8 Health Problems Caused by Sewage Damage

Skin Infections
There are multiple skin infections that can result from contact with sewer damage. While a skin infection may not seem like something worth worrying about, many of the skin infections inflicted through contact with sewage debris is both painful and contagious. If you do incur such an infection, be careful not to make contact with others until you see a doctor, which should be as soon as possible.

Hepatitis A
Most people know that hepatitis can be caught from sewage damage. However, many of those same people do not realize just how easy and common it is. Actually 10 million people a year are infected with Hepatitis A, though not every case is from direct contact with sewer damage. Unfortunately the side effects of this disease can be slim to nothing, and it may be weeks or months before you realize a problem. Take extreme caution if you ever come in direct contact with sewer damage.

Salmonella
Salmonella is one of the worser infections to catch, as it is a disease-causing agent. This means that it can cause or lead to many other diseases, which have varying degrees of severity. The worst of these are typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever, and salmonella food-born illnesses. Some of the infections received through salmonella, such as sever diarrhea, cannot be treated and must simply be “waited out” making them all the more inconvenient and uncomfortable.

Eye Infections
Adenoviruses can also be found in sewer damage debris. The viruses cause severe eye infections infections. While a normal eye infection is easily treatable, these same infections can easily bloom in to much bigger and more difficult to treat infections if not monitored closely.  

Respiratory Infections
Another type of Adenovirus is a severe respiratory infection which can be easily caught by either contact, or simply inhalation of hazardous debris. This is one of the main reasons it is essential to have a high quality hazardous material proof mask on at all times when around this sort of debris. Many respiratory infections or complications caused by exposure to these debris can become very serious very fast, and one should seek a health professionals advice immediately.

Weil’s Disease
Another very severe contact with human feces and debris is Weil’s disease. This sickness causes but is not limited to high fevers, mild jaundice, severe headaches, and gastroenteritis. Gastroenteritis in particular can be very discomforting, causing inflamed intestines, resulting in continuous vomiting, diarrhea, cramps, and other infections.

Fatal Damage
Any of the listed viruses, bacterias, or diseases can help contribute to fatal damage to your liver, blood or kidneys.

Pandemic
Unfortunately, many of these same diseases and infections are highly contagious. There have been cases in US history where pandemic have been caused due to improper treatment of sewage debris, and many innocent people were infected. The recent swine flu epidemic scare has caused some Americans to be more cautious in crowded places, but not necessarily cautious enough within their own homes.