Infectious diseases can be bacterial, viral or caused by other microorganisms that enter the body in many different ways. Since these diseases are easily transmitted from one person to another, it is quite likely that serious outbreaks can occur within a single community. To protect yourself from infectious diseases, you can always rely on the old saying "prevention is better than cure". A few tricks and some healthy habits are enough to keep germs and diseases under control.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Preventing Infectious Diseases
Step 1. Wash your hands
It is extremely important to follow proper hand hygiene to avoid spreading infectious diseases. Pathogens (such as viruses, bacteria and fungi) are easily transmitted from contaminated surfaces to the skin and from there to the eyes or mouth, from where they find easy access to enter the body. Therefore, hand washing is one of the most important techniques to reduce the risk of transmitting infectious agents.
- Wash them every time you go to the bathroom, change a diaper, sneeze or blow your nose, and when you come into contact with another person's body fluids.
- Also wash them before and after handling food.
- To sanitize them thoroughly, use warm soapy water, wet them up to your wrists, and scrub them for at least 20 seconds or more.
- If you don't have soap and water available, use an alcoholic disinfectant and rub it from your fingertips to your wrists to kill any pathogens.
Step 2. Avoid touching your face, eyes and nose
People tend to touch their faces quite frequently throughout the day, but this is how germs get from the hands into the body. Intact skin does not allow pathogens to enter the blood system, but the eyes and mucous membranes of the nose and mouth are permeable.
- In addition to maintaining proper hand hygiene, you should avoid touching your face even if your hands are clean.
- Make sure you don't touch your face with the palm of your hand and use a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
- If you don't have a handkerchief available, cover your mouth or nose with your elbow. After use, immediately throw the tissue in a waste bin and wash your hands thoroughly.
Step 3. Get vaccinated regularly
These are preventative measures that help avoid or prevent infectious diseases. They work by stimulating the immune system's response to specific microorganisms; if you have been exposed to such pathogens, your immune defenses should be able to react positively and fight them more effectively.
- Make sure all family members, adults and children, have been vaccinated regularly and keep a record of the various calls, so that everyone is protected.
- Since the action of vaccines consists precisely in activating the immune system to recognize certain pathogens, some vaccines can cause some minor symptoms, such as fever, fatigue and muscle aches, which last a day or two.
- Some vaccines require a booster (such as tetanus or anti-polio) to be performed at specific intervals in order to maintain immunity.
Step 4. Stay home
When you have an infectious disease, it is important to reduce the risk of transmitting the microorganisms to other people and spreading the disease. While some infections are not transmitted as easily, others spread very quickly; you should therefore stay home when you still have symptoms.
- If you are in public places, cover your mouth and nose with your elbow when you cough (not with your hand!) To avoid spreading germs in the air and transferring them with your hands.
- When you are sick, you should wash your hands and the surfaces you share with others often to minimize the risk of passing on the infection.
Step 5. Prepare and store food safely
Some germs can enter the body through food (these diseases are referred to as foodborne). When food is ingested and the pathogen enters the body, it can multiply and lead to disease. It is therefore essential to cook and store all foods correctly.
- Prepare meals responsibly by limiting cross-contamination. Raw foods should never be prepared on the same surface where you placed ready-made foods, to avoid the risk of spreading germs.
- Wash your work surface regularly, keep it clean and dry, as microorganisms can proliferate in humid environments.
- Wash your hands before and after handling food. You also need to sanitize them when you change ingredients (for example when you switch from raw to fresh foods).
- Store foods at a safe and correct temperature (refrigerated if necessary), throw them away if you are unsure of their quality. If you notice changes in color or texture and a strange smell, the food is spoiled.
- Hot foods should be eaten as soon as they are cooked; if they need to be stored, keep them warm (like in buffets) or put them in the refrigerator as soon as possible, to prevent bacteria from proliferating.
Step 6. Practice safe sex and don't share personal items
Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) spread when body secretions come into contact with the genitals, mouth and eyes. By taking precautions, you limit the risk of contracting them.
- Always protect yourself by using a condom or dental dam during sexual intercourse, especially if you are not in a monogamous relationship.
- Avoid having sex if you or your partner have a cold sore rash or genital warts, otherwise you could spread this incurable virus.
- Get tested for sexually transmitted diseases before and after having sex with a new partner so that you are aware of your health.
Step 7. Travel carefully
Keep in mind that the risk of infectious diseases increases while traveling. Some conditions may be more common in some geographic areas than where you usually live.
- Talk to your doctor about the importance of vaccines when traveling. These allow you to strengthen your immune system and be more prepared to deal with pathogens present in the locality you travel to.
- Wash your hands very often when you travel to avoid transferring germs to your mouth.
- Protect yourself from infections that are transmitted by certain "vectors", such as mosquitoes, thanks to preventive measures. For example, you can sleep under a mosquito net, apply repellent spray, and wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants.
Method 2 of 2: Knowing and Treating Infectious Diseases
Step 1. Learn about the various infectious diseases
You should be aware of the different pathogens that spread the infection so that you can manage the risk factors.
- Bacteria are the most common microorganisms. They can move through body fluids and food. These are single-celled beings that use the host organism as a basis for replication.
- Viruses are pathogens that usually cannot live outside the host's body. When they enter the human body, they appropriate cells to multiply and spread to surrounding ones.
- Fungi are simple, plant-like organisms that can colonize the human body.
- Parasites are living organisms that use the host as a source of nourishment and to proliferate.
Step 2. Treat bacterial infections with antibiotics
These drugs are able to eradicate diseases of bacterial origin. Their action consists in blocking the cellular functions of the pathogen or in killing it, accelerating its elimination by the immune system.
- Small infected wounds can be treated with antibiotic ointments. The signs of infection are redness, swelling, warmth, and pain. Do not use these products on deep or heavily bleeding wounds, as these require prompt medical treatment.
- For systemic bacterial infections, you need to go to your doctor and ask him to prescribe oral antibiotics.
- It is important to know that these medicines do not cure or treat viral diseases such as the flu and colds. The doctor is able to distinguish a bacterial infection from a viral one and treat it accordingly.
- Take antibiotics only as prescribed. By taking them when you don't need them (for example in an attempt to treat a viral disease), you can increase bacterial resistance to drugs.
Step 3. Treat Viral Infections
These cannot be cured with antibiotic medications, but there are some medications that prove useful for certain viruses. In other cases, simple home remedies are used, such as rest and adequate hydration.
- Certain drugs, known as antivirals or antiretrovirals, can defeat various types of viruses by preventing them from reproducing their own DNA within the host cell.
- Some infections, such as the common cold, are treated simply by managing the symptoms to make recovery more bearable. The immune system is able to get rid of it, unless it is compromised, as long as the patient rests and takes in all the nutrients.
- Many viral diseases can be avoided thanks to vaccines. For this reason, you should update your vaccination status.
Step 4. Learn how to treat mycoses
Some fungal infections are treated with medicines to eliminate the pathogen and eradicate the disease. However, there are many pathogenic fungi; only the doctor can recognize them and prescribe the correct therapy.
- In some cases, topical creams to spread on infected skin areas (for example on the feet) are sufficient.
- Very serious and dangerous mycoses are addressed with injections or medicines to be taken orally.
- Some examples of pathogenic fungi are Histoplasma capsulatum (histoplasmosis), Blastomyces dermatitidis (blastomycosis), Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioides posadasii (coccidiomycosis), Paracoccidioides brasiliensis (paracoccidioidomycosis) and can be fatal.
Step 5. Learn how to treat parasitic infections
As the name itself indicates, these pathogens are parasites that appropriate the host's energies to live, grow and multiply. This term refers to numerous microorganisms ranging from worms to microscopic cells.
- Many parasites move inside the body through contaminated food or water (such as hookworms), while others through wounds or areas of compromised skin (such as malaria, which is transmitted by a mosquito bite).
- You should never drink unfiltered or unpurified water from potentially contaminated natural sources.
- Some parasites can be treated with medicines taken by mouth or through injections.
- The doctor is able to come to a diagnosis based on the symptoms you are experiencing and specific tests, and then prescribe the appropriate therapy.
