How to Treat Typhoid

Although advances are constantly being made in the treatment of typhoid, many strains are becoming antibiotic-resistant. Without prompt treatment, 20 percent of those who contract typhoid die from complications. It is very important to take precautions to avoid typhoid, such as frequent hand-washing, rinsing of fruits and vegetables and boiling drinking water. The disease usually lasts more than a month if left untreated.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Visit your doctor immediately if you suspect that you have contracted typhoid fever. The only known treatment of this disease is antibiotics, and treatment must begin within days of the appearance of the first symptoms.
2. Take ibuprofen or acetaminophen for the fever. This is a high-grade fever, (generally 103 to 104 degrees F) and the pain relievers will help with the headache and general aches and pains associated with typhoid.
3. Drink a lot of liquids. Diarrhea is one result of typhoid and dehydration will result without replenishment. If dehydration is severe an IV must be inserted for necessary liquid intake.
4. Eat high-calorie meals to counteract loss of nutrients due to illness. This is important because anorexia is quite common in typhoid, and if you are ill you need to get the most nutrition possible from the food you are able to eat.
5. Undergo surgery if there is bowel perforation or intestinal bleeding. If you have bloody stools go to a doctor immediately. The sickness makes its home in the liver and gall bladder as well as the intestines, so make sure the doctor includes these organs in the examination.
6. Return to your doctor intermittently to have stool and/or blood cultures taken and begin treatment again if culture is positive. 70 percent of patients who have recovered from typhoid still carry the bacterium in their intestines and it is possible to become ill again. If you are a carrier you can still pass on the disease without feeling any of the symptoms. If the disease is antibiotic-resistant, surgery to remove the gall bladder may be necessary.