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“Wet weather may bring a welcome respite from the summer’s heat, but it’s also the time many people fall ill,” warn doctors.
Why, puddles of rain become breeding grounds for mosquitoes that cause malaria, chikungunya and dengue. Flooded roads can get infested with germs that cause fatal leptospirosis. And the humid conditions help convert food, drinking water, even the very air we breathe to better breeding grounds for germs looking for hosts—us!
What’s more, the sudden drop in temperature reduces your immune system’s ability to fight off the germs. People with certain allergies find themselves being hit harder. Moisture and pollen create severe breathing problems for asthma patients. Wet weather can also aggravate arthritis.
While arthritis and asthma often require expert medical attention, some of the most commonly occurring monsoon diseases are also the most easily preventable. Here’s a look at eight such maladies and how you can prevent them. As always, avoid self- medication and consult your doctor as soon as possible if any of these symptom show up.

INFLUENZA
Last June, just after the rains came Seema Bal, 49, like other innumerable others in the city, was hit by the flu. “I suddenly got a high fever and was shivering, my throat and body hurt and I had a throbbing headache’” says Seema, a homemaker and mother of two teenagers. “It was unnerving especially because I only got one day of rest, since the other family members also caught it and I had to look after them.”
You’re more prone to influenza during the monsoon because the virus that causes it thrives best in humid conditions. In the elderly, flu can be a major cause of disability, even death, often as a result of secondary bacterial infection of the lungs.
Symptoms: Similar to the common cold, but also accompanied by fever, headache, general aches and pains and extreme exhaustion. The fatigue and weakness can last two or three weeks.
Prevention: Flu spreads very quickly, because an affected person remains contagious for seven days. You can catch the virus by sharing objects like handkerchiefs, cutlery or even telephones and computers with an affected person. Wash your hands with soap several times during the course of the day, and definitely before eating. If you catch the flu, prevent spreading it by using a handkerchief while sneezing or coughing. And ask your doctor about flu shots, especially for children and elderly family members.

CONJUNCTIVITIS The conjunctiva is the clear lining surrounding the sclerae, the whites of our eyes. Inflammation of this lining is called conjunctivitis, a contagious condition that spreads very easily. Severe inflammation could lead to irreparable damage of the cornea- the transparent surface of the eyeball—leading to blindness.
Symptoms: Redness, irritation and watering of the eyes sometimes with a yellow or white discharge. Because of the way it feels, some people may insist there is a foreign body stuck under their eyelid and will try to remove it, further irritating the eye. If you’re affected, avoid touching your eyes and wash hands and face every few hours.
Prevention: Do not share towels, clothes, sheets, tissues, eye drops, eye-makeup or sunglasses/ spectacles.

JAUNDICE
“I dread the rains,” says an insurance manager, who’ll never forget how weak a sudden bout of jaundice had left him. “One July, a few years ago, I was at work when I started to feel extremely lethargic,” I went home and noticed in the mirror that the whites of my eyes had turned yellow.” A test confirmed jaundice, and a liquid and semi –solid diet was prescribed. It took more than three to four weeks to get better.
Jaundice- from jaune, French for yellow—shows up with the yellowish staining of the skin and sclerae caused by high levels of the chemical bilirubin in the blood—an indication of liver damage. Eating contaminated food or drinking unclean water leads to infections that can cause jaundice.
Symptoms: Extreme weakness, headache, fever, loss of appetite, severe constipation, nausea, discolouration of the eyes, tongue, skin and urine. There may also be a dull pain in the liver region.
Prevention: Drink water that has been boiled and cooled. Even filtered water must be boiled. Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly in clean water, especially if they are going to be eaten raw. Avoid roadside eateries.

DIARRHOEA
Diarrhoea indicates that stomach or intestines have been affected. Eating contaminated food or drinking unclean water can lead to infections which cause diarrhoea such as gastroenteritis or amoebiasis. In adults, it is usually mild and often goes away without complications. But in children and infants, diarrhea can lead to dehydration—and even death.
Symptoms: Loose, frequent watery stools, sometimes accompanied by vomiting and stomach pain. Loss of appetite and a feeling of weakness and fainting are also common.
Prevention: Avoid eating out, especially street food. If you must eat out, choose the best and most hygienic restaurants. Avoid uncooked foods like salads, bhel-puri, chaat and chutneys. Drink boiled water.
If affected, take an oral-rehydration solution—either a readymade one, or make one at home by mixing six teaspoons of sugar and a level spoon of salt in one litre of water.

LEPTOSPIROSIS
Dozens of people died of this disease, following the great July 2005 floods in Mumbai. The urine of infected animals, especially rats, carried by floodwater had spread the bacteria that cause this disease. Besides water, wet soil or grass too can carry the infected urine and transfer the bacteria to humans through cuts or scratches in skin. Contaminated food or drinking water can also lead to infection.
Symptoms:
Symptoms generally start to show only ten days after infection: Nausea and vomiting, eye inflammation, muscle aches, accompanied by high fever and headache. In more severe cases, the illness can result in liver damage and jaundice, kidney failure and internal bleeding. Consult a doctor for early treatment, as it is often fatal if delayed.
Prevention: Avoid contact with floodwater, puddles, mud, and grass, especially if you have a cut or wound on your feet or legs. If this can’t be avoided, wear rain-boots. If travel plans might put you at risk, talk to your doctor about taking antibiotics before and during your journey to help prevent infection.

MOSQUITO-BORNE DISEASES: MALARIA
DENGUE, CHIKUNGUNYA
Last July, businessman Rahim Shah, 51, was bedridden for 10 days with malaria, “My body hurt and my stomach was upset,” he says. “The 105-degree fever subsided only after four days of medication.” And for six months afterwards, he took a preventive pill once a week.
Malaria is an enormous public health problem in all tropical and subtropical regions of the world, and has historically taken more human lives than wars or any other disease!
It is transmitted by female Anopheles mosquitoes, which are usually active after sunset.
Dengue is transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which are active in the morning. It is normally not fatal, but a severe infection can cause the blood platelet count to drop, leading to bleeding inside the body. Sometimes a dengue shock fever can cause blood pressure to drop suddenly. Chikungunya, also transmitted by Aedes aegypti, is characterized by a rash, fever and severe joint pain. The disease gets its name from the Swahili word that translates as “that which contorts or bends up.” The joint pain can feel as severe as arthritic pain. Unlike malaria or dengue, chikungunya cannot cause death.
Symptoms:
The surest way of diagnosing malaria is through microscopic examination of blood. Anyone who suffers from unexplained, cyclical bouts of high fever, especially in the rains, should get tested for malaria. Suspect dengue in case of any sudden onset of high fever and chills, intense headaches, muscle and joint pain and a backache that prevents all movement. In some cases there is an outbreak of a bright purplish-red rash that usually appears first on the lower limbs and the chest. There may also be abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea. Typically, a dengue fever lasts for up to a week.
Chikungunya symptoms are similar to dengue. These can show up within one to 12 days of being bitten by an infected mosquito, and they usually last for three to seven days. There have been several areas with chikungunya epidemics in recent years.
Prevention:
Control the mosquitoes [see box]. Make a conscious effort to stay away from areas in the city where water collects and stagnates.
HOW BEST TO PURIFY
DRINKING WATER
Make drinking water safe by filtering and then boiling. Let a large vessel of water simmer for at least 10 minutes, then shut off the stove, and let it cool, all the while keeping it covered. Just filtration, or chemical methods of sterilization, will not destroy all harmful germs, especially the viruses, so drinking boiled water is best. Many commercial domestic water purifiers are sold with the promise that they can remove all germs from the water and so you don’t have to boil water any move. But only good old boiling and simmering filtered water can really remove all deadly viruses and make drinking water perfectly safe, say experts.
HOW TO CONTROL
MOSQUITOES
Keep storage water tanks covered with mosquito-proof lids. If there is a pond near your home, introduce larvae-eating gambusia or guppy fish in it. Some municipalities help with the fish. Empty and change the water in fountains, potted plant trays and air coolers at least once a week to destroy potential mosquito habitats.
When not in use, keep buckets and other vessels upside down. Install nets on all windows and doors that lead out. Use mosquito nets on beds too. Wear shoes, full-sleeved shirts and trousers or pyjamas outdoors, especially after dusk and wear light colours, as mosquitoes are attracted to dark shades. Use insect repellent on exposed areas of skin. Do not use it on infants under two months of age—the best protection for babies is to place mosquito nets over their beds.