Tips to stay disease free in monsoon

Monsoon is the time when one craves for chai and pakoras. But while the rainy season ushers in huge respite from summer, it also brings with it lots of diseases. This is the time when some people around you will be suffering from cold, flu, malaria, typhoid, jaundice, or another disease. So make sure you are taking right health measures to stay fit.

Beauty and make up expert Bhavya Sharma from UrbanClap.com lists down some measures to take take in monsoon season.

* Keep your house clean: Your house should be clean and pest-free during the monsoon. Check for any water clogging or leakage especially in and around water coolers, ACs and your washing machine area (if you keep it in the balcony or open space). Replace any rusty or broken drain pipes as they can act as a breeding ground for pests. To ensure pests stay away, get a pest control at home done.

* Take a shower if you get wet in the rain: Getting caught in the rain uplifts the mood but you must take a shower as soon as you get home. The shower will wash off any infection or germs that might have passed on to you. Also, avoid sitting in an air-conditioned room with wet clothes or hair so that you don't fall sick.

* Keep hydrated and drink clean water: First, drink lots of water and second, make sure it's clean. Don't take chances by drinking unfiltered water from roadside dhabas or shops. Make sure your water purifier at home is in perfect working condition and is timely serviced.

Shivani Salil, a health expert at Momspresso also have some easy tips to stay disease free this monsoon.

* Banish the dark, damp and dingy. Keep it dry, allow the sun and air in.

* Ensure cross ventilation as it allows air changes that flush out the infectious agents

* Warm saline gargles is important as it keeps the irritation down and infection at bay

* Gulp warm fluids as they sooth. Go easy on coffee or tea. Soups and broths are welcome. Even warm water is magical.

* Keep hand sanitizer handy. Also wash hands often. Bugs travel through surfaces you touch

* Pile on immunity boosters- protein, turmeric, nutmeg, tulsi, big cardamom, lemongrass

* Pile up on lemon shots (juice of 2-3 lemons without diluting in water)and vitamin C rich foods

* Use dehumidifiers if you live in a humid zone and essential oil diffusers (but change water frequently)

* Take influenza and pneumonia shots especially if you're an asthmatic

* Don't pop antibiotics indiscriminately. Most infections are viral and antibiotics work on bacteria only.

* Stay at home if you are sick. It gives you the rest you need and doesn't make others sick too.

--IANS

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