Every rainy season the same story repeats itself in homes across Trinidad. One person picks up a fever, then a second, then the whole household is down for a week. Most of those infections did not have to happen.
Infectious diseases are illnesses caused by germs that pass from the environment, from food and water, or from one person to another. The good news is that the everyday ones we see most often are also the ones you have the most power to prevent.
The mosquito is our biggest problem
In Trinidad and Tobago the single most important infection to prevent is the kind spread by mosquitoes. Dengue, a viral illness that causes high fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes and aching joints, is the one we worry about most because a small number of cases turn severe.
The same daytime biting mosquito also spreads chikungunya, an infection known for intense joint pain that can linger for weeks, and Zika, a usually milder virus that is dangerous mainly in pregnancy because it can harm the developing baby.
All three share one weakness. The mosquito that carries them breeds in clean, still water close to your home. Take away the water and you take away the mosquito.
Walk your yard once a week and empty anything holding water: old tyres, buckets, plant saucers, drums and clogged guttering. Cover water storage tanks. Use repellent on exposed skin, fit screens on windows, and sleep under a net if your room is not screened. If you are pregnant, this matters even more.
Food and water: stop the bug before it reaches the plate
Food and water borne infections cause the vomiting and diarrhoea that empty offices and classrooms. They usually come from germs that got onto food through dirty hands, raw meat juices or water that was not safe.
The defences are simple and they work. Cook meat, chicken and fish thoroughly. Keep raw and cooked food apart and use separate boards. Refrigerate leftovers promptly rather than leaving them out in the heat. Wash fruit and vegetables in safe water. When you are unsure whether water is safe to drink, boil it or use a trusted bottled or filtered supply.
Most stomach infections settle on their own with plenty of fluids and rest. The real danger is dehydration, especially in young children and older adults.
Respiratory infections spread fastest at home
Coughs, colds and other chest infections pass through tiny droplets when someone coughs, sneezes or talks, and through hands that then touch a face. Crowded, closed rooms make it easy.
You can slow this down. Cover coughs and sneezes with your elbow or a tissue, open windows to let air move through, and stay home when you are unwell so you do not pass it on. If someone at home is sick, a little distance and fresh air protect everyone else. Our separate article on flu and the common cold goes into these day to day illnesses in more detail.
Clean hands break the chain
Handwashing is the least glamorous item on this list and quietly the most powerful, because clean hands block mosquito unrelated stomach bugs and respiratory germs at the same time.
Wash with soap and running water for about twenty seconds before you cook or eat, after the toilet, after changing a nappy, and after coughing or sneezing. When a sink is not near, an alcohol based hand sanitiser is a good stand in.
Vaccination is prevention you only pay for once
A vaccine trains your immune system to recognise a specific germ in advance, so that if you meet the real thing your body is ready. It is the closest thing medicine has to stopping an infection before it starts.
Make sure children are up to date with their routine childhood immunisations, which protect against illnesses such as measles, whooping cough, tetanus and hepatitis. Adults are often overdue for a tetanus booster, and some benefit from vaccines against influenza, hepatitis or pneumococcal infection depending on age and health. If you are planning travel, ask early, because some travel vaccines need to be given weeks ahead.
If you are not sure what you or your children have had, bring any records you have to a consultation and we will help you work out what is due.
What to actually do this week
Pick two things and do them. Walk the yard and empty every container of still water. Check that your children's immunisations are up to date. Keep a bottle of hand sanitiser where the family eats. None of it is dramatic, and that is exactly why it works.
If a fever in your home lasts more than a couple of days, or you simply want to be sure what you are dealing with, come in. A consultation and a few laboratory tests can tell the difference between an infection that will pass on its own and one that needs treatment.
Protect your family from preventable infection at Newtown.
Our doctors can review your family's vaccinations, run laboratory and pathology tests to find the cause of a fever, and manage infections that need treatment, all at 55 Woodford Street, Port of Spain. Book a consultation if someone at home has a fever that will not settle. Our Accident and Emergency department is open 24 hours for anyone who is very unwell.
This article is for general education only and is not a substitute for personal medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider about your own health. If you believe you have a medical emergency, call or visit our 24-hour Accident and Emergency department immediately.