Health issues
If you follow advice on cleaning your home you should not experience any health problems . You may however suffer from stress or related health problems from going through the experience.If you are concerned about your health you should contact NHS Direct or your own doctor who can assess you and prescribe treatment.
You can find links to NHS Direct and an NHS website to find your local doctor in the Related Links section. You should also follow this general advice to make sure you stay healthy after a flood.
While in the property floorboards, walls etc will continue to dry out. Any loose material and dust resulting from this should be vacuumed up on a regular basis.
Very young children should avoid playing directly on timber floorboards or any damaged tiled floors if possible - be aware of the risk of injury from sharp edges on tiles or raised nails in the floorboards until these have been repaired.
Help for vulnerable and elderly people returning to their houses may be available from the us.
Remember:
Do
Wash your hands properly if you have been in contact with floodwater or silt.
Take particular care when preparing or eating food.Contact your insurance company (if relevant) and make an inventory list of all damaged goods, including food. If you can, take photographic or video pictures.
Put contaminated flood damaged food in black plastic refuse sacks, seal and put out when your next refuse collection is due. Check with insurers before disposal.
If you accidentally swallow mud or contaminated water and you become ill contact your doctor and tell him your house was flooded.
Carefully replace manhole covers dislodged by the flood.
Don't be tempted to try and salvage damaged food as it may be contaminated with sewage or chemicals left from the floodwater.
Don't switch on electrical appliances, which have been in contact with the floodwa-ter unless a competent electrician has checked them.
Your local electricity supply company will be checking mains supplies.Don't eat home grown garden or allotment fruit and vegetables that have been covered by floodwater.
Leave undamaged vegetables in the ground for at least another two weeks and then only use them after thorough washing and cooking.Don't let young children play on affected grassed or paved areas until they have been cleaned and restored to their normal condition.