01
influenza
What is the flu?
Influenza is an acute respiratory infectious disease caused by the influenza virus that poses a serious threat to humans.
What are the symptoms of the flu?
Influenza typically presents with an acute onset, fever (some cases may present with high fever, reaching 39-40℃), accompanied by chills, headache, muscle and joint pain, extreme fatigue, loss of appetite and other systemic symptoms. Sore throat and cough are common, and nasal congestion, runny nose, retrosternal discomfort, mild conjunctival congestion, vomiting and diarrhea may also occur.
Mild influenza often presents similarly to the common cold, but with more pronounced fever and systemic symptoms. Severe cases can lead to viral pneumonia, secondary bacterial pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, shock, disseminated intravascular coagulation, extrapulmonary manifestations such as cardiovascular and neurological issues, and various complications.
What are the transmission routes of influenza?
Influenza patients and asymptomatic carriers are the main sources of infection for seasonal influenza. It is mainly transmitted through droplets from their respiratory secretions, and can also be transmitted through direct or indirect contact with mucous membranes such as the mouth, nose, and eyes.
What should we do in the face of influenza?
Getting a flu shot every year is the most effective way to prevent influenza and can significantly reduce the risk of contracting the flu and developing serious complications.
Xu Baoping, director of the Department of Respiratory Medicine at Beijing Children's Hospital, National Children's Medical Center, explained that vaccination does not burden the body. People with weak constitutions, low immunity, or underlying diseases, such as children, infants, and the elderly, should especially prioritize influenza vaccination. It is important to note that receiving a flu vaccine does not guarantee 100% immunity to the flu. Furthermore, some groups are not advised to receive the flu vaccine.
In addition, maintaining good personal hygiene habits is an important way to prevent respiratory infectious diseases such as influenza.
1. Wash your hands frequently.
2. During flu season, try to avoid going to crowded places.
3. If you develop flu symptoms, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or towel when you cough or sneeze and wash your hands promptly. Try to avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.
4. When a family member has the flu, try to avoid contact with each other, especially if there are elderly people or people with chronic diseases in the family.
5. When parents take their children with flu symptoms to the hospital, they should take precautions for both the child and themselves (such as wearing masks) to avoid cross-infection.
When influenza-like illnesses occur in schools or other collective settings, patients should stay home to rest and reduce the spread of the disease. When in the same enclosed space as influenza patients, windows should be opened to ensure ventilation.
02
Norovirus-induced diseases
What is norovirus?
Norovirus is a virus that causes nonbacterial acute gastroenteritis, and its peak season is in autumn and winter.
How can I determine if I have norovirus?
The incubation period for norovirus infection is 12 to 72 hours, usually 24 to 48 hours. Common symptoms include nausea, vomiting, fever, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Some patients may also experience headache, chills, and muscle aches. Children are more likely to experience vomiting, while adults are more likely to experience diarrhea, with stools being loose or watery.
What are the transmission routes of norovirus?
It can be transmitted through various routes, including contaminated water, food, objects, and air.
How to prevent norovirus?
The peak season for norovirus infection is from October to March of the following year. Schools and childcare facilities, where people gather, are high-risk locations for norovirus outbreaks.
The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a warning that norovirus is an RNA virus that is highly prone to mutation. Every few years, new variants emerge, causing global or regional outbreaks.
When it comes to norovirus, prevention is more important than treatment:
1. Pay attention to personal hygiene, develop good hygiene habits, and wash your hands frequently.
2. Pay attention to food and water hygiene, eat cooked food, and do not eat unclean or unlicensed food.
3. During the peak season for diarrhea in autumn and winter, try to avoid crowded public places, maintain good indoor air circulation, open windows for ventilation at least twice a day for at least 30 minutes each time, and reduce the chance of viral infection.
4. Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables and have a diverse diet.
5. Increase physical activity, improve physical fitness, and enhance immunity.
03
Bacterial conjunctivitis
What is bacterial conjunctivitis?
Bacterial conjunctivitis is a common acute infectious eye disease, also known as "pink eye," and is most prevalent in spring and autumn. In children, bacterial conjunctivitis is often caused by Haemophilus influenzae or Streptococcus pneumoniae. Haemophilus influenzae conjunctivitis is easily transmitted in schools and homes.
What are the symptoms of bacterial conjunctivitis?
The most common symptoms of bacterial conjunctivitis include red eyes, where the surface of the eyeball is congested and red, with visible blood vessels. Other symptoms may include a foreign body sensation, burning sensation, itching, photophobia, tearing, and increased discharge.
What are the transmission routes of bacterial conjunctivitis?
The bacteria that cause conjunctivitis can be transmitted through respiratory secretions, as well as through contact with towels, toys, faucets, doorknobs, etc., used by patients.
How to prevent bacterial conjunctivitis?
1. Develop good personal hygiene habits, trim your nails frequently, wash your hands before meals and after using the toilet, and never rub your eyes with dirty hands.
2. During the epidemic period, public water taps, elevator handrails, door handles, telephones, utensils, toys, etc. should be disinfected; wash your hands after touching computer keyboards, and avoid rubbing your eyes or face, especially for those who use public keyboards.
3. Do not share towels or personal hygiene products with others. Wash your face and hands with running water. Do not touch the face washing utensils, handkerchiefs, or medical instruments used by the patient.
4. Do not share eye medications, eye cosmetics, or other medicines or products that may come into contact with the eyes with others, and do not use group eye drops as a way to prevent eye diseases.
5. Maintain good personal hygiene. Wash your hands thoroughly before and after touching your eyes, and it is best to avoid touching your eyes with your hands.
04
Hand, foot and mouth disease
What is hand, foot, and mouth disease?
Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a common and frequently occurring infectious disease caused by various enteroviruses, primarily affecting children under 5 years old. It can occur year-round.
What are the symptoms of hand, foot, and mouth disease?
Most patients experience mild symptoms, primarily characterized by fever and rashes or blisters on the hands, feet, and mouth. Group infections are common.
What are the transmission routes of hand, foot, and mouth disease?
Infection mainly occurs through close contact with the patient's feces, blister fluid, and respiratory secretions, as well as contaminated hands, towels, handkerchiefs, toys, tableware, baby bottles, bedding, etc.
How to prevent hand, foot, and mouth disease?
Maintaining good personal and family hygiene is key to preventing hand, foot, and mouth disease. To prevent hand, foot, and mouth disease, individuals should: wash hands frequently, drink boiled water, eat cooked food, ensure good ventilation, and get some sunshine.
Special attention should be paid to:
1. Parents and caregivers should wash their hands after touching children, changing diapers, or handling children's feces.
2. Baby bottles and tableware must be sterilized before use.
3. Toys should be disinfected frequently, ideally once a week.
4. Parents should regularly observe their children's mouth, hands, feet, buttocks, and knees for rashes. If symptoms such as fever or rash appear, seek medical attention at a reputable hospital promptly and follow the doctor's advice for treatment. Do not administer medication blindly.
05
mumps
What is mumps?
Mumps, commonly known as epidemic parotitis, is an acute respiratory infectious disease caused by the mumps virus. It is most common in children aged 5-15 years and can occur in all seasons.
What are the symptoms of mumps?
The main symptom is swelling and pain in the parotid gland. The swelling and pain are characteristic, usually centered on the earlobe, pear-shaped or horseshoe-shaped, with indistinct edges, and tender to the touch. Opening the mouth and chewing stimulate saliva secretion, which intensifies the pain. Some children may also experience fever, sore throat, and general malaise, and some children often have complications.
What are the transmission routes of mumps?
The patient is the source of infection, and the disease is transmitted through direct contact, droplets, and inhalation of saliva. Symptoms develop 2 to 3 weeks after contact with the patient.
How to prevent mumps?
1. It is important to ventilate the room by opening windows.
2. Patients should be isolated until the parotid swelling has completely subsided and the illness has lasted for at least 9 days before they can return to school. Those who have been in contact with patients with mumps need to be closely monitored for 3 weeks.
3. Administering a standard live attenuated mumps vaccine or a combined MMR vaccine can achieve an immunization success rate of 70%-90%.
Popularization methods: lead by example
Help and guide children together
Develop good hygiene habits!
