COMMON DISEASES AND AILMENTS

Scientific discoveries have virtually eliminated certain diseases as threats and

One of the most common afflictions in modern society is heart disease. More than
half of all deaths recorded in the United States each year are the result of heart disease.
The heart is the strongest muscle in the body. For most people it functions healthily
throughout their entire lives. Yet, like any piece of complicated machinery, it can wear out
or break down.
Heart disease can appear in a variety of forms. Some can be treated successfully.
Other heart ailments are fatal, either because they are diagnosed too late or because the
damage cause is too extensive. Doctors can often predict heart problems by measuring
the rate of heartbeat, called the pulse, and from the blood pressure.
One condition which can be treated by changing the environment is
arteriosclerosis or hardening of the arteries. With this disease, the inner walls of the
arteries are gradually thickened by layers of fatty material, narrowing the channel for the
passage of blood. Blood clots may form and block the circulation entirely. One way to
decrease the likelihood of this condition is by reducing the cholesterol content of the diet,
emphasizing vegetable oils, avoiding smoking and increasing exercise.
A patient ho suffers a heart attack has what doctors call a coronary thrombosis
leading to myocardial infarction or cardiac arrest. One or more of the arteries supplying
the heart muscle with blood becomes narrowed by a blood clot. Symptoms include pain in
the chest, shortness of breath, and nausea.
Angina pectoris refers to chest pains caused when the heart muscle does not get
enough oxygen. An attack is usually caused by overexertion and ca be relieved by rest and
nitroglycerin tablets. A stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain is reduced or
completely cut off by a blood clot or a hemorrhage. Partial or complete paralysis may
result.
Some patients with chronic heart conditions who do not respond to drugs can now
be helped with open-heart surgery. Valves, arteries and other parts of the heart
mechanism can be repaired or replaced. A peacemaker can be inserted to regulate the
hearth’s beat artificially. Heart transplants have also been tried experimentally, with some
success.
While heart disease is still a threat, heart patients today can be grateful for the
advances of modern science. Many victims who would not have survived their illness
twenty years ago can be cured and enabled to go on living normal lives.
 Another major killer in the twentieth century is cancer. Cancer is characterized by
an unrestrained growth of abnormal cells. There are three main types of cancer. A
carcinoma originates from the surface cells of the skin or the linings of the internal organs.
A sarcoma attacks the muscles, bones, tendons, cartilage, fat, blood vessels, lymph system
or connective tissue. Leukemias afflict the blood forming cells. Some cancers grow slowly;
others spread rapidly, doubling in bulk in days. Cancer can appear anywhere in the body,
but some common sites are the lungs, the breasts, the uterine cervix, the skin, the colon,
and the blood.
Cancer is fatal if it is untreated, but it can often be cured in the early stages. As
soon as a tumor is discovered, exploratory surgery is undertaken and a biopsy for
examination of the tissue is performed. If the tumor is malignant. It may be either be
removed surgically or treated with radiation or chemotherapy.
The causes of cancer remain an enigma to scientists. Some of the accompanying
conditions are known, however, including excessive cigarette smoking, overexposure to x-
rays and sunlight, and contact with certain chemicals. A virus may be responsible; or a
tendency to cancer may be inherited. Scientists are now conducting extensive research to
learn more about the disease.

Communicable diseases differ from heart disease and cancer for they are passed
from one person to another. One familiar communicable disease is tuberculosis. The
tubercle bacillus microorganisms are carried through the air droplets coughed up by
victims from their lungs where the disease settles. Until recently there was no known cure
and most people who contracted the disease died from it.
Today the tuberculin test is administered to detect sufferers of the disease at an
early stage. An infected person will demonstrate an allergic reaction to this test. The chest
x-ray is another means of diagnosing the disease.
Drugs such as isoniazid (INH) are effective in treating tuberculosis. Chronic
sufferers were often isolated during treatment in special institutions called sanatoriums to
prevent spread of the disease. Recently, more effective medical treatment has replaced
most of these institutions.
Another communicable disease is poliomyelitis, or polio for short. It is caused by a
virus which enters the body through the mouth and multiplies in the intestinal tract,
attacking the motor neurons of the spinal cord. It can cause paralysis of affected parts of
the body in its most extreme state. Fortunately, polio is no longer the threat It once was
due to the introduction of the Salk and Sabin polio vaccines in the 1950’s.
The neuromuscular systems in the body can be affected by a number of diseases.
These diseases all cause a loss of muscular control by disturbing the nerves which control
the muscles. In muscular dystrophy, a chronic and inherited disease, the muscles gradually
waste away. A patient with Parkinson’s disease can be detected by his uncontrollable
shaking caused by basal ganglion dysfunctions. Multiple sclerosis victims suffer from loss
of damage coordination in various parts of their bodies because of damage to nerve
fibers. Unfortunately, none of these diseases is curable at present. All that can be done for
a victim is to lessen the undesirable symptoms.
 A disease which attacks the kidneys is nephritis. The kidneys regulate the
elimination of liquid wastes, called urine, from the body. A person can function with only
one kidney but cannot survive if both kidneys are destroyed. A victim of infective nephritis
suffers painful urination, backache and general weakness. If the disease becomes severe
enough to destroy the kidneys, the victim can be saved though the transplantation of a
donor’s kidney or by regular use of renal hemodialysis machine. This machine substitutes
for the kidneys, cleansing the body of its wastes. Although effective, renal hemodialysis is
nonetheless a painful and time-consuming ordeal, requiring the patient to spend about
twenty hours weekly in bed attached to the machine.
Viral hepatitis (commonly called jaundice because of the yellowish tinge to the
skin) is due to a viral infection in the liver. Hepatitis can be contracted from contaminated
food, hypodermic needle, or blood transfusion. Symptoms of the disease do not usually
appear until after an incubation period of several weeks. These symptoms include the loss
of appetite, fatigue, fever, and nausea in addition to yellowish color. Hepatitis can be
treated with gamma globulin.
Diabetes is a disease in which the body no longer uses sugar properly. In a healthy
body special cells In the pancreas secrete the hormones insulin and glucogin which help to
store sugar. This no longer happens when one suffers from diabetes. A victim of diabetes
thus must limit sugar and starch intake and possibly take daily injections of insulin.
Arthritis and rheumatism are ailments of the bones and joints. They are particularly
common among the elderly. Symptoms include swelling, pain and stiffness. There are
many different varieties of rheumatic diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis,
osteoarthritis, and gout. Diseases of the bones and joints are common among the elderly
but are not limited to adults.
Allergies are common and may increase with environmental deterioration. People
who cannot tolerate certain foreign substances may react with a rash or hives, with hay
fever or asthma, or with eczema or other manifestations. The substance acts as an antigen
which stimulates excessive antibody reaction. The reaction can usually be weakened by
medication or by desensitization injections, but the only real cure is to avoid the allergen.
Diseases which are common in childhood include chickenpox, measles, mumps,
diphtheria, tetanus, and whopping cough. In the United States children are routinely
immunized against most of these. This is not true in all parts of the world, whoever, and
many children suffer needlessly as a result. Fortunately, these diseases are nor usually
fatal.
Many ailments of a less severe nature may affect the human body. Diarrhea, or
loose bowel movements, often results from contaminated water, fruits, or vegetables and
is most often associated with foreign travel. It disappears as soon as the contaminant is
eliminated from the body. The discomfort can be relieved by medication such as Lomotil,
an antilaxative. Diarrhea can also be an indication of a more serious problem, such as
dysentery, amebiases, cholera or parasites. If it does not disappear quickly, a doctor
should be consulted.
Hemorrhoids, or “piles,” are irritating swelling due to enlarged veins near the anus,
often associated with pregnancy. They can often be controlled by addition of bulk (such as
wheat bran) to the diet and better hygiene (Sitz baths). Gonorrhea and other venereal
diseases result from sexual contact with an infected person. Toothaches are a sign of
tooth decay; they should be treated by a dentist. Acne, in which pimples appear on the
face, can be treated by cleansing and possibly by avoiding rich foods. Hiccups, usually an
irritating embarrassment rather than a disease are caused when the diaphragm begins to
spam. Holding one’s breath, being startled, drinking water out of the wrong side of a glass,
or eating a spoon of sugar are all reputed to be cures. Though they are really no more
than folk beliefs, they often seem to work.

Whether one suffers from hiccups or from a more serious ailment such as cancer
or a neuromuscular disease. It is the goal of those working in the field of medicine to help.
This goal is achieved to a much greater degree today than in the past due to the advances
of medical science.

ANSWER THIS QUESTIONAIRE

1. Why are smallpox and poliomyelitis no longer serious threats to mankind?

2. What disease is the greatest killer in modern society? Is it always fatal?

3. Explain what happens to a patient suffering from arteriosclerosis. How can the risk of
arteriosclerosis be reduced?

4. What is the medical name for a heart attack? What happens to the victim during such
an attack?

5. What may be the result of a stroke?

6. What modern medical advances can help the heart victim?

7. Name two types of cancer. Where does each originate?

8. Explain what happens to a victim of cancer. Why is cancer so feared?

9. How can a malignant tumor be detected?

10. What techniques have been developed for treating cancer?

11 What part of the body is affected by tuberculosis? Name two methods of detecting
sufferers of T.B.

12. The polio virus attacks the central nervous system. What happens to the affected parts
of the body?
13. Name three neuromuscular diseases. What are the symptoms? Are there any real
cures?

14. Painful urination is a symptom of a disease affecting one particular organ. Which one?

15. What disease, indicated by a yellow coloring to the skin, can be caused by an infected
hypodermic needle?

16. What disease requires daily injections of insulin?

17. What parts of the body are affected by arthritis and rheumatism?

18. How can diarrhea, dysentery, amebiasis, and parasites be avoided?

19. Ho do people get rid of the hiccups in Mexico? Write as many ways you have tried.