Health and Disease

• What is good health

  Good health is a state of physical and mental wellbeing
• What is a disease

  • A disease is caused by a part of the body not working properly 
  • This can affect physical health and/or mental health
• The 2 types of disease

  • Communicable diseases 
  • Non communicable diseases
• What are communicable diseases

  • Communicable diseases can diseases that can be spread between organisms (person to person) (e.g. measles)  
  • Communicable diseases are spread by pathogens (e.g. bacteria and viruses)
• What are non-communicable diseases

  • Non-communicable diseases are diseases that cannot be spread between organisms (person to person) (e.g. coronary heart disease)  
  • Non-communicable diseases are not spread by pathogens
• What can ill health be caused by

  • Ill health can be caused by communicable and non-communicable diseases  
  • It can also be cause by poor diet , high levels of stress , and other life situations e.g. working with harmful chemicals
• Different types of diseases can interact
• How does having HIV increase the risk of contracting Tuberculosis

  • Tuberculosis (TB) is a communicable lung disease - it can be fatal 
  • In most people, the immune system can fight of Tuberculosis 
  • However some people have a defective immune system , such as people with HIV 
  • People with a defective immune system are much more likely to suffer from infectious disease 
  • So having HIV increases the risk of contracting Tuberculosis
• Diseases of the immune system mean that an individual is much more likely to catch infectious disease
• How does HPV cause cervical cancer

  • Human papilloma virus (HPV) is extremely common - in most people it is harmless 
  • In some people, HPV can cause cervical cancer 
  • Around 3000 women get diagnosed with cervical cancer every year in the UK 
  • Most cervical cancers are caused by the human papilloma virus which infects the cells of the cervix

  
• How does a pathogen infecting the body cause an allergy

  • Sometimes a disease can be triggered by the immune system e.g. allergies, such as asthma or dermatitis 
  • This happens when the body is infected with a pathogen which the immune system fights of , but the person is then left with an allergy
• Physical illnesses can trigger mental illnesses

  • Sometimes a physical illness can trigger a mental illness 
  • People with arthritis (A very painful join condition) can find it very hard to move and lead a normal life 
  • In certain cases this can make them feel isolated and depressed
• Non communicable diseases and money

  • Non-communicable diseases, such as cancers and diabetes can, change a person’s life and cost countries large sums of money 
  • About 10% of the health budget is spent on people with diabetes