10 ways to prevent communicable diseases

4 Regular physical activity is key to staying healthy by reducing the risk of chronic disease, including heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and some types of cancer. (415) 554-2500, Privacy Policy |Sitemap | Contact Us Wash and bandage all cuts. Healthy habits prevent germs and infectious diseases from spreading. Beware of animals 8. A communicable disease is any disease that passes between people or animals. Avoid The Use Of Tobacco A technician obtains a sample of blood by inserting a needle into a vein, usually in the arm. 9. Infectious diseases are a leading cause of illness and death in the United States and around the world. If you are bitten, talk to your doctor. If you need to go back and make any changes, you can always do so by going to our Privacy Policy page. 4. Consult your health care provider regarding your immunization status. Learn more here. BONUS! (2014). Your immune system is designed to have a "memory" of previous infections, enabling a rapid response (in the form of specific antibodies, B cells, or T cells) if the pathogen ever returns. Practice safe sex 5. For certain people--particularly those with underlying illnesses like heart disease or cancer, those who have serious injuries, or those who are taking medications that weaken the immune systemit's more difficult to avoid getting sick with an infection. Learn, practice, and teach healthy habits. Jaan A,Rajnik M. TORCH complex. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends washing your hands thoroughly and vigorously with soap and water for at least 20 secondsabout as long as it takes to sing "Happy Birthday" twicefollowed by hand drying with a clean towel or air drying. Many communicable diseases cause mild symptoms that go away without treatment. Bring antiseptic wipes or handwash (or ask the hospital to provide them for you). Athletes foot is a common fungal infection that affects the skin on the feet. Improve the capacity of local health care professionals. MNT is the registered trade mark of Healthline Media. Science and our food supply. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Communicable diseases can transmit through contact with bodily fluids, insect bites, contaminated surfaces, water, and foods, or through the air. Learn more about parasitic infections here. Many NCDs can be prevented by reducing common risk factors such as tobacco use, harmful alcohol use, physical inactivity and eating unhealthy diets. Face masks became a part of people's everyday lives with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sign up for our Health Tip of the Day newsletter, and receive daily tips that will help you live your healthiest life. Be sure to keep your countertops immaculately clean, wash your hands frequently, and wash all raw fruits and vegetables prior to eating. Fungal infections: These are infections caused by fungi, such as athlete's foot . Noncommunicable, or chronic, diseases like heart disease and diabetes are having an increasing effect across the globe. Learn how to put on and remove a face mask. PDF. With this in place, your immune system may be better able to defend against some mild community-spread infections. When a person receives a vaccine, they are receiving a form of the virus. Preventable communicable, or infectious, diseases like malaria and HIV/AIDS account for millions of deaths in the world each year, especially in low-income countries. Shift work can harm sleep and health: What helps? They can include: The only way a person can be certain they have HIV is to have an HIV test. Be aware that some fruit juices may be made with impure local water. Many infectious diseases have similar signs and symptoms. 2012 Aug-Sep;20(3):111-5. Rinse under running water. In this case, several readers have written to tell us that this article was helpful to them, earning it our reader-approved status. To prevent the spread of respiratory infections, the CDC recommends that you cover your mouth with your arm, sleeve, or the crook of your elbow rather than using your bare hands. Because they house people with numerous diseases and infections, hospitals can become breeding grounds for infections, including hard-to-treat methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Protozoa are microscopic organisms that typically consist of a single cell. The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests that washing your hands with soap and water may take 20 seconds to be effective. Dont leave food out refrigerate promptly. Prevention and treatment efforts of many communicable diseases provide concrete data vaccines, for example, boast a very substantial, quantifiable value for lives saved. Cardiovascular health: Insomnia linked to greater risk of heart attack. Do not consume ice while traveling. Preventing noncommunicable diseases Preventing noncommunicable diseases Reducing the major risk factors for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) - tobacco use, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet and the harmful use of alcohol - is the focus of WHO's work to prevent deaths from NCDs. Ann Intern Med. Interim guidance for clinicians considering the use of preexposure prophylaxis for the prevention of HIV infection in heterosexually active adults. Last Updated: February 19, 2023 What are the four ways of controlling communicable diseases? The first line of defense is to keep germs at bay by following good personal hygiene habits. Verywell Health's content is for informational and educational purposes only. Wash your hands with soap and water before and after you handle raw meat. The protozoa Plasmodium genus causes the tropical disease malaria. Vaccination can also reduce the chances of contracting many diseases. Integrative medicine physician Irina Todorov, MD, offers nine ways to prevent diseases and how to take care of yourself so you can live your healthiest, best life. Similarly, rhinoviruses are spread by people touching their nose, eyes, or mouth after touching items or surfaces that have come into contact with the virus. Lyme disease can spread to the joints, heart, and nervous system if a person does not treat it. Learn how to put on and remove a face mask. Without proper treatment, malaria can be life threatening. About DHSS. Thanks for reading our article! Teach your kids to do the same. 2015;43(2):112-4. doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2014.10.015. Wash your hands before and after working with food. Not. Bacterial infections can range from mild to life threatening. They treat bacterial infections, not viruses. Regular hand cleaning with either soap and water, or an alcohol based hand rub will reduce the risk of getting sick for both children and adults. Pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi cause these diseases. And they may be transported into your home by your pets. Dogs, cats, or any other type of warm-blooded animal can pick up rabies from wild animals and pass rabies along to people. By being smart about safe sex (using condoms), transfer of infectious bacteria or viruses from one person to another can be prevented. Parasites are living organisms that hijack the hosts body and use their resources to thrive. The following is a list of the top ten ways you can reduce the risk of zoonotic diseases. Symptom severity may vary depending on a persons overall health and immune function. When a virus enters your body, they hijack your bodys cells to multiply and spread to neighboring cells. By using our site, you agree to our. What connects most NCDs is that they are highly preventable and are driven by a number of common, modifiable risk factors related to tobacco, alcohol, unhealthy food, limited physical activity and air pollution. People with a higher risk of food poisoning. Ways To Avoid Getting Sick When Season Changes. Disease Prevention and Control, San Francisco Department of Public Health. doi:10.1097/PTS.0000000000000378, Rosenberg K, Todd B. 1. People sometimes refer to communicable diseases as infectious or transmissible diseases. In many tropical regions, mosquitoes can carry malaria, dengue, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, or other serious infections. How to prevent transmission washing their hands thoroughly and regularly. They typically spread through contaminated foods, such as uncooked meats and eggs, unwashed fruits and vegetables, and contaminated water sources. With this in place, your immune system may be better Preview / Show more . Monkeypox Toolkit for Schools and Early Care and Education Programs. Introduction: Currently, the developing countries are afflicted with the dual burden of disease - non-communicable diseases (NCDs) becoming a major public health challenge. However, for most healthy people, following a few basic principles can go a long way in helping to prevent infections. Thorough hand-washing is particularly important before preparing a meal or eating, after using . Do not consume dairy products (milk may not be pasteurized). Maintain proper hygiene and lifestyle practices to prevent infectious diseases, including washing your hands, avoiding touching your face, and keeping your immunizations up to date. We link primary sources including studies, scientific references, and statistics within each article and also list them in the resources section at the bottom of our articles. (2021). 3. MMWR. References And even some lower respiratory tract infections like tuberculosis can be spread when a person coughs. Viral gastroenteritis. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some symptoms of these infections include: Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection that primarily attacks the lungs. Very serious and threatening fungal infections are treated with oral medications or injections. Cookies used to make website functionality more relevant to you. It is the most common carrier-spread disease in the United States. Separate raw foods and cooked foods. It typically causes sore or itchy white patches between the toes. A communicable disease is one that spreads from one person or animal to another or from a surface to a person. Suggest Corrections 1 Similar questions Q. Eat Well. Defrost foods only in the refrigerator or in the microwave. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like Drugs, pesticides, and food additives are examples of chemical agents., Years of potential life lost (YPLL) is the single (the only way)best way to prioritize prevention and control efforts., The early diagnosis and prompt treatment of diseases before the disease becomes advanced and disability becomes severe is secondary . Many other important conditions are also considered NCDs, including injuries and mental health disorders. Executive Editor,Harvard Women's Health Watch. Heart failure: Could a low sodium diet sometimes do more harm than good? Vaccination does more or less the same thing, exposing the body to a weakened or killed form of the pathogen so that the same defensive cells are produced. Learn these healthy habits to protect yourself from disease and prevent germs and infectious diseases from spreading. Xiong WM, Xu QP, Li X, Xiao RD, Cai L, He F. The association between human papillomavirus infection and lung cancer: a system review and meta-analysis. Learn about resources for cleaning, respiratory and hand hygiene, and preventing the spread of infections in your early care and education program. Trustworthy Source These conditions include cancers, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and chronic lung illnesses. This makes the person vulnerable to other infections and diseases. This includes chemotherapy infusion centers (where you get treatment for cancer) and dialysis centers (treatment center for help removing waste products and fluids from your blood to aid your kidneys). Maintain good personal hygiene, like washing hands regularly. Clean litter boxes frequently and keep small children away from animal feces. If a tick has attached itself to you or your pet, grasp it firmly with tweezers close to the tick's mouth and pull steadily. On the other hand, prevention and cure rates are far more difficult to quantify with NCDs, making it far more difficult to measure cost-effectiveness. Your doctor can diagnose a parasitic infection based on your symptoms and specific tests and then treat it appropriately. Do not eat uncooked vegetables, including lettuce; do not eat fruit you haven't peeled yourself. Instead, wet-mop or sponge the area and treat with disinfectant. The immune system responds by producing antibodies capable of killing an active form of the virus in the future. ", "Thanks for the info, it helped me a lot with my health class. Avoid sharing personal items that cant be disinfected, like toothbrushes and razors, or sharing towels between washes. Go to source. Current outbreak list. The pathogens that cause these diseases can spread in various ways, such as through the air, contact with contaminated substances or surfaces, or from animal and insect bites. Healthcare systems, government, and individuals should act responsibly to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. Bundle up in winter 7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Meningitis, inflammation of the protective membranes around the brain and spinal cord, causes nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, and confusion. Communicable diseases are diseases that can pass from person to person. Seek medical attention if you have a wound that does not stop bleeding. The most important way to protect yourself from communicable diseases is to practice good hygiene. Your doctor can diagnose bacterial versus viral infection and treat it appropriately. BMC Infect Dis. If your hands dry before 10 seconds you did not use enough. These objects are referred to as fomites, a term used to describe objects or materials that can carry infection, such as clothes, utensils, or furniture. The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion offers exercise recommendations for every age group from children to seniors. Foodborne germs and illnesses. However, bacteria can also cause infections that damage the body. #1 Handle & Prepare Food Safely #2 Wash Hands Often #3 Clean & Disinfect Commonly Used Surfaces #4 Cough and Sneeze into a Tissue or Your Sleeve #5 Don't Share Personal Items #6 Get Vaccinated #7 Avoid Touching Wild Animals Others actually destroy cells. Infections are caused by microscopic organisms known as pathogensbacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasitesthat enter the body, multiply, and interfere with normal functions. Thanks.". Bacteria are the most common infectious agents. Sign up to get tips for living a healthy lifestyle, with ways to fight inflammation and improve cognitive health, plus the latest advances in preventative medicine, diet and exercise, pain relief, blood pressure and cholesterol management, andmore. They live in grassy and brushy areas and are most prevalent during wet seasons. Some people will not experience any symptoms. Ringworm is a common fungal infection of the skin. A communicable disease is any disease that passes between people or animals. Cleaning with soap and water is usually enough. Cookies used to track the effectiveness of CDC public health campaigns through clickthrough data. Infectious diseases are reported worldwide, and the emergence of highly mutated antibiotic-resistant strains is a major concern globally. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For anal sex, use a latex or polyurethane male condom. Keeping personal hygiene, like taking a daily bath and washing your hands frequently. Another way to prevent infection is to live a lifestyle that keeps you healthy: Eat a healthy diet, get routine exercise, and engage in stress reduction. Health. Cookies used to enable you to share pages and content that you find interesting on CDC.gov through third party social networking and other websites. 2019;119(11):53. doi:10.1097/01.NAJ.0000605376.45065.6b, Song X, Vossebein L, Zille A. Efficacy of disinfectant-impregnated wipes used for surface disinfection in hospitals: a review. Avoid direct contact with napkins, tissues, handkerchiefs, or similar items used by others. Adults should make sure their vaccinations are up to date. Some helpful tips to prevent the spread of infectious diseases are-. It may be dry, scaly, or itchy. Use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available and if your hands do not look dirty. Wash your hands before and after handling food. You should always contact your doctor or other qualified healthcare professional before starting, changing, or stopping any kind of health treatment. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. You can reference these by accessing the CDC's Travelers' Health site. Prevent infection before it begins and avoid spreading it to others with these easy measures. The CDC's website also offers up-to-the-minute travel notices about outbreaks and other health concerns (both domestic and international), as well as advisories about outbreaks of food-borne infections. Here is a list of different types of Communicable Diseases. You should also wash up after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing; feeding or stroking your pet; or visiting or caring for a sick person. Don't pick your nose (or your mouth or eyes either). Always protect yourself by using a condom or dental dam during sexual activity, especially if you are not in a monogamous relationship. Urine tests. *Although not as effective as washing ones hands with soap and water or using hand sanitizer, pre-moistened cleansing towelettes with at least 60% alcohol content can be an alternative. being vaccinated, using hand hygiene and the promotion of safe sex practices) and continued public health actions by the State and local government authorities. of Health and Human Services, {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/c\/c8\/Protect-Yourself-from-Infectious-Diseases-Step-7.jpg\/v4-460px-Protect-Yourself-from-Infectious-Diseases-Step-7.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/c\/c8\/Protect-Yourself-from-Infectious-Diseases-Step-7.jpg\/aid1653748-v4-728px-Protect-Yourself-from-Infectious-Diseases-Step-7.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"