00:00 Now, it has been raining in the metro, if I'm sure everyone knows that.
00:04 And you know what that means because we have a lot more diseases that we have to be wary
00:08 about, especially those that are common during the rainy season, like waterborne diseases,
00:14 influenza, leptospirosis, and of course, dengue, which will always be there.
00:19 Now, how do we prevent rainy season diseases and boost our own immunity?
00:23 Joining us this morning is internal medicine and infectious disease specialist, Dr. Daisy
00:28 Tagarda.
00:29 Good morning, Dr. Daisy, and welcome to New Day.
00:32 Good morning.
00:33 Thank you for having me here.
00:34 We're glad that you're here to clarify a lot of information.
00:37 Now, let's get things out of the way first.
00:40 Pag naglaro sa ulan, pag naambunan, if someone plays in the rain, is it automatic that they
00:47 will get sick?
00:48 And a lot of people believe as well na pag naambunan tayo, kailangan maligo para hindi
00:53 magkasakit.
00:54 Is there any truth to this?
00:55 It's actually a myth regarding that when you're exposed to rain, you're going to automatically
01:00 get sick.
01:01 But usually, the mechanism on how you get sick is usually it will be transmitted from
01:06 a person who is infected, and then the person will get the infection or the virus.
01:12 But if you get exposed to rain, it sometimes triggers allergic reaction.
01:18 So it will sometimes immediately result to cough, but not necessarily to infection.
01:23 So it depends on the exposure of a certain individual to a particular infectious disease
01:29 like virus or bacteria.
01:31 So it's not really linked.
01:32 Na lang na automatic magkasakit, pero ngayon maganda na klaro 'yon.
01:36 Now, the countries have been hit by a series of tropical cyclones.
01:42 Halos every week, naapek tuwan tayo nito.
01:45 And we want to know what are some of the most common diseases kapag may dumating na ganitong
01:51 panahon, especially, of course, we know, kapag may baha, leptospirosis.
01:57 Quickly explain what leptospirosis is, how can we prevent that, and is there any other
02:02 diseases aside from leptospirosis that our viewers should be wary about?
02:05 Okay, you have mentioned that early on in the introduction regarding the wild.
02:10 Waterborne diseases, influenza, leptospirosis, and dengue infections are common diseases
02:15 that you usually encounter during the rainy season.
02:18 So to answer your question regarding the leptospirosis, it's actually a type of a bacterial infection
02:25 caused by a leptospira that usually you get it from the exposure to the flood.
02:31 So maduduming flood.
02:33 Yes, it's because from the urine of the rodents or even mammals, usually you can acquire the
02:39 disease, especially if you have an open wound, you get exposed to the flood, and then you
02:43 acquire the infection.
02:44 So the usual manifestation of leptospirosis includes fever, body pains, sometimes if it
02:53 becomes severe, we call that whale's disease, you will have jaundice or there's yellowish
02:59 skin and sclera, the eyes, and then it involves multi-organ involvement.
03:08 For example, there could be kidney failure for severe types and sometimes liver diseases.
03:12 Okay, so avoid the dirty floodwaters, that's for sure for leptospirosis.
03:16 You mentioned about fever.
03:17 Now speaking about fever, can our viewers know the difference between regular flu fever
03:24 and dengue?
03:25 Well, if we're dealing with flu, it has respiratory symptoms.
03:29 Like for example, you will have colds, cough, sometimes it will lead to pneumonia.
03:35 But if it's dengue, it's more of body pains, there's no respiratory symptom, there's no
03:41 complaint of cough.
03:43 Sometimes it's accompanied with abdominal pains and then vomiting, and then you also
03:48 have to check the CBC, and then you will later on see that there is decreasing number of
03:53 platelets.
03:54 Okay, now what about our fellow countrymen who cannot avoid flooding?
04:00 There are some areas where they really need to go.
04:02 What are some tips that they should know to avoid any of these diseases?
04:05 Well, of course, prevention of exposure is the best way to prevent the disease.
04:11 But if you really cannot avoid it, so first you can use equipments or personal protective
04:17 equipment, like for example, boots.
04:19 Or if you really got exposed into it, number one is to clean it properly with soap and
04:25 water.
04:26 At the same time, we're particularly talking about leptospirosis already.
04:30 We have post-exposure prophylaxis that is available.
04:33 But actually make sure that you seek counsel first with a doctor before you take the antibiotic
04:37 for the post-exposure prophylaxis for the leptospirosis.
04:41 Okay, now speaking of trying to prevent all of these diseases, which is our goal here,
04:46 what are some ways that we can boost our immune system to prevent this?
04:50 Okay, number one, I think you have to get enough sleep and eat healthy food.
04:56 At the same time, I will always emphasize the need for vaccination, especially for vaccine-preventable
05:01 diseases.
05:02 What vaccines should they know?
05:05 For yearly vaccination, we recommend flu vaccines, especially during the season wherein influenza
05:10 is really seasonal, like for example, June and onwards of the year.
05:16 And then of course, COVID-19 vaccine is still recommended.
05:21 The pneumococcal vaccine, we have to get it.
05:23 We have two types, the lifetime vaccine and the Pneumo 23 vaccine.
05:28 So these are actually the options that we can get to boost the immune system to prevent
05:32 the infections.
05:33 Okay, very nice information with that, Doc.
05:35 And of course, we also want to share that message to anyone there who feels sick.
05:39 All diseases are not antibiotic.
05:42 Always consult your doctor for the proper management for any ailment that they may feel.
05:46 Thank you so much, Dr. Daisy, for joining us here on New Day.
05:48 We learned a lot with you today.
05:50 Thank you very much as well.
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