Rainy Season - In Flooding Health Advices

Rainy season is coming hard especially in the west of Indonesia. Jakarta is not an exceptional. Yesterday's rain was memorable and harmful. The wind blows intensely, which makes every employee at high rise buildings ran towards the elevator to reach safer grounds. Don't forget that during rainy season there are always leftover water that can't go through the sewer because of bad drainage system.

Here are the health tips you can follow when the water level start rising:

1. Wherever possible, try to avoid coming into direct contact with floodwater.
2. Do not let children play in floodwater. As well as the small risk of ingesting bacteria from the water, there are other health risks such as uncertainty about how deep the water is and potentially concealed hazards.
3. If it is necessary to come into contact with floodwater, suitable waterproof gloves (such as household cleaning gloves) and Wellington boots should be worn.
4. Always wash your hands thoroughly with hot water and soap, especially after contact with floodwater or taking part in cleanup activities and before touching or eating food.
5. Ensure that any items suspected of being in contact with contaminated water, including toys, clothes and soft furnishings, are thoroughly cleaned, with hot water and household disinfectant, before further use.
6. Cuts and other open wounds should be covered with a waterproof plaster.
7. Food or drink suspected of being contaminated should be thrown away.
8. Where the drinking water supply is either interrupted or contaminated, it is important to take precautions for formula-fed infants. In these circumstances there are three options for the use of water to make infant formula milk.
9. The preferred option is to use bowser, or bottled, water brought to a ‘rolling’ boil. You should then follow the manufacturer’s instructions on making up the feed.
10. Use commercially ready made formula milk as an alternative to powdered feeds made up with bowser water.
11. The preferred options are 1 or 2. However if neither option is possible because there is no electricity or gas to allow boiling, bottled water (table, spring or mineral water) can be used unboiled to prepare baby feeds, but the prepared feed should then be used immediately. Unboiled bowser water should not be used.
12. Note that bottled water available during flooding incidents is suitable for making up infant formula. Additional advice is available on the Food Standards Agency website. Parents with infants that are unwell with diarrhoea and vomiting should seek medical advice.

Source: Health Protection Agency