Disease: A Indicator Of Our Health Status

All the people in this world presume that they are very healthy than his neighbor until the point that they fall sick. In one way sickness if diagnosed in the early stages may look like an indicator by which an individual can take preventive measures and make necessary amendments. During the early times primitive man treated disease as a curse from the gods and the person who was sick had to go through various rituals and was treated as an outcast for as long as the disease is with him.

He was kept out of the community and sometimes had to pay with his life for the disease which had occurred to for no reason of his. By with time gradually passing by many natural cures were being found out. The physicians during the old times advised medicines which came from the natural resources like medicinal herbs, medicinal flowers and plants. Thereby with the passage of time a lot of research was done and definitive medicines for particular disease were discovered and are being used. A disease when diagnosed in the early stages is like a cautionary warning which helps a person to retrospect his health status.

The risk of health deterioration depends on how soon he reacts to curing the disease. Like in the olden days, diseases are now not treated as a curse from the gods. There are certain disease which occur due to an individual’s deeds like HIV AIDS, Sexually transmitted disease, cancer and there are certain types of diseases which occur due to the surroundings like small pox, malaria, plague. There is never an escape from the disease for as long as we live in this world and only way is to prevent from affecting us is to live a healthy life by eating good food and doing regular exercise.

Human Papillomavirus

Papilloma. Human papillomavirus (HPV)
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Sexually transmitted diseases, or STDs, are a reality and at times life threatening one, that all of us who become sexually active must confront at one time or another throughout our lives. Once the human body reaches sexual maturity, which tends to vary among individuals but generally occurs between 12 and 15 years of age, it is the responsibility of that person and his or her parents to become aware of the risks involved with sexual activity. Though certainly not all young teens become sexually active once their bodies reach that potential, it is important to note that intercourse involves other risks to their bodies well being and the future they anticipate for themselves beyond pregnancy.

There are a large number of sexually transmitted diseases in the world today, and a handful can prove deadly if left untreated, or treated improperly. One in particular, Human Papillomavirus (HPV), is of particular relevance today, as until only recently was an effective vaccine developed and made available for inoculations. Even though, HPV is one considered to be the most prevalent STD in the United States. Most people that are carriers of this disease are not even aware they have it. One can have HPV and display no symptoms, thereby spread the disease to one or several partners without ever being aware of having it.

In those cases where symptoms do occur, carriers of the virus may develop genital warts, while women in particular may yield abnormal cervical Papanicolaou (Pap) tests. These tests will reveal abnormal cell growth that if left untreated can develop into pre-cancer or cancer of the vagina, vulva and cervix. If abnormal cell growth is discovered, treatment includes removal of the affected area with a cauterizing loop or treatment via cryotherapy (freezing).

The best alternative for dealing with HPV is through prevention, and GARDASIL is the only human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine available and effective against four types of HPV.

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AIDS Prevention

The less deadly variety of sexually transmitted diseases, such as genital warts or herpes have taken the focus of most media outlets in terms of publicity and public awareness. HIV and AIDS, though often discussed and certainly a hot topic during the 1980s and 1990s seem to have more recently dropped back from the spotlight and away from the general public’s purview. Nevertheless, AIDS continues to affect millions of people worldwide and only a fraction of them are offered effective treatment to control this deadly virus.

It is therefore no surprise that most people with access to effective treatment live within developed countries; and even then, those with most access to treatment tend to be among the wealthy with the capability to pay for much of the treatment that isn’t covered by national healthcare, should one exist.

After years and billions of dollars spent researching AIDS, the cure continues to evade scientists around the world. Prevention still remains the only way to combat this epidemic, and the media continues to be one of the more effective tools for promoting effective preventive measures amongst the younger, more vulnerable populations.

Approximately 30 million people live with HIV and AIDS, and roughly one million of them live in the United States. This represents a large segment of our population, and one that requires continued attention in terms of proper care and preventative measures among those populations more prone to infection. Certain types of preventative care might include the use of condoms, avoiding high risk behavior such as the sharing of syringe needles, decreased promiscuity, or even abstinence. Many of those infected can even be unaware that they are carrying the virus; in which case, the importance of HIV testing particularly among populations with higher risk of obtaining the disease should be strongly advised, if not mandated.

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