Understanding Diseases and How to Stay Healthy

Posted on Sep 6, 2024 in Medicine & Health

Why Do We Fall Ill?

Health

Health is a state of being well enough to properly function physically, mentally, and socially. In other words, health is a state of physical, mental, and social well-being.

Community Issues Which Affect Our Health

Public Cleanliness

Public cleanliness is important for our health. If someone is living in a filthy neighborhood, they have a greater risk of being affected by some epidemic.

Economic Condition

The economic condition of the country and society is important for our health. A sound economy ensures that a person gets a job befitting their skills. This ensures adequate earnings to make their life comfortable. Lack of earning can have a negative effect on health.

Social Equality and Harmony

If a person lives in a climate of mutual distrust among the members of society, it can have a negative effect on health. On the other hand, living in a harmonious society has a positive effect on someone’s health.

Disease

The term ‘disease’ literally means disturbed ease. A condition in which the affected person is unable to carry out normal activities is termed as disease. This condition can depend on a person’s age and many other factors. For example, if an old woman is just able to walk comfortably in the market or garden, she can be termed a healthy person.

Symptoms

Apparent signs which give a clue about an underlying disease are called symptoms. For example, headache, fever, abdominal cramps, etc.

Types of Disease

Acute Disease

A disease which appears for a short duration is called an acute disease. In most cases, an acute disease does not result in debility. Example: cholera, diarrhea, flu, common cold, etc.

Chronic Disease

A disease which lasts for many years is called a chronic disease. Some chronic diseases may last for an entire lifetime. A chronic disease often results in debility. Example: arthritis, tuberculosis, diabetes, hypertension, etc.

Infectious Disease

When a disease happens because of a microorganism, it is called an infectious disease. Bacteria, protozoa, viruses, and fungi are the causes of diseases in this case. Example: diarrhea, tuberculosis, dengue, malaria, hepatitis, etc.

Non-Infectious Disease

When a disease happens because of some malfunctioning in any organ and it is not because of any microorganism, it is called a non-infectious disease. A non-infectious disease may happen because of a wrong lifestyle. Some non-infectious diseases may happen because of a genetic factor, i.e., they are present right from birth. Example: diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, arthritis, hemophilia, etc.

Types of Antimicrobials

Antibiotic

A substance which stops the growth of bacteria or kills the bacteria is called an antibiotic. Antibiotics are given to treat or prevent bacterial infection. Some antibiotics damage the cell wall of bacteria and thus kill the bacteria. Example: streptomycin, tetracycline, amoxicillin, etc.

Antiviral

A substance which stops the growth of a virus is called an antiviral. Viral diseases are very difficult to treat. Very few effective antiviral medicines are available in the market.

Antifungal

A substance which stops the growth of fungi or kills the fungi is called an antifungal.

Means of Spreading Infection

By Air

Some of the pathogens (harmful and disease-causing microbes) spread through the air. For example, when a person suffering from a common cold sneezes or coughs, viruses come out along with fine droplets of mucus. The virus then easily enters another person’s body. Thus, the common cold is spread from one person to another. Flu also spreads through the air.

By Water

Some of the pathogens spread through contaminated food and water. Diarrhea and jaundice spread from one person to another through contaminated food and water.

By Sharing of Clothes

Ringworm spreads by sharing towels or clothes of the infected person.

Through Blood or Body Fluid

Some diseases spread from one person to another through blood or body fluid. AIDS and Hepatitis B come under this category. These diseases can spread if infected blood is used in blood transfusion. They can spread from an infected mother to the unborn child. They can spread through unprotected sex.

By Vectors

Some animals work as vehicles to transfer infection from one person to another. Such animals are called vectors. Malaria spreads in this way and the mosquito plays the role of vector. The female anopheles mosquito spreads the malaria parasite from an infected person to a healthy person. Dengue is also spread by mosquitos. When a mosquito bites an infected person, the parasite enters the mosquito’s body along with blood. When the same mosquito bites a healthy person, the parasite enters the body of the healthy person. Dogs are the vectors for the rabies virus.

Affected Organs

The mode of infection often determines the infected organs. When a disease is spread through the air then it is the respiratory system which gets infected. When a disease is spread through contaminated food or water then the digestive system gets infected. Jaundice and hepatitis B affect the liver. Tuberculosis usually affects the lungs. But some diseases end up affecting the whole body.

Treatment or Prevention

Prevention is Better Than Cure

Whenever a person suffers from an infection, the doctor gives suitable medicines to get rid of the infection. But treating the infection has certain limitations which are as follows:

• An infection hampers the routine activity of a person for a few or many days. This often results in loss of work for that person. This can also result in loss of earning for the person.
• An infection may result in short-term or long-term debility.
• Treating a disease involves many costs, like the cost of medicine, fees of the doctor, cost of hospital stay, etc.
• An infected person may become a source of infection for many other persons.

Hence, prevention is always better than cure. Prevention can help in ruling out most of the above costs which are associated with a disease.

How to Prevent Infections

By Preventing Exposure

Many diseases can be prevented by preventing exposure to microbes.

Airborne disease can be prevented by some simple measures. If you are suffering from a common cold then you should cover your face while sneezing or coughing. In case of a flu scare in the city, you should wear a face mask while going to a public place or traveling by public transport. Waterborne disease can be prevented by avoiding the use of contaminated water. You should always carry drinking water from home. If that is not possible then you should buy bottled water for drinking. Never buy food from those vendors who do not keep their food items covered. Don’t eat stale or spoiled food items.

Vector-borne diseases can be prevented by preventing the breeding of vectors. If we can prevent mosquitos from breeding around us, we can easily prevent malaria and dengue. Additionally, we should use mosquito repellants to prevent mosquito bites. Pet dogs should be vaccinated against rabies. We should be careful of stray dogs as some of them may be infected with rabies. We should not share clothes with a person who may be suffering from skin disease. For preventing AIDS and hepatitis B, we should always use disposable syringes.

By Boosting the Immune System

Whenever a pathogen enters our body, our immune system fights against that. We suffer from an infectious disease only when the microbes overpower our immune system. So, strengthening the immune system can help in preventing many diseases. This can be achieved by eating a well-balanced and nutritious diet. Our food should include all the necessary nutrients as well as vitamins and minerals.

The above methods of prevention are called general ways of prevention because they are not directed against any particular disease. But when a prevention method is directed against a particular disease, it is called the specific way of prevention. Vaccination comes under this category.

Vaccination

Vaccination is based on the principle that our body learns to fight against a certain microbe when the microbe attacks our body for the first time. Vaccines are made from dead or weak strains of a microbe. The vaccine is inoculated in the body in an appropriate dose. After vaccination, the body learns to fight with that microbe. As a result, our body easily wards off any future onslaught of that microbe. Many diseases can be prevented by vaccines.

Small Pox

Smallpox was a deadly disease in the nineteenth century. Edward Jenner was the scientist who developed the vaccine against smallpox. Nowadays, vaccines are available for many diseases. Example: Smallpox, polio, whooping cough, tuberculosis, diphtheria, tetanus, Hepatitis B, rabies, etc