Common Airborne Diseases

When we talk about airborne diseases, we mean those illnesses which are transmitted by droplets from an infected person into the air. These would be diseases like meningitis for one, tuberculosis, the common cold, the flu, and things like these. Another airborne disease which is common is throat infections like strep throat.

Meningitis is infectious in some forms, especially when others live close together in places like college dormitory settings. Meningitis is an inflammation of the brain that can cause a lot of headaches, nausea and vomiting, high fever, and a stiff neck. If you have symptoms of this medical problem, it is important to seek your doctor's care right away. Meningitis is terribly serious and can be life-threatening.

The common cold is a very common airborne illness. The highlight symptoms of a cold are nasal congestion, tickling in the throat, sneezing, and many body aches along with a low-grade fever.

Influenza is also terribly contagious, whether it is seasonal flu or H1N1. Influenza will usually start with a bad headache accompanied by a fever and an upset stomach. Vomiting is also quite common, diarrhea, and a feeling of extreme exhaustion all over the body. The symptoms of H1N1 are also about the same as in the seasonal flu except for the fact that the Swine flu can cause trouble in breathing. In any case, it is important to get both the seasonal flu vaccine as well as H1N1 vaccine.

Tuberculosis is another very serious airborne disease which affects the lungs. It is the infectious type of tuberculosis that can be airborne. TB is serious due to the fact that since it affects the lungs as the main target, can even prove to be fatal.

Active tuberculosis will cause symptoms such as fevers, tiredness, having night sweats, loss of weight and no appetite, and coughing up blood.

With suspicions of TB, it is quite important to visit your doctor quickly for treatment. Active tuberculosis is treated very aggressively with the use of many medications which will need to be taken for a certain length of time. These medications have a potential for some heavy side effects such as jaundice, dark urine, no appetite, and nausea.

Sore throats, especially strep throats are another common airborne illness which can cause a raw throat, fever, stiff neck and swelling in the lymph nodes. The fever with strep throat can also be quite high, and therefore, it is important to seek treatment. Strep throats that are not cleared up are likely to cause rheumatic fever in a person.

To avoid these airborne illnesses, it is essential to wash your hands thoroughly after touching things, and stay clear of places where there are these types of illnesses which are highly contagious.