Typhoid, typhoid, or typhoid fever are all names for the same disease that is known to be common in children, but children are not the only ones who are exposed to it, adults may also get it, learn about Symptoms of typhoid And how it is discovered, its causes and methods of treatment.

What is typhoid fever?

This disease is a bacterial infection caused by Salmonella typhi, a type of bacteria that also causes salmonella poisoning. This disease can spread in the body to infect many organs, and it must be dealt with and controlled because it can cause serious complications.

Is typhoid contagious?

Indeed, this disease is very contagious and can be transmitted easily from one person to another through feces, and it can be transmitted through food and drinks contaminated by the infected person, but it is not transmitted in the air through coughing, for example.

Symptoms of typhoid

Symptoms of typhoid fever are common in adults and children and may include:

• High fever of 39-40 degrees Celsius.
• Anorexia.
• Tummy ache.
• Headache.
• General body aches.
• general weakness.
• Diarrhea or constipation.
• Cough.
• Skin rash.
• swollen abdomen

These symptoms usually appear within a week or two of infection, and other symptoms of typhoid can appear after two to three weeks, and it is normal for symptoms to last for a period of 4 weeks to 6 weeks until typhoid is finally treated.

Advanced symptoms of typhoid

Symptoms can gradually subside over time, but without treatment, late symptoms may appear to include:

• lethargy.
• Intestinal bleeding or intestinal perforation.
• chest congestion
• Rave.

Symptoms of chronic typhoid

The term chronic typhoid is used for:typhoid carriers“Because the disease-causing bacteria persists in the patient’s intestines or gallbladder even after treatment, and carriers of the disease can transmit the infection through the stool to other people, yet there are no symptoms that can appear on the disease carrier after he is treated.

Causes of typhoid

This infection occurs by consuming food or drinks contaminated with Salmonella typhi bacteria. The bacteria can be transmitted through an infected person through contamination of water with feces containing the bacteria. Therefore, it can also be transmitted to foods. It can also be transmitted by an infected person preparing food without His concern for his personal hygiene.

Diagnosis of typhoid symptoms – typhoid analysis

If you develop a fever with some other symptoms of typhoid, especially after you have been in places that lack cleanliness, you should go to the doctor who will ask you about your recent location and the quality of hygiene in that place, and he will also ask you to do several analyzes that can be done more than once to determine Type of bacteria, the most important of which are:

• stool analysis.
• urinalysis
• Blood analysis.

Sometimes a bone marrow biopsy may be taken for analysis, but it is an expensive and time-consuming analysis and also causes pain, so it is resorted to only in a few cases.

If the disease is confirmed, the doctor will ask to examine other family members or people with whom you have had recent contact, after determining the degree of contact with them.

Typhoid treatment and prevention

Could Cure typhoid permanently It is effective by antibiotics, the most commonly used type being ciprofloxacin (for adults who are not pregnant) and ceftriaxone.

However, recently it has become difficult to treat with some other antibiotics, because Salmonella typhi has become one of the most resistant bacteria to antibiotics, especially the compound trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and ampicillin.

In the case of a disease carrier who does not show symptoms of typhoid after treatment, it is possible to get rid of typhoid bacteria in the gallbladder by removing the gallbladder permanently.

Typhoid prevention

There are several ways to prevent infection with typhoid fever, especially if you live in areas where the infection is common or in areas that lack hygiene, as follows:

typhoid pregnancy

If you think that this vaccination is for children only, then you are wrong, because this vaccine is very necessary, especially for people traveling to areas where the infection is spread, according to the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the types of vaccines available:

• Oral vaccines: which include 4 tablets taken orally per day within one week before travel, and these tablets are not available for children under 6 years, and booster doses must be taken every 5 years because they lose their effectiveness over time.
• Injectable vaccine: It must be taken at least two weeks before travel, and it should not be given to children under two years, and booster doses should be taken every two years.

Other prevention tips

And because vaccines cannot be guaranteed to work and be 100% effective, you must follow the following when you are in areas where infection is common:

• Avoid eating raw or undercooked foods.
• Drink only prepared and bottled water, or at least boil plain water before drinking it.
• Wash your hands well before and after eating.
• Avoid raw vegetables and fruits that cannot be peeled.
• Do not eat prepared foods or drinks sold on the street or in unclean restaurants.

Finally, do not neglect your health or the health of those around you if you develop symptoms of typhoid, and make sure that you pay attention to your personal hygiene and ask the doctor about the necessary instructions to recover quickly from the disease without complications, and also to protect those around you from infection.