Common Colds

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Common Colds 

The lungs are susceptible to different kinds of diseases. This may be due to exposure to the external environment. It may also be due to the spread of the disease from other parts of the body.

Each lung has a large surface area making it susceptible to many airborne diseases. However, the tissues of the lungs are, by nature, very resistant to diseases. It is only when the person is physically weak that respiratory ailment affect the lungs. Some common respiratory diseases may involve the lungs and/or the other respiratory organs located above the lungs.

Twenty-five percent of the ailments reported to doctors are upper respiratory disorders. This is because the air inhaled may carry not only air but also dirt, dust, particulates, viruses, and bacteria. The impurities are deposited in the upper respiratory system, they infect the respiratory tract.

Common Colds

The common cold or acute coryza is an infection of the upper respiratory tract. It can be caused by any one of more than 200 viruses. When the infection occurs, the walls of the respiratory tract swell and produce excess mucus. It thus gives rise to the typical cold symptoms of stuffy or runny nose, throat discomfort, malaise, and occasional coughing.

Colds can produces fevers of up to 39C or 102F in infants and children. Such fevers in adults indicate that the infection is probably influenza. Most colds run their course in three to ten days, but infants and elderly persons are susceptible to complications such as sinusitis, ear inflammations, and pneumonia.

All cold viruses are spread by direct contact or by airborne particles. They become seasonally epidemic.

Preventive Measures and Treatment

                Because of the number of viruses involved, people do not develop immunity to colds as they do too many other viral diseases. Vaccines are of little use in prevention because so many kinds of viruses are involved. To prevent catching colds, avoid crowded places and people who have colds. At the onset of colds, a quick and very hot bath can stop colds.

                Colds are treated with rest and fluids such as fruit juices and water. In addition, medication such as antihistamines, decongestants, and cough medicines may also be prescribes. Some people with colds also eat whole fresh lemon and raw or half cooked onions to treat their colds. Aspirin is recommended only when symptoms are severe. Indiscriminate taking of aspirin increases viral shedding and makes the disease more contagious.

                In case of high fever, apply cold compress on the forehead and/or quick sponge bath. Paracetamol is also used to bring down the temperature. However, if fever persists, call for professional medical help.

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• Should You Use Zinc to Fight a Cold? (tjantunen.com)

Diseases Affecting the Urinary System

The diseases affecting the urinary system include disease both of the urinary tract and the kidneys. Urinary disorders can be categorized into two:

1.       Disorders Obstructing the Urine Outflow

Obstruction of the urinary tract causes blockage of the outflow of urine leads to renal damage. Numerous types of lesions can cause obstruction such as congenital malformations and hereditary disorders, stones, tumors, cystitis, and others.

Kidney stones and bladder stones are caused by the precipitation of insoluble materials from the urine. Uric acid atones develop in some persons with gout. Calcium stones develop in some persons with tumors of the parathyroid glands.

Cystitis is an inflammation of the wall and lining of the urinary bladder. It often results from bacterial infection. It is prevalent in women during childbearing years, especially during pregnancy. Drugs can also cause cystitis, but inflammation subsides when these drugs are discontinued. Symptoms of cystitis include frequent and painful urination, cloudy and/or bloody urine, and pain and tenderness over the bladder. Most cystitis cases respond to treatment with antibiotics.

2.       Disorders of Renal Blood Flow

A decrease in renal blood flow (blood flow in the kidneys) may be due to other causes. These causes include a reduced cardiac output due to heart failure. It may also be due to a decreased blood volume as in hemorrhage or dehydration. It may also be due to decreased blood pressure or hypotension. Toxemia of pregnancy and thrombosis of the veins may also cause kidney failure. Correction of renal flow will naturally follow when the primary causes are corrected.

Care if the Urinary System

To keep the urinary system healthy, we must be concerned with its external and internal conditions.

1.       Drink 8 or more glasses of water and other liquids every day. Water helps dissolve and eliminate toxic wastes of metabolisms. It also helps the kidney remove liquid wastes from the body. Drinking much water helps us urinate frequently. This is the best way of eliminating liquid wastes.

2.       Do not withhold urge to urinate. If you do so, the toxic substances like uric acid, salt, and calcium will crystallize and deposit in the kidney or in the bladder. This will cause the formation of the stones.

3.       Avoid eating very salty foods. Excess salt in the body may not be all eliminated. They might be stored as salt crystals and form stones too.

4.       Keep the genitals and surrounding area always clean. Use clean water in cleaning genitals. This will prevent the accumulation of bacteria that may inhabit in this part of the body. If not removed, bacteria may cause some infections of the urinary tract.

5.       Take a bath daily of more if necessary. Wash your skin with soap and water to remove dirt and parasites. It is good to perspire, but is you perspire, dry it right away with clean cloth. Then as you go home, take a bath to remove the dirt that still cling on your skin.

6.       Underwear is for personal use. Do not borrow from others. Change every day or more often. Bacteria and parasites that may harm the urinary system are likely deposited in some underwear which is not clean.