Monsoon Diseases Common in Children and How to Virtually Consult a Digital Doctor? - Gigadocs - Online Appointment with Best Doctors

Children love playing in the rain, splashing water, and building paper boats, and they along with the senior citizen age group are the most likely to get affected by the onset of monsoon rains, to an extent that their immunity may get compromised battling the common monsoon diseases. Here are a few common monsoon illnesses that your child may catch in the rainy season and how you as a parent can prevent them:

Cold and Viral Flu- Cold and Flu is one of the most common viral infections that a child catches with the sudden seasonal change. Children playing with other children can easily catch viral infection though shaking or holding hands with another infected child, especially in play-areas and schools. As a parent take special care that your child does not share any towels or handkerchiefs with other kids. Ensure the availability of sanitizers and medicated soap and make sure they use it after returning from play or outside.
Food Poisoning or Diarrhoea- Be cautious of what your child is eating. Rains bring intestinal infections like food poisoning or diarrhoea caused due to the contamination with poor water quality or spoilt food. Ensure food safety, freshly cooked meals. Diarrhoea is a bowel disturbance that can attack in two ways, the first one being acute diarrhoea, lasting for a couple of days and the second is called chronic diarrhoea which lingers on for more than a week. Both acute and chronic diarrhoea are easily preventable by adopting strict personal hygiene practices to combat diarrhoea this monsoon.
Dengue– An air-borne disease common this season. With the coronavirus pandemic showing high rises over each day, parents should know the difference between the symptoms. Apply mosquito repellent on the child especially when you have a habit of keeping the windows open for fresh air circulation. Another tip is to make your child wear full clothing that covers their entire body. Avoid storage of water in tanks, or open spaces that promote mosquito breeding.
Typhoid– It is a water-borne disease caused by consuming contaminated food or water. To avoid, make sure your child eats fresh home-made food. Avoid going out, even if you have to step out after lockdown ensure you have a facemask and your drinking water bottle for your child. Watch out for these common symptoms of sore throat, cough, loss of appetite, and constipation for any signs of typhoid infection.
Cholera- If your child is severely dehydrated, check for Cholera. The Vibrio cholerae bacteria present in contaminated water and food causes Cholera triggered by hygiene conditions and poor sanitation habits. The symptoms include nausea, dry mouth, vomiting, sudden onset of diarrhoea and reduced urine output.
Malaria- One of the common diseases that you need to be cautious about this monsoon. Caused by the female Anopheles mosquitos’ malaria is equally dangerous like the COVID-19. If left untreated, malaria can be dangerous causing life-threatening complications. Common symptoms include viral fever, vomiting and cough.
Jaundice- An acute infection of the liver which could be life- threatening, your child may get infected by jaundice if they consume contaminated food and water. Watch out for any yellowing of nails, eyes, loss of appetite and taste, high temperature with shivering symptoms.

Monsoon Seasonal Diseases-Precautionary Measures for Parents

Do not give tap water to your child for dinking purposes. Instead, give boiled and cooled or RO water.
Ensure your kid is having a healthy and balanced diet. Consider a bowl of hot vegetable soup every day to boosts immunity and normalize body temperature.
Regularly use mosquito repellent and mosquito nets when your kid sleeps to avoid mosquito bites.
Avoid oily food for your kids, prefer fresh vegetables and fruits for your kids.
Make sure your child follows hand hygiene and covers his / her mouth and nose while coughing and sneezing.
To avoid the possibility of skin infections, keep your children’s clothes and shoes dry and clean.
As a parent don’t allow your child to get wet in the first rain, it may be acidic and lead to skin infections.
Take good care of yourself, practice social distancing while you are outside for work or emergency shopping. You can unknowingly transmit infections to your kid. Clip your and your child’s nails regularly to avoid the deposit of dirt.
The natural antibiotics like lemon (good source of Vitamin C), ginger, honey, and tulsi (fights cold and flu) leaves must be kept handy.
Avoid raw fruit juices from outside vendors. Instead bring fruits, clean and make juice at home and give to your child.
Keep your house clean, disinfect the commonly used surfaces every day. Even coronavirus can spread from surfaces. Damp spaces invite bacteria. Wipe floors with an anti-bacterial solution. Don’t let water stagnate especially in washbasins and washroom floors.
Rains increase the levels of humidity drastically. Make sure your child’s skin is dry and clean. Prefer to have frequent showers; twice a day is recommended if your child sweats more.
Make sure your child gets a regular dose of immunity-boosting fruits and vegetables. Berry’s, Guava, seasonal fruits are excellent sources of vitamin C and B12. Add salads, tomatoes, oranges, broccoli, dairy, eggs to your child’s meal.

Children’s get easily infected by seasonal changes in climate. As a parent be extra vigilant and look out for warning signs. If your child shows any symptoms of the common monsoon diseases, like cold, running nose or stomach upsets, don’t delay and consult an infectious disease specialist.

To avoid the fear of infection visiting the doctor’s clinic, you can virtually consult a digital doctor on the Gigadocs app, available on the Appstore and play store.

Gigadocs helps you to book a digital doctor for your child and your entire family for seasonal flu, toothaches, and more serious chronic infections. Gigadocs, is an intelligent practice management E-Healthcare app for your Medi-Care needs.

Benefits of the Gigadocs App-

Gigadocs is a complete healthcare solution built for your family’s healthcare requirements. Gigadocs enables you to-

Record your child’s vitals on the Gigadocs app and share them live with a virtual paediatric online.
Digitally store your and your child’s healthcare records and medical prescriptions on the Gigadocs app without the fear of losing them.