Description Of Diseases
Hepatitis A
The sudden inflammation of the liver caused by the A virus
is known as hepatitis A. This virus is contagious and
is passed from one person to another or through contaminated
food or water, generally from feces. This is the only
type of hepatitis that can affect children although the
seriousness of the illness is less than that that affects
the adults.
The symptoms can be confusing in the beginning because
you are first presented with flu like symptoms, but you
can also have nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite,
loss of the desire to smoke and abdominal pain in the
lower right. You pass feces clear in color and dark urine.
Sometimes you can present joint pain and skin eruptions.
But in a few days, the initial symptoms disappear and
the skin and mucus become yellowish because there is an
increase in the content of bilirubin in the blood due
to the fact that the inflamed liver does not release bile
through the gall bladder. Finally, after some three weeks,
everything disappears except for the weakness you will
feel.
Hepatitis B
This has the same symptoms as hepatitis A but the manner
of contagion is through infected blood. The more common
pathways are through poorly sterilized syringes, tattoo
needles or acupuncture needles and other medical or personal
use equipment that has come into contact with infected
blood. Blood transfusions are dangerous for this reason.
Drug addicts are the most affect by this disease from
sharing needles. You should keep in mind that the virus
could be passed to a fetus through the placenta of the
mother. In some cases, the infected person does not have
any symptoms and may infect others. It can also be passed
through sexual contact. Although almost everyone recovers
without any secondary impacts, there are cases of death
caused by this virus.
Typhoid
This is not a disease that is transmitted from person
to person but through infected head lice. Rickettsia Prowazakki
is the cause of this disease. This microorganism develops
in the intestines of the head lice and is found in the
deposition of these animals and is transmitted to humans
when you scratch your head after being bitten by one of
these insects which favors infection. The symptoms normally
appear after 10 days of being infected. There is a general
feeling of discomfort and body aches and there red blotches
appear on the skin that turn into strips.
If the patient does not receive treatment, his state will
degenerate and he will enter into a state of constant
stupor and there may be liver dysfunction and he can be
affected by gangrene of the toes and fingers. Death is
produced in almost 50% of cases. If the patient recovers,
the period of recovery is very long.
Malaria
This is produced by a bite from the anopheles mosquito.
The characteristic symptom of this disease is the fever
and the form in which it presents itself. Although the
fever is almost continuous in the beginning, as the disease
progresses, there is a pattern in the period of reproduction
of the parasite that causes periodic massive destruction
of a large number of red blood cells and as a consequence
there are periods of fever alternating with periods of
normal temperature. Other symptoms are general discomfort,
nausea and headaches.
Food and Water
The most important thing to remember is to be careful
with water and ice. In Ecuador, you cannot drink water
directly from the tap because it is not purified. To drink
bacteria free and safe water you should boil it or buy
bottles of purified water that you can find in any store
in the country.
If you are on the street or in some restaurant and you
are really sure that the water you are about to drink
is not clean and purified, you shouldn’t risk it.
In the same manner if you are going to drink juice, you
should be sure that it is made with pure or boiled water,
especially if water is added after the juice is already
made.
In regards to food, you can enjoy the delicious typical
meals from the country as well as international foods
in different restaurants. For more information about restaurants
in the country, visit the section on Restaurants and Entertainment
in Ecuador.
The Ecuadorian dishes, the ingredients and condiments
tend to be very different from those in your home country,
so enjoy them with caution. Eat small portions and observe
how your organism reacts to the new product. Many food
intoxications are caused by not giving yourself the necessary
time to get used to the new food, do not make abrupt changes
in meal times and types of food.
Use
common sense, the cleaner the places, the more trustworthy
they are and if you aren’t sure, ask someone
from the city or neighborhood about the quality
of service of a specific place. It is not recommended
to eat in the street, under canopies because this
food is of little confidence. If you are going to
eat fruits or vegetables, you should wash them well
with purified water in order to avoid problems later. |
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