Human Health And Disease
Human Health and Disease What is health?
‘The state of complete physical, mental and social well-being’
To sustain a healthy lifestyle person needs: •A balanced and varied diet
Take exercise
Proper shelter
Enough sleep
Good hygiene will reduce the likelihood of infection
What is disease? Disease is a disorder or malfunction of the mind or body, which leads to a departure from good health.
Can be a disorder of a specific tissue or organ due to a single cause. E.g. malaria.
May have many causes.
Often referred to as multifactorial. E.g. heart disease.
Disease diagnosed by a doctor analysing the symptoms (physical and mental signs).
Acute disease
Sudden and rapid onset
Symptoms disappear quickly
E.g. influenza
Chronic disease
Long term
Symptoms lasting months or years
E.g. Tuberculosis
Categories of diseases
Physical disease
Results from permanent or temporary damage to the body
Infectious diseases
Organisms that cause disease inside the human body are called pathogens
Bacteria and Viruses are the best known pathogens.
Fungi, protists and parasites can also cause disease
Diseases are said to be infectious or communicable if pathogens can be passed from one person to another.
Examples:
Influenza ('flu)
Influenza is a virus which causes a severe form of respiratory tract infection with generalised bodily symptoms. It spreads around the world in epidemics and is responsible for much ill health as well as many deaths.
Symptoms
If you start to develop cold symptoms but starting more rapidly and rather more violently, with higher fever and severe aches and pains, often in the back and muscles, then you may well be developing influenza. This may be associated with severe headache, cough, and, as a result of the fever, intermittent sweating and shivering.
Sometimes there is a gastrointestinal element, with vomiting and/or diarrhoea.
Many people think they have had "flu" when all that they have suffered is a bad cold. When you have influenza
‘The state of complete physical, mental and social well-being’
To sustain a healthy lifestyle person needs: •A balanced and varied diet
Take exercise
Proper shelter
Enough sleep
Good hygiene will reduce the likelihood of infection
What is disease? Disease is a disorder or malfunction of the mind or body, which leads to a departure from good health.
Can be a disorder of a specific tissue or organ due to a single cause. E.g. malaria.
May have many causes.
Often referred to as multifactorial. E.g. heart disease.
Disease diagnosed by a doctor analysing the symptoms (physical and mental signs).
Acute disease
Sudden and rapid onset
Symptoms disappear quickly
E.g. influenza
Chronic disease
Long term
Symptoms lasting months or years
E.g. Tuberculosis
Categories of diseases
Physical disease
Results from permanent or temporary damage to the body
Infectious diseases
Organisms that cause disease inside the human body are called pathogens
Bacteria and Viruses are the best known pathogens.
Fungi, protists and parasites can also cause disease
Diseases are said to be infectious or communicable if pathogens can be passed from one person to another.
Examples:
Influenza ('flu)
Influenza is a virus which causes a severe form of respiratory tract infection with generalised bodily symptoms. It spreads around the world in epidemics and is responsible for much ill health as well as many deaths.
Symptoms
If you start to develop cold symptoms but starting more rapidly and rather more violently, with higher fever and severe aches and pains, often in the back and muscles, then you may well be developing influenza. This may be associated with severe headache, cough, and, as a result of the fever, intermittent sweating and shivering.
Sometimes there is a gastrointestinal element, with vomiting and/or diarrhoea.
Many people think they have had "flu" when all that they have suffered is a bad cold. When you have influenza