautiful seasons of the year. First showers of monsoon are heartily welcomed by everyone after experiencing the scorching heat of the summer.

Our body whose immunity has already been reduced due to the dehydration during the summer season becomes more susceptible to the diseases normally associated with this season. For some people, it's a very enjoyable time, getting drenched in the rain. For some people, however, it can be quite a problem, with bouts of flu, common cold and cough, fevers, mumps, measles, and even malaria, dengue, jaundice, gastrointestinal infections like typhoid and cholera.

Seasonal changes indeed have quite an impact on our immune systems, as the body tries to adjust itself to the sudden external conditions. So it goes without saying that you need to prepare your body for the monsoon. In this rainy season, air-borne and water borne diseases spread like wild fire, and it is prudent to stick to a very careful and healthy diet and routine. Monsoon diseases are mostly water-borne. Therefore our first concern should be drinking pure, boiled and filtered water.

*  Avoid cold drinks and drinks made from ice, especially if you are not sure if it has been made from properly purified and filtered water.

*Avoid cold water. Take hot beverages like herbal tea and soups. It will keep your body warm and also boost your immune system.

*  Your monsoon diet must compulsorily include extra dairy products as they help increase immunity and fight germs.

* A glass of hot milk is healthy and nutritious, particularly during monsoon.

*  Food poisoning during the rainy season is very common. Eat only homemade and well-cooked food.

* Avoid raw vegetables. Atleast par-boil them, if not cooking them.

*  Avoid seafood as aquatic creatures are prone to carry water-borne diseases during monsoon.

Some people love to itch their ears, it’s like a die-hard habit. They have the undying urge to put either cotton buds, sticks, or even the corner of a cloth inside their ears and itch it. What these people don't know is that in this damp monsoon weather, there is fungus growing everywhere. Hot and humid is the best environment for fungus to grow.

So, the cotton buds, sticks and other stuff all might contain fungus, and once you put it inside your ear it starts growing there. The ears will itch vigorously for a day or two, and then the patient complains of earache and a feeling of blockage.

Fungal infections haunt the skin during monsoons, as fungus and yeast thrive in wet skin folds like underarms, groins, and under the breasts. Feet are another area for such infections especially amongst those who wear shoes and socks throughout the day. Keep dry will be the motto during this season.

* Ensure that clothes, socks, footwear, and other apparels are all dry.
*  Use adequate talcum powder, especially in the folds.
*  Remove your socks and shoes while seated in office.
* Do not allow the kids to play in stagnant water.
* Do not enter air-conditioned room with wet hair and damp clothes.
*  Dry your feet and hand with soft dry cloth whenever they are wet.
* Keep the surroundings dry and clean.

Should you suffer from even the slightest of ear pains, throat pains, or skin problems, consult a doctor immediately. Because monsoon season can bring with it more adverse dangers than mere common cold and cough, and rashes.

(The writer is an ENT specialist)