WHY DO WE FALL ILL?

WHY DO WE FALL ILL?

Some diseases are caused by bacteria and some, such as Aids and the common cold, are caused by viruses. Normally, our immune system protects us against diseases. But sometimes our body- because of too little sleep or a lot of stress- becomes so weak that the immune system does not work properly and we succumb to diseases. Luckily, we can get ourselves vaccinated against some dangerous diseases.

WHY DO WE COUGH AND SNEEZE WHEN WE HAVE A COLD?

When we have a cold, the disease-causing germs reach the respiratory tract, and mucus builds in the bronchia. These are the branches of the air pipe that go inside the lungs. The body tries to get rid of this mucus by coughing vigorously and throwing the disease-causing germs out of the lungs along with air. The same thing happens when we sneeze. The nasal mucus is stimulated and the nose starts to tingle. We have to sneeze and in this case, too the germs are thrown outside forcefully.

DID YOU KNOW:

While coughing, the air is thrown out of the mouth at a speed of over 800 km/h? Jet planes fly at this speed!

HOW DOES THE BODY WARD OFF DISEASES?

Apart from the skin as a protective covering, our body has several other defense mechanisms. The white blood cells and the lymphatic system play an important role in warding off diseases. Some important lymph nodes are the tonsils and the spleen. Here, the white blood cells are taught with substances that belong to the body and which do not. If foreign substances come inside the body, the macrophages or the Killer cells start tracking and destroying them. Fever accelerates this process. However, if the fever rises above 42 degrees Celsius, the proteins in the body clump together, get destroyed, and may cause death. If the body's defense mechanism alone is not able to get rid of the diseases, we can take medicines to assist it.

WHY ARE WE VACCINATED?

Vaccinations protect us against life-threatening infectious diseases. Vaccination is the injection of  weekend or dead disease-causing germs into the body. The immune system reacts to the weekend germs of disease just as it would if the body was infected with that disease. The immune system of the body fights with germs by producing antibodies. In this way, the body recognizes and notes the type of germ and learns how to combat it. If the actual disease-causing germs enter the body later, the body recognizes and destroys them before they can cause any harm. We need to be vaccinated against life-threatening illness like tetanus ( lockjaw disease), which is often caused by minor injuries, diphtheria, which causes difficulty in breathing, and polio, which cause severe damage to the nervous system. 

WHAT IS AIDS?

AIDS is a short form for 'Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome', which means having a defective immune system. AIDS is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus ( HIV) which is transmitted during a blood transfusion or sexual intercourse inside the body, the virus attaches itself to specific white blood cells, which are important for the body's immune system. Subsequently,  the virus penetrates these cells, destroys them,  and produces new HIV viruses.  If uncontrolled, the virus slowly destroys the entire immune system of the body.  Even minor illnesses like the common cold can assume series proportions. There is a medicine that can slow down the onset of AIDS, but none to completely cure it. 

WHAT IS AN ALLERGY?

An allergy is the strong, often 'exaggerated', way in which the body reacts to a substance. An allergic tendency develops when the body learns to fight a certain substance strongly and in the wrong way. In case of high fever, for instance, the patient experiences a bodily reaction to the pollen grains of certain plants. When these pollen grains are inhaled in the spring season, the nose swells up, the eyes become watery, and excessive sneezing starts. Allergic reactions can be reduced and controlled with the help of medicines.