2. Health Watch
Disease – is an illness or any harmful
condition in your body.
Communicable disease – is a kind of
disease caused by the presence of germs
or virus that are easily transferred from
one person to another or from a bite of
an infected animal.
Some of the common communicable
diseases are the following:
1. Cold – it is the common infection
caused by a virus. It gives you
runny nose, sore throat, fever,
headache, and pain. Common cold
usually does not need medication
because it disappears after several
days. When you have cold, you
have to drink plenty of water or
fruit juices and have complete rest.
3. 2. Influenza or flu – it is a disease caused by a
virus that attacks the upper respiratory
tract. Coughing or sneezing causes the virus
to spread through the air. Here are some
common signs of having the flu.
a) Chills
b) Fever
c) Headache
d) Dry cough
e) Sore throat
f) muscle and joint pains
g) Loss of appetite
h) tiredness
When you have influenza, you have to take
a rest and get plenty of sleep. As much as
possible, stay away from the people to avoid
spreading the disease. You also have to
drink plenty of water and fruit juice. If you
have sore throat, gargle with warm salted
water.
4. 3. Malaria – it is a disease caused by a bite of
an infected Anopheles mosquito. This type
of mosquito is found in tropical countries
like the Philippines.
A person who infected by malaria
experiences the following symptoms:
a) Chills and fever
b) Excessive sweating
c) Headache, nausea and vomiting
d) Tiredness and muscle pain
e) Enlargement of the spleen
Malaria is a fatal disease that requires
hospitalization. When you have symptoms
of malaria, you need to go to the doctor
immediately for proper treatment.
5. 4. Dengue or hemorrhagic fever – it is a disease
cause by a virus transferred to the people by
the bite of the mosquito called Aedes
aegypti or the Aedes albopictus or the
Asian tiger mosquito.
Here are some signs and symptoms of dengue fever:
a. On and off fever that lasts for about two to seven days.
b. Joint pains and severe headaches
c. Appearance of rashes
d. Severe abdominal pain
e. Bleeding nose and gums
f. Vomiting, fatigue, and restlessness
g. Low blood platelet count
6. 5. Measles – it is highly contagious disease
that is primarily caused by the rubeola
virus. The common signs of measles are
fever, inflamed eyes, dry cough, runny
nose, dusky blotch rash spreading from
face to body, and white spots in the
mouth.
6. Whooping cough – it is a disease that
usually affects children and causes
severe coughing and difficulty in
breathing. It spreads through direct
contact with the infected person. It is
advised to carefully dispose
contaminated objects such as tissue
paper. Antibiotics are required to be
taken by the infected person to treat
pertussis.
7. Strep throat – it is a painful infection
of the throat caused by the
streptococcus bacteria. The following
symptoms of strep throat are fever,
sore throat, swollen glands, and
pustular tonsils.
7. 8. Gastrointestinal infections – it is a disease that affects both stomach and intestines. It
is primarily caused by bacteria called campylobacter. A person with this infection
suffers from abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, nausea, vomiting, and malaise.
General Risk Factors of Disease
Here are some of the factors that greatly affect your health:
Heredity - genes play an important role in determining the life span of an
individual. Some people may inherit factors that can affect the metabolic rate of a
person such as an underactive thyroid gland. An under thyroid gland can
decrease metabolic rate that may result in obesity. Other people may inherit factors
that affect their cholesterol level. Cholesterol is a fatty substance that is vital for
good health but increased levels of cholesterol may lead to heart disease.
8. General Risk Factors of Disease
Here are some of the factors that greatly affect your health:
Environment – in order to achieve good health, one must obtain safe water, clean
air, healthy work places, safe houses, secured communities, and paved roads.
Lifestyle – it is a typical way of life that can affect one’s health and life expectancy.
Imbalanced diet or poor eating habits may cause chronic diseases such as diabetes
and hypertension.
