What Is Typhoid Fever?
Typhoid is a bacterial infection that can spread throughout your body affecting multiple organs. It is more common in young adults and children. If not treated timely, typhoid can lead to serious complications. So visiting a Child specialist in Karachi should be your immediate response if your child has typhoid symptoms.
Typhoid is extremely contagious and can spread through sewage contamination or direct contact with human feces.
Although typhoid occurs worldwide, it is more common in areas with poor sanitation and hygiene practices. Some high-risk areas for typhoid from all over the world are:
- Indian subcontinents
- Africa
- South and Southeast Asia
- South America
What Causes Typhoid Fever?
Typhoid is caused by a life-threatening bacteria called Salmonella typhi, it infects the intestinal tract and blood of the person. Other illnesses like S. Paratyphi A, B, and C are also caused by this bacteria.
Some common ways of coming in contact with this bacteria are:
- Using a restroom contaminated with this bacteria.
- Eating seafood from contaminated water sources with infected feces or urine
- Eating raw vegetables fertilized with human excrement
- Consuming contaminated dairy products
- Through flies (when they sit on your food) after sitting on infected feces
- Through human contact
What Are the Different Stages of Typhoid Fever?
A person suffering from typhoid may take 3 to 4 weeks to recover completely but there’s no fixed period to assure when you will start feeling better. During these weeks, you may go through these 4 stages of typhoid fever:
Stage 1:
Typhoid patients usually have a dry cough, headache, and fatigue in this stage.
Stage 2:
When suffering from stage 2, patients might experience hallucinations and can become lethargic. They may also have a high burning fever and loss of appetite which may result in extreme weight loss.
Stage 3:
During this stage, things get serious; and patients can experience complications like abdominal haemorrhage, encephalitis or inflammation of the brain, and difficulty in doing everyday tasks like walking and sitting up.
Stage 4:
High grade fever, serious infections, kidney failure, pneumonia, inflammation of the pancreas, and meningitis are the complications associated with stage 4 of typhoid.
What Are the Symptoms of Typhoid Fever?
The symptoms of typhoid may show up after 2 weeks of contracting the disease. Some common symptoms that are an indication that a person may have typhoid are:
- High grade fever
- Constipation
- Dry cough
- Headache
- Muscle pain
- Weight loss
- Abdominal pain
- Fatigue
- Nausea
- Blood in stool
- Nosebleeds
- Diarrhoea
How Do Doctors Diagnose Typhoid Fever?
To diagnose typhoid, doctors conduct a thorough analysis by noting down the patient’s symptoms, physically examining them and taking in their medical and travel history.
Also, they suggest these diagnostic tests to make accurate diagnosis:
- Blood Tests:To detect antibodies and bacteria Salmonella typhi in the blood.
- Stool And Urine Tests:For stool and urine tests samples of your urine and stool are collected and analyzed to check for the presence of typhoid causing bacteria.
- Widal Antigen Tests: It is a simple and inexpensive test and requires only a blood sample. It works by measuring antibodies against flagella and LPS from the serum of infected people to diagnose typhoid.
What Is the Treatment for Typhoid Fever?
Your doctor may suggest one of the following treatments for typhoid fever depending on your stage and condition:
- Antibiotics: If you’re diagnosed at an early stage, you may be prescribed antibiotics. Depending on the condition,patients need to take antibiotic pills for 7-14 days.
- Hospitalization:Doctors might suggest hospitalization if your typhoid symptoms continue to worsen. Some serious symptoms that lead to hospitalization are persistent vomiting and severe diarrhea.
- Surgical Treatment:Surgery may be required if life-threatening complications of typhoid occur, such as internal bleeding or an incision in the digestive system.
Getting a typhoid vaccination can prevent you from contracting the virus in the first place. Especially if you plan to work in areas with poor hygiene practice. There are options of both oral and injectable vaccines that you can consider. However, if even after being vaccinated you experience any symptoms of typhoid fever, it is best to consult a physician in your town by logging on to oladoc.com.