How to Diagnose Typhoid

Typhoid affects about 20 million people per year, mostly in South America and Africa, according to the Centers for Disease Control. There is only one sure way of diagnosing Salmonella typhi, the bacterium behind the disease, and that is by having blood or stool tested. However, typhoid is such a menacing disease that there are several obvious signs.

Instructions

1. Check for dehydration (dry mouth and bright-colored urine).

2. Check for fever. Those with typhoid usually have a fever between 103 and 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. Check for stomach cramps or discomfort.

4. Check for diarrhea. Diarrhea from typhoid is green and unusually pungent.

5. Check for breathing troubles, e.g. a congested rattling coming from the airways.

6. Check for a distended abdomen.

Tips & Warnings

• Other symptoms include headache, rose-colored rash on the chest and abdomen, considerable weight loss and loss of appetite and eventually delirium around the third week of illness.

• A differential diagnosis must be performed against other possibilities: malaria, tuberculosis, paratyphoid fever, and several other ailments.

References

• CDC: Typhoid Symptoms
• Mayo Clinic: Typhoid Symptoms
• Wrong Diagnosis: Typhoid Symptoms

Resources

• Wrong Diagnosis: Differential Diagnosis for Typhoid