Typhoid fever, caused by Salmonella typhi bacteria, is a serious bacterial infection in the developing world, especially for children. It is usually caused by contaminated food and water or close contact with a person infected by the bacteria. Because it can be caused by the bacteria called salmonella typhi which is widely contaminated in expired food or pure hygienic water.
Most people recover fully if adequately treated, but if left untreated, typhoid fever may cause serious complications. You can not take it lightly because it can become life-threatening. Make sure to visit the doctor soon and take the treatment on time.
Signs And Symptoms:
It may take a week or two after bacterial infection for symptoms to appear. Signs and symptoms include:
- High fever – starts low but increases and may go as high as 104.9 Fahrenheit.
- Half and full Head Pain (Headache )
- Stomach pain
- Constipation or diarrhea
- Weakness and Numbness
- Fatigue and Stress.
- Muscle aches and pain
- A lot Of Sweating and Sometimes a feeling of coldness
- Dry cough.
- Jammed Chest
- Loss of appetite and weight loss
- Red Rashes all over the body.
- Extremely swollen stomach
Signs and symptoms vary from person to person. However, a common symptom of typhoid is fever at night with the feeling of coldness and lose motion.
Therefore if you have the same complaint, with or without stomach ache and any other symptoms which are mentioned above, you must visit the healthcare provider soon as soon as possible to get treated and diagnosed on time.
To get an expert opinion, and for a better diagnosis of your type of typhoid, you can consult the Best General Physician in Karachi.
Diagnosis Of Typhoid:
History Of Patient:
Once you visit your doctor with the signs and symptoms mentioned above, they will take a detailed history. Your medical and travel history plays a vital role in making a diagnosis. If you have recently visited a typhoid-prone area, the chances get high that you have contracted it. The healthcare providers will perform a blood test to check the growth of bacteria in your body. If it comes out positive, it indicates that you have a typhoid infection.
Salmonella Typhi in blood culture confirms the diagnosis.
Body Fluid Or Tissue Culture:
A sample of your blood, stool, urine, or bone marrow is taken and placed on a special medium to make sure the bacteria grows on it. It is called culture, which is checked under a microscope for microorganisms. A bone marrow culture is considered the most sensitive test for Salmonella typhi. However, it is rarely done and can be done only when no other type of test can diagnose the type of fever
Other Tests For Diagnosis :
- Test to detect the presence of antibodies in the blood against typhoid bacteria.
- Test to check for typhoid DNA in your blood.
- Urine Test
- Xray and CT Scan
Treatment:
- Antibiotic therapy
- Commonly prescribed antibiotics include Ciprofloxacin, Ofloxacin, Azithromycin, etc.
These drugs can cause consequences, and long-term use can lead to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Problems with antibiotic resistance:
Chloramphenicol was the drug of choice in the past but is no longer used because of its side effects and antibiotic resistance.
A few other antibiotics that Salmonella typhi has shown resistance to are trimethoprim, sulfamethoxazole, ampicillin, and ciprofloxacin.
To prevent antibiotic resistance, make sure you take the dose of the drug and frequency as prescribed by the physician or as per package instructions accordingly for every age group.
Do not stop taking the medicine before the doctor gives the green signal even if you feel well unless your dose gets completed that has been recommended by the physician.
Other treatments:
- Drinking fluids. Fluids help prevent dehydration that can result from a prolonged fever and diarrhea. However, make sure the water is clean and hygienic. You can boil the water to make it bacteria free. And make it your daily routine to get or drink boiled water.
Vaccination:
The typhoid vaccine is not necessary for everyone who is in good health. But your doctor can suggest one if you are:
- A carrier (someone who doesn’t show any symptoms but can still spread the bacteria that causes typhoid)
- In close contact with a carrier of bacteria
- Traveling to a country or a place where typhoid is relatively common
- A laboratory worker may come in contact with S. Typhi while performing any tests or cultures
The typhoid vaccine is from 50 to 80 percent effective. It comes in two forms:
- Inactivated typhoid vaccine
- A one-dose injection
- Not for children younger than 2 years
- Requires 2 weeks to work
- A booster dose can be given every 2 years
- Live typhoid vaccine
- Not for children under age 6
- Oral vaccine
- It is given in 4 doses
- Requires a week to work
- A booster dose can be given by every 5 years
The Bottom Line :
Typhoid needs to be treated soon because it has some very typical types of complications that could be a present lifetime if not treated properly like premature whitening of hairs, change of skin color, loss in weight and other physical appearance get changes.
So Never leave your typhoid untreated, as it can lead to various complications or even to death. If you have a complaint of fever and stomachache, you must seek professional advice. To get an expert opinion, visit the General Physician.
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