I had a difficult time in deciding on what topic to talk about. Apparently, I had to push my brain to the limit in order to produce one. I planned on going for gallstones, depression, and eye problems but they were sort of a ‘so so’ to me. Suddenly, (thank God) I was able to remember one of the ‘should value life’ experiences in my lifetime. I had a face to face encounter with typhoid fever.
I joined a summer camp last 2005 and it was there that I acquired the fever. The day after the camp began; I was rushed home because I was totally unwell. Many and even I myself thought that it was dengue. Even the doctors thought so until the results came – it was typhoid fever. Typhoid fever is serious infection marked by intestinal inflammation and ulceration caused by the Salmonella typhi bacteria.I don’t care of what those bacteria looked like but I hate them so much. They made me suffer with lots of needle pain and almost a week of being bed ridden.
Anyhow, the bacteria causing typhoid fever may settle in water or food. After ingesting the contaminated food or water, the Salmonella bacteria invade the small intestine and enter the bloodstream temporarily. The bacteria will then be carried to specific organs in the body like the liver. The bacteria then reproduce in the cells of the organs and reenter the bloodstream. Bacteria will now invade the gallbladder, biliary system, and the lymphatic tissue of the bowel. Here, they multiply and multiply numerously. On my part, it caused me to lose my appetite extremely. I had to vomit a lot not just because of the fever though but also because of the strong medicines the doctor had to use on me in order to kill the bacteria. According to a source, typhoid fever affects more than 13 million people annually, with over 500,000 patients dying of the disease worldwide.
By the grace of God, I did not become part of the mentioned statistic. One thing I’ve learned from that experience – before you eat or drink anything, try to check the surrounding environment. Be judgmental somehow on the things that pertains your health. With typhoid fever or what not, I’ve proven this saying to be so true; prevention is always and will always be better than cure.
Read more!
