Health Flashcards
1
Q
How is Cholera spread?
A
- Cholera is spread through dirty/infected water
- People contract the disease when they drink the dirty/infected water
- People use the dirty/infected water to clean food so food then becomes contaminated
- When people defecate in open areas near rivers the faeces is washed into nearby water supplies which infects the water people use
- If people do not clean hands after going to the toilet they can contract the disease if they eat or touch their hands
- Flies land on faeces and pick up the parasite, which they transmit to whatever they touch
2
Q
What are the effects of cholera?
A
- Cholera can cause extreme sickness, vomiting, muscle cramps and diarrhoea within 2 to 5 days of infection, this can cause the victim to become dehydrated very quickly due to loss of body fluids and can lead to shock,
a severe drop in blood pressure and death if not treated quickly
-cholera often has the worst impact on areas where lots of people are living close together in insanitary conditions because the bacteria can spread so quickly
from person to person, this is often the result of a natural disaster such as
an earthquake or hurricane or due to war damage
- Children are at particular risk and can die from cholera within 24 to 48 hours if they don’t
receive the right treatment - Up to 60% of people who develop cholera will
die if they are not treated - The impact on communities is therefore very
high as workers are off sick and productivity is consequently very low this affects the whole economy of the country as resources are used up fighting
the cholera outbreak instead of being invested in other areas such as education - People who recover from cholera are often weak and have lowered resistance to fight off other diseases, so their long term health suffers
3
Q
What are solutions to reduce cholera?
A
- One of the main ways to reduce or control the spread of cholera is to improve sanitation which stops disease from spreading. Providing wells and pipes makes drinking water safe and clean
- Health Education encourages people to wash hands often with soap and safe water preventing infection as does building and use of latrines
- Because of contaminated water people should cook their food well and eat it hot
- Food stuffs should be kept covered and fruit and vegetables should be peeled to prevent contamination
- Cholera is an easily treatable disease. The main ways to treat cholera are either a simple drink made from 1 litre of safe water, 6-8 teaspoons of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt helps to re-hydrate sufferers so that they can fight off the disease or
re-hydration tablets, if available - Treatment with antibiotics is recommended for severely ill patients to help fight the infection
4
Q
What are causes of heart disease?
A
Diet – fatty foods (saturated fats) cause people to put on weight which increases strain on the heart. Fats and cholesterol build up and narrow the arteries which puts strain on the heart.
Exercise – lack of exercise raises blood pressure and causes people to become overweight
Smoking – nicotine increases the heart rate and blood pressure, this means that more oxygen is needed as smokers lose oxygen whilst smoking. However, many smokers have a reduced ability to take in oxygen due to problems with their lungs.
Stress – stress increases blood pressure and puts strain on the heart, people may then comfort eat fatty foods, which narrow arteries further.
Inheritance – people can inherit high blood pressure and cholesterol and can get heart disease passed to them genetically
Alcohol - drinking too much alcohol can increase risk of heart disease
5
Q
What are strategies to manage heart disease?
A
- Education – money spend on media/poster campaigns to help reduce the cost of treating the disease.
- Advice given on healthy foods and which should be avoided (e.g. food labels have more information)
- People encouraged to do more exercise – increase in sports facilities (e.g. jogging tracks and cycle lanes)
- Campaigns to stop smoking – more help/advice available (e.g. nicotine patches/helplines/chewing gum/cigarettes kept behind screens)
- Increased awareness that stress if harmful and more knowledge on how to reduce stress (e.g. exercise/mindfulness)
- More medical check ups available for cholesterol/blood pressure – people can find out if they are at risk of heart disease and do something about it.
- Advanced treatments – better medical equipment (e.g. pacemakers, artificial heart valves), increasing success of heart by-pass surgery and drugs available to manage the disease (e.g. aspirin to reduce blood clotting and beta-blockers to reduce heart rate)
6
Q
What are the effects of heart disease?
A
- The cost of healthcare to treat people with heart disease will rise this is because people may require advanced medication or surgery
- People with heart disease have a higher risk of death. This means that life insurance/funeral costs will increase and a country’s life expectancy will decrease.
- Those with heart disease are unable to work. This means that support services and benefits will be put under a lot of strain.
- If heart disease is inherited within a family this means that a lot of care and support is required which can be physically and mentally draining.
- If there are high levels of heart disease in a country, more resources such as doctors, nurses and hospital beds will be required and this puts strain on health care systems as there are not enough resources to go round.
7
Q
What can HIV/AIDS be spread?
A
- Sharing infected needles – if an uninfected person uses an infected needle HIV will enter their body
- Unprotected sexual contact – sharing of infected bodily fluids
- Infected blood transfusions – someone takes blood contaminated with HIV they will contract it
- Unsafe medical injections – developing countries are unable to sterilise equipment or afford disposable needles
- Infected bodily fluids/tissues – during operations in developing countries people can become infected
- Spreads from mother to baby during pregnancy, child-birth or breast feeding
8
Q
What are the effects of HIV/AIDS?
A
- Prevention, detection and treatment of AIDS is expensive.
- In some African countries, one third of all hospital beds are occupied by HIV/AIDS patients - less money and less health care for people with other diseases
- AIDS is a progressively debilitating disease – infected people are unable to work and have to become dependent on state benefits (if available)
- Many people become unable to work and productivity on farms/factories is lowered
- Responsibility falls on older children to earn money, provide food and care for their family – they lose out on education so next generation of African adults will be less educated/wealthy.
- Because there are fewer people working, there are fewer taxpayers so country produces less wealth and has less money to carry out development and improve the standard of living.
- Many AIDS sufferers are victims of discrimination in the workplace and in society and could suffer emotionally as well
9
Q
What are solutions to manage HIV/AIDS?
A
- Health and education programmes
- Medical Treatment
- Awareness Campaigns
10
Q
What are examples of Health and education programmes to help manage HIV/AIDS?
A
- In South Africa bill boards and leaflets to inform people of the risk of unprotected sex, as many people are illiterate
- Worn about risks of sharing needles and open needle banks
- Make condoms more widely available/ distribute condoms
- Encouragement to abstain form sex until after marriage
11
Q
What are examples of Medical Treatment to help manage HIV/AIDS?
A
- Drugs like ARVs help control the disease and prolong the lives of sufferers
- Blood is screened before use in transfusions but only in developed countries
- Disposable syringes to reduce the use of re-using/sharing needles
- Increase the availability of testing so people know if they have the disease and can take action
- Money from the World Bank has also been put into research to help develop a vaccine and drugs are being developed to stop the disease from passing from mother to baby.
12
Q
What are examples of Awareness Campaigns to help manage HIV/AIDS?
A
- UN/World AIDS day used to highlight causes and effects of the disease
- Large scale projects such as global AIDS Initiatives and national initiatives, e.g. in South Africa with the aim of providing ARV drugs as well as education and free condoms
