Archive for category Diseases
Preventing Emerging Infectious Diseases
Infectious diseases continue to plague the world’s population. Whether it’s the emergence of a new disease or the reoccurrence of an old one, it is something that health organizations worldwide must keep track of. For example, consider the avian flu virus that frightened Hong Kong and killed people before it was brought under control. On top of this, a new strain of AIDS was found that has been known to have sickened and killed thousands of people for over 2 decades before AIDS became the worldwide epidemic that it is today. The frequent migration of people and the ease of travel have also led to the easy transmission of diseases from one continent to another.
Infectious diseases don’t care what you look like, nor how much money you make. They infect young and old alike. Infectious diseases create a problem financially, because they become a strain on the health care system when it comes time to treat each patient. Just take a look at what is emerging on the worldwide stage: Hong Kong is reporting the discovery of a new influenza virus. A new virus recently emerged in the UK after someone ate beef possibly tainted with Mad Cow Disease. A brand new drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis was found in HIV patients. The list goes on and on. It has been discovered that a person’s resistance to infection is hereditary, in part.
Emerging threats, new technology, and new science has been released in the recent years, and we need to update our methods to account for this. The new innovations in technology alone are making it easier to track, find, and attempt to get rid of the causes of infections and outbreaks. The U.S. becoming more of a managed care-oriented country, and because of this, these facilities can offer deeper research than the usual hospital. This can often lead to better innovations. Read the rest of this entry »
Diseases Related To The Integumentary System
The integumentary system is composed of the skin, hair and nails. Its main function is to protect the body from getting dehydrated and invading pathogens. The system is also responsible for maintaining the internal core temperature of the body, synthesizing Vitamin D, flushing toxins, and allowing a person to experience sense of touch and pain.
Just like any other system in the body, even this system is prone some diseases. One of the diseases related to the integumentary system is alopecia areata. This is an autoimmune disease where the immune system of the body begins to attack the hair follicles causing loss of the hair. While hair follicles all over the body can be affected by this disease, it is more common on the scalp. In the early stages of the disease, the person will have bald patches on the scalp and thereafter the baldness will extend. The disease can affect males as well as females, and can occur at any age.
Psoriasis is another disease related to the integumentary system. This is also a chronic autoimmune disease, which is non contagious. The affected person will have red scaly patches on the skin known psoriatic plaques. At times, when an outburst occurs, the patches can become red, inflamed and itchy. The skin on the knees and elbows is more prone to psoriasis, but it can also affect the genital region and scalp.
Warts are tiny little non-malignant tumors that occur on the skin of feet and hands. These are caused by the humanpapillomavirus. As this skin disease is caused by a virus, it is contagious and can spread through contact. The warts generally disappear on their own within a few months, but there are medical procedures that can help to excise the warts safely. Read the rest of this entry »