Caring for your health in the monsoon season

It’s that time of the year again, when the rain gives rise to germs and illnesses. Protect yourself and your family with adequate measures.

The monsoon season has set in all over the country. While you may revel in the cool temperatures and the overall romance of the season, you cannot deny that the monsoon brings with it the cold, cough, fever, skin infections and many other issues. Maintaining the highest standards of health and hygiene is crucial to enjoy the season illness-free.

Care during the monsoon season

It is a known fact that health and hygiene go hand in hand. You cannot have one without the other, and good personal and environmental hygiene is important so that you may be healthy and fit for a longer time.

The monsoon season brings its own set of challenges. It is different from other seasons, because it creates an atmosphere of dankness and extra humidity. In turn, this environment becomes conducive to the growth of fungus and mould, while germ and bacterial activity multiplies manifold. The skin harbours millions of harmful germs during this season, and there is a further chance of infections when dirty rainwater gets into open cuts in the skin.

Health and hygiene during the monsoon season – A simple guide

It is not enough only to maintain health and hygiene at a personal level. You need to keep your surroundings clean and germ-free as well, so that you don’t pick up infectious microbes that make you and your loved ones ill. Try the following measures for good health and hygiene this season:

* Skin and hair care: Getting wet in the rain is a simple pleasure, but your skin and hair are vulnerable to attack from disease-causing germs and bacteria. Dirty rainwater settles inside your shoes and toenails, and can cause infections if not cleaned properly. Bathe in antiseptic liquid soap using a loofah or body brush, so that you can scrub your skin clean of all germs and surface dirt. Soak your feet in a tub of warm water infused with liquid soap, and clean the toenails and the skin between the toes with a soft brush. Wash your hair with a mild shampoo as often as you can. Oiling the hair with warm olive oil in between washes protects the roots from the effects of rainwater.

* Kitchen and washroom care: The wet areas in the kitchen and washroom remain damp on days of heavy rainfall since high humidity does not let the surfaces dry. Dampness gives rise to fungal growths, which are irritating to human skin. If you observe that the empty washroom is moist for hours, spray them with a solution of Dettol antiseptic liquid mixed in clean warm water, and give the surfaces a wipe down with a clean cloth. Keep the window open slightly to allow movement of fresh air. This will rid the areas of germs and keep pests away.

* Clothing care: Wet clothing does not dry quickly in the damp weather. Even your fresh laundry load might take more than a day to dry completely. You could invest in a steam iron to dry the clothes to a crisp, with the heat killing any lurking germs. Also, do ensure that you add a measure of Dettol antiseptic liquid to the laundry load during its last wash, to remove any traces of germs and to give the clothing a fresh aroma. Doing this is especially important when washing the clothes of a sick person in the family.

* Pest control. The damp atmosphere encourages pests like ants, cockroaches and flies to set up home in various corners of your house. Apart from carrying out a pest control programme at this time, ensure that there is no food or drink kept exposed to the air, and that all cooking surfaces are wiped down with antiseptic liquid first thing in the morning. You can spray the air with a solution prepared out of Dettol antiseptic liquid to repel flies and kill airborne germs and microbes.

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