Lesson 2: Health and Diseases

In the figure : In the figure health has three sides: physical, mental and social well-being.

Rule 1: Three sides of health — Physical: a body that works well. Mental: a calm and positive mind. Social: good relations with family, friends and society. All three are needed.

• Easy : Playing with friends in the evening helps all three.
• Medium : A student who is worried before exams may be physically fine but mentally stressed; talking to a teacher or parent helps.
• Exam-type : Health is not only the absence of disease; a person can be thin and lonely and still not be healthy in a complete sense.

In the figure : In the figure diseases are grouped as acute or chronic, hereditary or acquired, and infectious or non-infectious.

Rule 2: Types of disease — Acute (तीव्र): short-lived, like a cold. Chronic (दीर्घकालीन): lasts long. Hereditary: passed from parents (Down's syndrome). Acquired: gained during life. Infectious: spread by pathogens. Non-infectious: not spread from person to person.

• Easy : A common cold is acute.
• Medium : Diabetes is chronic and non-infectious: you cannot catch it from a friend.
• Exam-type : Down's syndrome is hereditary. Cholera is acquired and infectious.

Spot the difference

In the figure : In the figure TB mainly affects the lungs, cholera and typhoid affect the intestine, and hepatitis affects the liver.

Rule 1: Some infectious diseases — TB is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis; BCG vaccine, isolation and DOT treatment are used. Cholera is caused by Vibrio cholerae, typhoid by Salmonella typhi, and hepatitis spreads through water, needles and blood.

• Easy : TB mostly affects the lungs.
• Medium : Cholera and typhoid spread by dirty water and food.
• Exam-type : A cough that lasts for weeks, with weight loss, needs a doctor's test for TB; treatment has to be completed fully.

In the figure : In the figure the ways of spread are droplets in the air (TB), dirty water or food (cholera, typhoid), infected needles and blood (hepatitis, HIV) and the bite of a vector mosquito (dengue, malaria).

Rule 2: Ways of spread and prevention — Air (droplets), water and food, blood and needles, and vector bites are the main ways. Prevention: clean drinking water, hygiene, vaccination and safe food.

• Easy : Boil or filter drinking water in the rainy season.
• Medium : Cover your mouth when coughing to stop droplets spreading.
• Exam-type : Use a new, sealed needle for every injection to prevent hepatitis.

Spot the difference

In the figure : In the figure Aedes aegypti spreads dengue, the female Anopheles spreads malaria and Culex spreads elephantiasis.

Rule 1: Mosquito vectors — Aedes aegypti spreads dengue. The female Anopheles spreads malaria. Culex spreads elephantiasis.

• Easy : Only the female Anopheles spreads malaria.
• Medium : Dengue mosquitoes breed in clean stagnant water in coolers, buckets and tyres.
• Exam-type : Emptying coolers and buckets once a week breaks the mosquito life cycle.

In the figure : In the figure a vector carries the pathogen from an infected person to a healthy one. Draining stagnant water stops mosquitoes from breeding.

Rule 2: Control of mosquitoes — Drain or cover stagnant water, use nets and repellents, and keep surroundings clean. Swine flu (H1N1, an outbreak in Mexico in 2009) and AIDS (HIV) are viral diseases, and AIDS is detected by the ELISA test and is not spread by touch or food. For rabies, vaccinate after an animal bite on time.

• Easy : Sleep under a mosquito net.
• Medium : A bucket left outside for 10 days collects rain water: mosquito larvae grow. Empty it.
• Exam-type : Mexico had the 2009 H1N1 outbreak, which is why swine flu is also linked with that year.

Spot the difference

In the figure : In the figure HIV spreads through infected needles, infected blood and from an infected mother to her baby. It does not spread by hugging, shaking hands or sharing food.

Rule 1: HIV and AIDS — HIV spreads only through infected needles, infected blood and from an infected mother to her baby. The ELISA test detects it. It does not spread by touch, hugging, shaking hands or sharing food, so a person with HIV should be treated with respect.

• Easy : Sitting next to a person with HIV does not spread HIV.
• Medium : Using a new needle for each injection and tested blood for transfusion reduce the risk.
• Exam-type : Refusing to play with a classmate who has HIV is wrong, because HIV does not spread by play or sharing lunch.

In the figure : In the figure, in cancer the cells divide without control and pile up as a lump.

Rule 2: Cancer — In cancer, cells divide without control and pile up as a lump. Early checking and treatment help. Tobacco and its products increase the risk.

• Easy : A lump that keeps growing needs a doctor's check.
• Medium : Normal cells divide and stop; cancer cells keep dividing.
• Exam-type : Avoiding tobacco is one of the best ways to lower the cancer risk.

In the figure : In the figure, after an animal bite, wash the wound and take the rabies vaccine in time.

Rule 3: Rabies — After a bite by a dog or other animal, wash the wound with clean water and soap and take the rabies vaccine on time, as advised by a doctor.

• Easy : Wash a dog-bite wound with soap and water.
• Medium : Do not wait: go to a doctor on the same day for the vaccine.
• Exam-type : Pets should be vaccinated every year to protect people and animals.

In the figure : In the figure, in a heart attack call 108 and give 30 chest compressions at 100 to 120 per minute.

Rule 4: Heart attack first aid — Call 108 at once. If the person is unconscious and not breathing, give chest compressions: 30 compressions at 100-120 per minute. Compressions are given in the centre of the chest.

• Easy : Call 108 first for an ambulance.
• Medium : 30 compressions at 120 per minute take 30 ÷ 120 = 0.25 minute = 15 seconds.
• Exam-type : At 100 per minute, 30 compressions take 30 ÷ 100 = 0.3 minute = 18 seconds.

In the figure : In the figure insulin from the pancreas keeps blood sugar under control. In diabetes the body makes or uses too little insulin and the sugar stays high.

Rule 5: Diabetes and heart disease — Diabetes: insulin made by the pancreas controls blood sugar. In diabetes the body makes or uses too little insulin, so sugar stays high. Heart disease affects the heart; a healthy lifestyle lowers the risk.

• Easy : The pancreas makes insulin.
• Medium : Eating too many sweets and little exercise raise the risk of diabetes.
• Exam-type : A person with diabetes must follow the doctor's advice on food and medicine.

Spot the difference

In the figure : In the figure generic medicines have the same quality as branded ones but cost much less. The Jan Aushadhi Yojana (1 July 2015) makes them easy to get.

Rule 1: Healthy habits and medicines — Healthy lifestyle: balanced diet, exercise, sleep and no tobacco. Jan Aushadhi Yojana (started 1 July 2015) supplies low-cost generic medicines. Take medicines only as the doctor advises.

• Easy : A generic medicine of ₹30 and a branded one of ₹120 can have the same content.
• Medium : Saving = 120 − 30 = ₹90 on each strip, which is 90 ÷ 120 × 100 = 75 percent.
• Exam-type : From 1 July 2015 to 2026 is 11 years of the Jan Aushadhi Yojana.

In the figure : In the figure one unit of donated blood can help 3 persons. World Health Day is on 7 April.

Rule 2: Blood donation and World Health Day — One unit of donated blood can help 3 persons. World Health Day is celebrated on 7 April.

• Easy : 5 units of blood can help 5 × 3 = 15 persons.
• Medium : To help 21 persons you need 21 ÷ 3 = 7 units.
• Exam-type : Only healthy adults of age 18 and above (as per rules) donate blood, after a doctor's check.

Spot the difference