In order to avoid the 5 most common and easy to catch viral diseases, such as cold, flu, viral gastroenteritis, viral pneumonia and viral meningitis, it is essential to wash your hands frequently with soap and water, especially after meals, after using the bathroom, before and after after visiting a sick person, whether he is admitted to the hospital or at home.
Other measures to avoid catching these or other viral illnesses, such as hepatitis, measles, mumps, chicken pox, herpes in the mouth, rubella, yellow fever or any viral infection include:
- Have an antiseptic gel or antiseptic wipes in your bag and always use it after riding the bus, visiting a patient, using a public toilet, going to the airport or strolling through the mall, because any virus can be transmitted through hands that have been in contact with saliva or secretions from the sneeze of an infected person; Do not share cutlery and glasses, for example, or the school snack in the case of children, as the virus can be transmitted through the mouth; Avoid living with or being close to sick people, especially in closed places, where it is easier to become contaminated, avoiding places such as shopping malls, birthday parties or buses, as the risk of contagion is greater; Avoid placing your hand on the handrail of the escalator or on the door handles in public places, such as elevator buttons, for example, because there is a greater likelihood of being infected with the virus from the hands of someone infected who coughed; Avoid eating raw foods, especially outside the home, because the risk of contamination is greater in foods that are raw and that have been prepared by a sick food handler; Wear a mask whenever it is necessary to be in contact with an infected patient.
See how these measures can help prevent an epidemic:
However, to avoid any viral disease it is important to have a strengthened immune system and, for this, it is recommended to sleep about 8 hours a day, exercise regularly and eat a balanced diet, rich in fruits and vegetables.
In addition, drinking critical juices, such as orange, lemon or strawberry juice and drinking echinacea tea, are also good strategies to keep the immune system strengthened, especially in times of epidemic.
How to avoid other diseases caused by viruses
Other viral diseases that must be prevented differently include:
- Dengue: avoid the bite of the Dengue mosquito using repellent and avoid leaving puddled water so that the mosquito can multiply. Learn more at: How to protect yourself from Dengue; AIDS: using condoms in all intimate contacts, including oral sex, not sharing syringes and using gloves to touch blood or other secretions of an infected individual; Genital herpes: use condoms in all intimate contacts, including oral sex, avoid contact with the herpes sore and do not share bedding or towels with an infected individual; Rabies: vaccinate domestic animals and avoid contact with street animals, including wild animals, such as rats, marmosets or squirrels, for example; Childhood paralysis: the only way to prevent it is to get the polio vaccine at 2, 4 and 6 months of age and the booster at 15 months of age; HPV: taking the HPV vaccine, using a condom in all intimate contacts, including oral sex, avoiding touching the infected person's warts and not sharing underwear, bedding or towels; Warts: Avoid touching other people's wart or scratching the wart itself.
Despite this, vaccination, whenever available, is the most effective way of preventing viral diseases, so it is important to have the vaccination calendar updated and every year, especially in the case of the elderly, take the flu vaccine at the clinic health services or pharmacies.
