Health

 Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-beingness and not merely the absence of any disease.

What is disease?

Condition of disturbances in physiological or psychological processes of body is called as disease. Each disease has its own specific symptoms.

 Types of diseases : You must have heard the names of various diseases like diabetes, common cold, asthma, Down’s syndrome, heart disease, etc. Reasons and symptoms of all these diseases are different. To bring coordination in scientific study of diseases, diseases are classified as follows.

1. Infectious Diseases: Diseases spread through contaminated air, water, food or vectors (insects and other animals) are called as infectious diseases.

Some important diseases of present days

Dengue: Mosquitoes lay the eggs in water-logged places and thereby their population increases. Different species of mosquitoes spread different diseases. Dengue is spread by Aedes aegypti. This disease is caused by DEN-1 – 4 virus belonging to the type- flavivirus.

Symptoms

1. Acute fever and headache, vomiting.
2. Pains in eye socket is very prominent symptom.
3. Decrease in platelet count that may lead to internal hemorrhage

Swine Flu: Reasons of infection

• Infection for swine flu occurs through pigs and humans.
• Viruses of swine flu are spread through secretions of nose, throat and saliva.

 Symptoms of Swine Flu

• Difficulty in breathing.
• Sore throat, body pains

AIDS (Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome) :

This disease is caused by HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). In this disease, victim suffer from various diseases due to progressive weakening of natural immunity. Diagnosis of AIDS cannot be confirmed without tests in medical laboratories. ELISA test is used for its proper diagnosis. Symptoms of AIDS are person specific.

Infections through Animals

Rabies: This is a viral disease. It occurs due to the bite of the infected dog, rabbit, monkey, cat etc. Virus enters the brain via neurons. Hydrophobia is one of the important symptom of this disease. In this case, the victim shows extreme fear for water. Rabies is fatal disease. However, fatality can be prevented by timely vaccination before onset of symptoms. Symptoms start to appear within 90 – 175 days of dog bite.

1. Non-infectious diseases : Diseases which do not occur through infections and body contacts are called as non-infectious diseases. Such diseases arise in human body itself due to certain reasons.
2. Cancer : Uncontrolled and abnormal cell growth is called as cancer. Group or lump of cancerous cells is called as malignant tumor. Cancer can occur in various organs like lungs, mouth, tongue, stomach, breast, uterus, skin and tissues like blood.

Reasons : Consumption of tobacco, gutkha, smoking, alcoholism, lack of fiber content (fruits and leafy vegetables) in food, excessive consumption of junk food (pizza, burger etc) are some of the many possible reasons. Heredity may also be a reason.

Symptoms :

1. Chronic cough, hoarse voice, difficulty in swallowing.
2. Incurable scar and inflammation.
3. Lumps in breast.
4. Unexplained weight-loss.

   Diabetes: The hormone- insulin produced in pancreas controls the level of sugarglucose in blood. If insulin is secreted in low quantity, glucose level cannot be controlled; this disorder is called as diabetes.

Symptoms which cannot be ignored- • Frequent urination at night, increased obesity or weight loss

Reasons for diabetes :

• Heredity • Obesity
• Lack of physical exercise • Mental stress

3. Heart Diseases : Efficiency of the heart decreases due to decreased blood supply and thereby oxygen and nutrient supply to the heart muscles. Due to this, heart has to perform more work that leads to stress on it. This may cause heart attack. If someone has heart attack, immediate consultation of doctor and treatment is necessary.

One should not ignore these symptoms

 Severe chest pains, pains in shoulder, neck and arms, cramps in hand, uneasiness, tremors.

Reasons of heart attack : Smoking, alcoholism, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, lack of physical exercise, heredity, mental stress, anger, anxiety.

Misuse of Medicines : Sometimes, some people take the medicines without prescription of doctor. Overdose of medicines may affect our body. Ex. Overdose of pain killers may damage nervous system, excretory system, liver. Overdose of antibiotics may lead to nausea, stomach ache, dysentery, rash, white patches on tongue etc.

Generic medicines : Generic medicines are also known as general medicines. These are manufactured and distributed without any patent. These medicines are at par in quality with branded medicines. Production cost of these medicines is very low due to fewer expenses on research as their formula is readily available.

Lifestyle and diseases : Lifestyle includes the daily routine and the type of food. Nowadays, habits like staying in bed till late morning and going to bed late in night, frequent changes in meal timings, lack of physical exercise, consumption of junk food, etc. have been increased. Due to this, such people are getting sick frequently. If frequency of becoming sick is to be lowered, people should follow right lifestyle. It must include sufficient sleep, right food, yogasanas, pranayam and physical exercise. Physical exercise should also be as per one’s own capacity. Pranayam and yogasanas should be performed under the expert supervision. See the videos of pranayam and yogasanas. Vaccination: Vaccination is important to prevent the infectious diseases. Collect the vaccination schedule chart from nearby clinic and study it.