Understanding Health, Illness, and Social Issues

Types of Illness

• Physical Diseases: Caused by injury, infection, or degenerative processes in the body. They are classified into infectious and non-infectious diseases.
• Mental Illness: Provoked by a malfunction of the brain.
• Social Ills: Caused by the existence of a social environment with serious violent, economic, or educational deprivation.

Health vs. Illness

• Health: A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being.
• Illness: The state in which a person's health is disturbed.

Violence as a Social Disease

Violence is a terrible social disease that kills many people every year. It is a disease that is incubated in childhood.

Viruses

Viruses are not living creatures but protein capsules containing DNA or RNA that is injected into a cell.

Infectious Diseases

Infectious diseases occur when our body is invaded by fungi, protozoa, bacteria, or other pathogens.

Transmission of Infectious Diseases

Infectious diseases can be transmitted through:

• The air
• Contaminated objects
• Direct physical contact
• Ingestion of contaminated food

Contagion, Epidemics, and Pandemics

• Contagion: Infectious diseases whose pathogens can be transmitted from a sick person to a healthy one.
• Epidemic: When an infectious disease spreads through an area.
• Pandemic: When an epidemic spreads worldwide, as has happened with AIDS or avian flu.

Examples of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)

• AIDS: Multiple concurrent infections occur that impair the body, leading to death.
• Syphilis: The infection can spread to tissues in the nervous system, causing madness.
• Gonorrhea: Can invade the blood and cause a generalized infection.

Drugs

• Stimulants: Accelerate the normal functioning of the brain, causing psychological dependence. Examples include amphetamines, steroids, caffeine, tobacco, cocaine, and crack.
• Hallucinogens: Disrupt the functioning of the brain, causing hallucinations that are beyond reality. Examples include hashish, marijuana, and synthetic drugs.

Injuries and Non-Infectious Diseases

• Injuries: Damage to an organ or tissue. If severe, they are called shock or trauma.
• Non-infectious Diseases: Diseases due to causes other than pathogens.

Accidents and First Aid

To prevent accidents, it is important to:

• Comply with road traffic norms
• Not handle electrical devices barefoot
• Be very careful when using tools
• Use eye goggles
• Use ladders in good condition