health and disease

• Health


  A state of both physical and mental well-being
• We don't see ourselves as either healthy or unhealthy, instead we exist on a spectrum with some people being either more or less healthier than others in certain ways
• Factors for good health


  • A well-balanced diet
  • Getting enough exercise
  • Getting enough sleep
  • Having access to medical care
  • Preventive medicines like vaccines
• Factors for poor health

  • Lack of the factors for good health
  • Too much stress
• Disease


  A large group of conditions that can cause ill health
• Types of diseases


  • Communicable diseases (infectious diseases)
  • Non-communicable diseases
• Communicable diseases


  • Can spread from person to person or between animals and people
  • Caused by viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi
• Communicable diseases


  • Common cold
  • Malaria
  • Meningitis
• Non-communicable diseases


  • Can't be spread between different people
  • Generally start more slowly and last a long time, with some never going away
• Problems with the immune system

  Increased susceptibility to communicable diseases
• Some viruses


  Can cause certain cancers (e.g. HPV and cervical cancer)
• Immune system overreacting to a pathogen


  Can cause skin rashes and asthma
• Severe physical health problems

  Can have a big impact on mental health, potentially causing depression or chronic anxiety
• The immune system is the body's defense against infection, illness, and foreign substances.
• Immune cells are specialized white blood cells that defend the body from pathogens and other threats.