Health and Wellness: Concepts, Prevention, and Treatment
Health & Healthy Lifestyle
Concept of Health: A state where the body normally performs its functions. Associated with physical, mental, emotional, social, spiritual, sexual, and environmental well-being.
Concept of Disease or Pathological States: A disorder due to a deficiency or alteration in the functioning of some organs and systems of the human body.
Symptoms: Changes in body temperature and blood composition, altered pulse, pain, dizziness, etc. In the modern conception of medicine, we must prevent disease and promote health.
- Risk Factors
– Poor diet (excess fat and sugars)
– Tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs
– Stress
– Lack of personal hygiene
– Certain types of work
– Social factors
– Environmental factors:
– Exposure to carcinogens: smoke, some preservatives…
– Unsafe water: pesticides, manure, spills…
– Air pollution in cities, nuclear plants, chemical industries, oil… - Prevention of Diseases
Study genetic factors:
– Consider these risk factors
– Health care
– Vaccination
– Study of genetic factors: Many diseases are caused by or have a genetic component, meaning they are caused by a mutation in a gene. These are hereditary. Ex: Down’s syndrome, breast cancer…
– Epidemiological control
– Primary prevention
– Healthy habits
– Balanced diet
– Physical activity
– Personal hygiene, food, and home safety
– Avoid tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs. - Diagnosis and Treatment of Diseases
– Health promotion involves actions on prevention, treatment, and management of disease, and the preservation of mental and physical well-being through medical and health services.
– Treatment can include:
– Drugs
– Surgery
– Microsurgery
– Transplants
– The most common diagnostic techniques are:
– Clinical analysis: Chemical (CBC), biochemical, and genetic
– Pathological studies
– Imaging: X-rays, scanners, CT…
Health and Food
– We are what we eat
– Need balanced diet and physical activity
– Balanced diet: One that provides all the nutrients necessary for vital functions. The advised calorie distribution is: 25% breakfast, 30-40% lunch, 10-15% for snacks, 20-30% dinner.
Six sets of risk factors for premature death are related to poor nutrition: hypertension, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high body mass index, inadequate fruit and vegetable intake, physical inactivity, excessive alcohol consumption, and tobacco use.
– Eating disorders:
– Overweight
– Morbid obesity
– Anorexia nervosa
– Bulimia
– Food has a great influence on some diseases:
– Cardiovascular disease: Obesity
– Cancer: Alcohol, red meat, excess fat, obesity, processed foods…
Canine Heartworm
Infectious Diseases: Diseases caused by microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, prions, and parasites (protozoa, worms…) that invade and multiply in the body. Some are transmitted to others: AIDS, tuberculosis, measles, influenza, malaria, cholera, dengue fever, Ebola virus, avian flu, influenza A. [Diseases caused by bacteria are treated with antibiotics. Avoid using antibiotics without a prescription because many bacteria mutate and become resistant.]
Genetic Diseases: Diseases caused by an alteration of the genome. Examples include some types of cancer, hereditary anemia, hemophilia, Down syndrome…
Cardiovascular Diseases: Diseases affecting the heart or blood vessels (arteries and veins). A leading cause of death in the U.S. and many European countries. Examples include aneurysm, myocardial infarction, angina, arteriosclerosis…
Toxic Diseases: Diseases caused by exposure to environmental toxins such as heavy metals, asbestos, benzene…
Mental Illness: Disturbances of thought, mood, or behavior (or a combination). Examples include anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, eating disorders, dementia…
Neurodegenerative Diseases: Diseases caused by the degeneration of nerve cells in certain areas of the brain. More frequent in the elderly: Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s…
Immune System Diseases: Caused by disorders of the immune system. Examples include allergies, rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile diabetes, Celiac disease…
Present and Future of Medicine
– Vaccines:
– One of the most important remedies for preventing infectious diseases. These substances, usually manufactured from pathogens introduced into the human body, produce defenses (antibodies) to combat the antigen.
– Formed by bacteria or viruses
– Prevent diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, poliomyelitis, measles, rubella, mumps, hepatitis A and B, chickenpox, tuberculosis…
– Vaccines against AIDS, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and tooth decay are currently being investigated.
– Antibiotic Resistance:
– Bacteria mutate and survive natural selection and antibiotics. Therefore, always finish antibiotic treatments to eliminate all bacteria and prevent reproduction and resistance.
– Due to high antibiotic consumption, bacteria adapt faster than new antibiotics can be created.
– The current crisis has caused decreased investment in R&D for new antibiotics. There is concern that physicians will be unable to combat infectious diseases in the near future.
– Research is slow because antibiotics are less profitable than chronic diseases or lifestyle-related diseases.
– Drug Patents:
– Before patenting a drug, pharmaceutical industries must conduct numerous and expensive tests to determine effectiveness and side effects.
– The average time to bring a drug to market is about 12 years, costing $897 million (for pharmaceutical companies).
– After laboratory manufacture, the molecule undergoes animal testing and then human trials with adult volunteers.
– Pharmaceutical companies can exploit a patent for 10-20 years.
– Afterward, generic drugs can be manufactured.
– Pharmaceutical industries, Ministries of Health, and other health organizations disagree on patent duration and drug prices.
– Medicine in the Third World:
– The World Health Organization (WHO) and UN are working to combat diseases plaguing the Third World: AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, sleeping sickness, Chagas disease…
– Poor countries lack structured health systems, access to medicines, minimum hygiene, safe water, and adequate sewage systems.
– 90% of global R&D spending is devoted to diseases affecting developed countries (10% of the world population). In Africa, health expenditure is €7 per inhabitant; in developed countries, it is in the thousands.