July marks the beginning of the hottest period of the year. It feels humid and muggy. In high-temperature and high-humidity environments, various bacteria, viruses, and parasites are more active. Therefore, we need to focus on preventing infectious diarrhea, heatstroke, and insect-borne infectious diseases. Pay attention to the water hygiene of public swimming pools. Also, with summer vacation approaching, children's summer safety needs extra attention.
I. Preventing Infectious Diarrhea and Other Illnesses
High temperatures and humidity are conducive to the breeding and spread of bacteria, and the incidence of bacterial intestinal infectious diseases usually begins to rise, such as cholera, bacillary dysentery, typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever, and various enteritis.
Symptoms usually include abdominal pain and diarrhea, with or without fever. The transmission route of infectious diarrhea is generally "disease from the mouth." Patients excrete various pathogenic microorganisms through feces and vomit, which contaminate hands, water, food, and tableware through daily contact, leading to infection upon ingestion. In other words, unclean food and contaminated water sources can cause infectious diarrhea.
So, how can individuals take preventive measures?
1. Individuals should maintain good hygiene habits, pay attention to food and water hygiene, Do not eat raw, cold, or spoiled food, do not eat food sold by unlicensed vendors, wash vegetables and fruits thoroughly, ensure that seafood processing and consumption meet hygiene requirements, and do not drink raw water.
2. If there is a diarrhea patient at home, they should receive active treatment, and appropriate isolation should be implemented. Exercise to strengthen the body. When a diarrhea patient appears at home, promptly disinfect contaminated objects.
3. Frequent handwashing is an effective method for preventing digestive tract infectious diseases. Handwashing also requires attention. Simply washing hands with running water without soap or hand sanitizer is far from sufficient for cleaning. The "seven-step handwashing method" should be followed to remove germs through scrubbing and achieve disease prevention.
II. Preventing Heatstroke, Staying Hydrated, and Protecting Against Sun
High temperatures can disrupt the body's physiological functions, causing heatstroke, leading to headache, dizziness, chest tightness, nausea, vomiting, skin fever, rash, and muscle pain; severe cases may experience extreme weakness, convulsions, fainting, and impaired consciousness.
Many people die from heatstroke each year, so heatstroke prevention is crucial:
1. Replenish water, salt, and minerals in a timely manner: Do not wait until you are thirsty to drink water; drink small amounts frequently, Do not drink alcoholic or sugary drinks.
2. Pay attention to diet and rest: Consume sufficient carbohydrates, and supplement protein, vitamins, and calcium. When the temperature reaches ≥32℃, try to stay indoors in a cool environment.
3. Plan your itinerary and prepare sun protection supplies: Avoid going out during midday, choose light-colored and thin clothing, a sun hat, sunglasses, a parasol, and sunscreen.
4. Travel in groups and care for high-risk groups: When working in high-temperature environments (sanitation workers, construction workers, firefighters, delivery personnel, traffic police, etc.), carry heatstroke prevention and cooling medication, and colleagues should pay attention to each other's health.
5. Never leave infants or children in a parked car, even if the windows are slightly open, the temperature inside the car can rise by nearly 7℃ within 10 minutes of parking.
6. It is recommended that family and friends of seniors aged 65 and above, confirm their health status at least twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon.
If someone is found to have heatstroke, quickly move them to a cool, ventilated place, provide physical cooling, replenish fluids promptly, and seek medical attention immediately. 。
III. Preventing Insect-Borne Diseases, Implementing Mosquito Control Measures
With rising temperatures and increased rainfall in summer, mosquitoes breed rapidly. Mosquito bites, besides causing redness, itching, and pain, can also transmit various infectious diseases such as Japanese encephalitis, malaria, dengue fever, filariasis, yellow fever, and Zika virus disease.
Mosquito bites can be prevented in the following three ways:
1. Mosquito avoidance Install screen doors and windows to keep mosquitoes out, and use mosquito nets when sleeping. Avoid lingering in shady areas, grass, and pavilions during peak mosquito activity (morning and evening).
2. Mosquito repellent ： Correct use of mosquito repellents containing DEET or IR3535 is safe and effective. Wear light-colored long-sleeved shirts and long pants when going out, and spray repellent on exposed skin or clothing to minimize mosquito bites.
3. Mosquito eradication ： Eliminate indoor and outdoor stagnant water, clean up sanitation blind spots and garbage, and eliminate mosquito breeding grounds ; if necessary, use insecticides to kill adult mosquitoes.
IV. Pay Attention to the Water Hygiene of Public Swimming Pools
1. When choosing a swimming pool, choose a compliant swimming pool to ensure that the water quality meets hygiene standards.
2. If you have a contagious disease or are recovering from an illness, please avoid using public swimming pools.
3. When swimming in public pools, be sure to wear a swimming cap and goggles as required, and wash your body and feet thoroughly.
4. In public swimming pools, avoid direct contact with people who have skin infections or respiratory infections, and follow proper hygiene practices, such as frequent handwashing and avoiding touching your face.
V. Preventing Accidental Injuries in Children and Adolescents
During the summer holidays, vigilance should be increased, education strengthened, and care taken to prevent children and adolescents from experiencing drowning, traffic accidents, falls from heights, burns, accidental poisoning, etc.
1. Cultivate children's safety awareness and safe behavior habits ， Practice self-rescue skills.
2. Check for safety hazards in the home and surrounding areas. 。
3. Avoid letting children go out alone If unable to accompany them, an agreed return time should be set, and contact maintained.
VI. Rabies Prevention: Vaccination to Prevent Bites
Summer is a high-incidence season for rabies . In muggy weather, animals, especially dogs, are easily irritable, people wear less clothing, and cases of being scratched or bitten by cats and dogs increase.
The mortality rate of rabies is 100%, How to prevent dog bites?
1. For your own dog's health, to prevent it from biting others, you should vaccinate it early. 。
2. Take good care of your pet, when walking your dog, always use a leash.
3. Do not approach unfamiliar dogs or cats, especially do not disturb dogs that are eating, sleeping, or caring for their young.
4. Do not make eye contact with dogs. Children are short in stature and have poor ability to avoid danger, easily injuring the head, face, neck, etc., When encountering unfamiliar dogs, lift the child up.
5. If a dog rushes over, if there is an object nearby to hide behind, hide behind it, if you can't hide, use the object in your hand to aim at its eyes , which may make it stop.
6. If unfortunately bitten, you should treat the wound as soon as possible and get vaccinated and/or immunoglobin.
