#2 INFECTIONS:

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  Who hasn't got an infection? all of us have! Today lets actually understand the real science and meaning behind an infection. An infection is a conquer of an organisms body tissues by any kind of germ like bacteria, virus, fungus, etc. When a germ enters our body, they multiply in number and cause a number of reactions in our body.


There are 3 things necessary for an infection to occur:

  • Source : The place/person from where you catch the infection( eg. surfaces, washrooms, handshake)
  • An easy to target person : helps them to enter the body without much obstacles.
  • Spread of the disease to the person. Germs don’t move themselves, they depend on people or the environment to start the transmission.


After the germs multiply in our body, they target a body tissue or organ and start killing it. Meanwhile, our body's immune system gets awakened and it tries to fight back with the germ, and we experience  certain symptoms of the particular disease.
  
There are 5 types of infections, viz; bacterial, protozoan, fungal, viral and by parasitic worms. Most common type of infection is caused by either bacteria or virus.


  1. Bacterial infections include pneumonia caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, Tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, meningitis(swelling of brain) caused by Neisseria meningitidis, Urinary tract infections, skin infections, etc

2. Viral infections  include common cold caused by the rhinovirus,COVID-19 caused by coronavirus, skin infections and warts caused by HP virus, polio caused by poliovirus, influenza flu, etc 

3.Fungal infections  include mucormycosis caused by mucor fungi, candidiasis caused by candidia fungi, athletes foot 

4.Protozoan infections  include african sleeping sickness caused by tse tse fly, amoebic dysentry caused by Entamoeba histolytica, malaria caused by plasmodium, etc 


5.Worm infections include common water related diseases are caused by guinea worm, schistostomiasis, giardiasis, etc


Signs of infections
Some general signs of infections are  fever, chills, sweats, stuffed or runny nose, headaches, sore throat, tiredness, body ache, joint pain, etc
  

                                                                                                    
                              PREVENTION 
Here are some  general ways to prevent an infection :
  • Washing hands well with a handwash or even a sanitizer frequently to avoid being contacted with germs 
  • cover your mouth while coughing or sneezing to prevent others from getting the disease( dont be selfish lol)
  • Always cover open wounds or blemishes and never squeeze pimples 
  • Dont share the personal stuff like bath towels, soaps, creams, razors, etc ( sharing is not caring in this case)
  • Rinse all meat, poultry, fish, fruits, and vegetables under running water before cooking or serving them.
  • Do not eat foods that are refrigerated for more than 3 days (unless they contain preservatives)
  • Get vaccinated for all the necessary diseases.
  • keep the surroundings clean by using disinfectants.

Although prevention is better than cure, incase you get an infection heres what you can do   ( inspite of the fact that different infections have different medications ) :
  • Doctors/Health officers usually prescribe oral antibiotics to kill the underlying germs in the body.
  • in addition,  natural immunity boosters like citrus fruits, ginger, lemon, curds, nuts, etc can be taken to fasten the healing process 


                                                        












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