Health Hazards to Avoid After a Hurricane
Hurricane Harvey caused severe flooding and destruction in the Texas area. Aside from these apparently serious concerns, there are other health factors that people along Harvey’s journey will need to be aware of when they return to their homes and work. Forbes has written an excellent description of what to look out for for Harvey’s victims. Here are a few of them:
Water infections
Flood water is more likely to be contaminated with sewage and chemicals, among other things, posing a health hazard to those who have to overcome it to get to safety or return to their homes or work.
Infections such as Giardia, Salmonella and E. coli are likely to rise. If you end up swallowing any water, see your doctor if you feel unwell to rule out the presence of any of them.
Infected injuries
Wandering through muddy water and dealing with destroyed buildings is usually not very good. It will be easy to get injured by rusty nails and other debris, and if some of the previously mentioned dirty water gets on those wounds, you could be in trouble.
If you are in one of the affected areas and are injured, it is important to see a doctor, even with injuries you could just apply a patch and move on. These situations are much more likely to become infected and you may need antibiotics to kill the infection before it gets out of control.
Komarov
When the weather is warm and standing water, mosquitoes appear. In the Texas area, after a hurricane, there may be slightly more mosquitoes than they are used to, and these mosquitoes can carry diseases.
After Katrina, West Nile causes doubled in hurricane-affected parts of Louisiana and Mississippi. This can happen in Texas as well. If you go outside, use insect spray and if bitten, look for symptoms of things like West Nile and Zika.