typhoid
Typhoid fever is one of the most common infectious diseases in the world, especially in developing countries that lack public health standards. The infection spreads in Mexico, South America, Egypt, Pakistan, India, and other high-population countries. According to one study, about 21 million people worldwide are infected every year with typhoid fever, which kills about 200,000 people.
The infection is caused by bacteria known as Salmonella thyme, as well as Salmonella paratyphi bacteria, which cause a form of typhoid fever that is less dangerous than that caused by typhoid. The disease is associated with fever, causing it to rise very high in the patient’s temperature. The disease is transmitted by the contamination of food and drink by bacteria, especially through the stool of the patient, which contains a large number of them, and a small proportion of patients become infected for many years after recovery from it, and show no symptoms, and are also a source of infection.
Typhoid fever is usually diagnosed by a stool test, and some doctors may take a blood test to confirm it. Patients may feel better within days after taking the appropriate antibiotics, but some may have complications. Although there is a typhoid fever vaccine, it is limited in effectiveness, and its use is limited to prevention by giving it to people at risk, They will travel to areas where Typhoid fever is prevalent.
Symptoms of typhoid fever
Symptoms of typhoid fever begin to appear within 1-2 weeks of infection with Salmonella typhoid. If treated properly, the patient will feel better, and symptoms may disappear within three to five days. If not treated, the patient will need weeks or months to feel better, often have the same symptoms, and may have a severe condition within weeks, as well as the possibility of complications of severe typhoid. The most common symptoms associated with typhoid fever are as follows:
- High body temperature: usually starts with a slight increase that increases day by day, and in some cases may reach 40 degrees Celsius.
- Excessive sweating.
- General fatigue and fatigue.
- Feeling sharp pains in the head, as well as in various muscles of the body.
- Unwarranted weight loss, as well as lack of appetite for food.
- Suffering from swelling and gas in the abdomen, and may be accompanied by severe abdominal pain.
- Suffering from dry cough.
- A pink rash appears on the entire body.
- Feeling nauseous, may be accompanied by the occasional ejaculation.
- Suffering from diarrhea, especially in children, as well as constipation suffered by adults more.
- The symptoms appear earlier in the early stage of the disease and disappear after undergoing proper treatment. If this is not done, other symptoms may appear, such as delirium caused by excessive body temperature, as well as a patient lying down without moving, keeping his eyes partially closed. Known as typhoid.
Treatment of typhoid fever
Typhoid fever is a disease that is fully cured with antibiotics. Cyproplaxacin and ceftriaxone are often given intravenously, and may be accompanied by many side effects. Patients should be treated for 7 to 14 days, and doctors are advised to rest and drink large amounts of water to avoid droughts, to compensate the fluid lost by the patient with diarrhea and sweating, and to divide the food into several small meals instead of three large meals .
The patient must also maintain personal hygiene, and wash hands well; to reduce the chance of transmission of the disease to other people. Some patients, if severely infected with typhoid fever, may need hospitalization, thus undergoing intravenous antibiotics. In some cases, surgery may also be used to treat complications from typhoid fever.
Complications of typhoid fever
The complications of typhoid fever often occur if not properly treated, and patients usually suffer during the third week of the disease. The most common complications of typhoid fever are as follows:
- Internal bleeding : It may be accompanied by suffering from many symptoms, such as shortness of breath, dizziness of the skin, and feeling tired constantly, in addition to irregular heartbeat, and blood out with the stool or with vomiting. Although it causes many problems for the patient, it does not pose a risk to his life. The patient may need blood transfusions or surgery to stop the bleeding.
- Suffering from gastrointestinal perforation and peritonitis , A thin layer lining the inner wall of the abdomen and cover most of the internal organs, and the most prominent symptoms associated with this multiplier the feeling of severe pain and sudden abdominal worsening with the passage of time. It is caused by the transmission of bacteria that cause the disease, which live in the intestine, to the stomach, and to the peritoneum, which poses a great risk to the patient’s life: the possibility of causing poisoning of blood, and thus the failure of many members of the body, and may lead to death. In this case, patients need to be admitted to the hospital and undergo intensive antibiotics or intravenous injections. Surgical procedures are often used to repair damage to the digestive system.
- There are also Less common complications of typhoid fever , Inflammation of the heart muscles or valves, pneumonia, inflammation of the pancreas and kidneys, meningitis, in addition to hallucinations and delirium.