The annual Spring Festival is just around the corner, a time when we can finally put down our work and spend quality time with family and friends. However, you should also be careful that this peaceful atmosphere isn't ruined by sudden illnesses. What types of diseases are prevalent during the Spring Festival? And what first aid can be given to relieve pain or save a life if you encounter one?
Common disease 1: Acute gastroenteritis
During the holidays, many families' routines are completely disrupted. Playing cards, traveling, and visiting relatives and friends become the main activities. Meals also become irregular, with some families experiencing periods of hunger or overeating, and meals being served cold or hot. This severely weakens gastrointestinal function. Alternatively, some families may consume food containing pathogens and toxins from unclean food stalls, leading to acute inflammatory changes in the gastrointestinal mucosa.
Main symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and fever. In severe cases, dehydration and shock may occur. Generally, patients with acute gastroenteritis experience nausea and vomiting first, followed by diarrhea, which can occur 3-5 times a day or even dozens of times.
Management: If the above symptoms occur, rest in bed as much as possible and take oral glucose electrolyte solution or diluted sugar-salt water to replenish lost fluids. If vomiting persists or diarrhea is severe, seek immediate medical attention for relevant examinations and intravenous fluid administration. In this case, the patient should eat light liquid or semi-liquid foods to ease the burden on the gastrointestinal tract.
Common Illness 2: Alcohol Poisoning
During the Spring Festival, gatherings with relatives and friends inevitably involve drinking, and unrestrained drinking is a direct cause of alcohol poisoning. Every year during the Spring Festival, hospital emergency rooms see a large number of people treated for alcohol poisoning.
Main symptoms: In addition to vomiting, alcohol poisoning victims may also exhibit talkativeness, slurred speech, and clumsy movements during the period of nervous excitement. When the poisoned person enters the comatose stage, they generally show pale face, slightly purple lips, cold and clammy skin, decreased body temperature, dilated pupils, rapid pulse, and slow breathing with snoring.
Prevention measures: When gathering with family and friends, remind each other to drink slowly and never drink on an empty stomach. If someone exhibits manic symptoms due to excessive drinking, never use sedatives or try to induce vomiting by stimulating the back of the throat with your fingers, as this will increase intra-abdominal pressure, causing reflux of duodenal contents and potentially triggering acute pancreatitis.
Common disease 3: Acute cholecystitis
Overeating or drinking excessively during holidays, or consuming too much oily food, can lead to excessive bile secretion, which may trigger acute cholecystitis or an acute attack of gallstones.
Main symptoms: Acute cholecystitis manifests as pain in the right upper abdomen, radiating to the right lower back, and may also be accompanied by symptoms such as fever and vomiting.
Response measures: If the condition or symptoms are severe, seek medical attention promptly.
Common Illness 4: Firework Injuries
During the Spring Festival, while firecrackers bring joy, accidents causing injuries also occur. If these injuries are not treated effectively, they can lead to serious consequences.
Main symptoms: Generally speaking, the hands and eyes are easily injured by the blast, and the skin is easily burned.
Emergency Response Measures: 1. If your eyes are injured by firecrackers, do not rub or rinse them. At most, apply a small amount of anti-inflammatory eye drops, lie down, and call 120 (emergency services) or rush to a hospital with the necessary facilities. 2. If your hands or feet are injured and bleeding from firecrackers, quickly use both hands to press down on the area above the bleeding site. If you have Yunnan Baiyao powder or Sanqi powder, you can sprinkle it on to stop the bleeding. If you experience burns or scalds after being injured by firecrackers, seek medical attention at a reputable hospital as soon as possible to avoid missing the optimal treatment window. If your head or face is burned, apply ice packs wrapped in sterile gauze as a cold compress.
