TASK 1 (P1/M1) (P2/M2) A REPORT DESCRIBING THREE DIFFERENT TYPES DISEASES.

INFECTIOUS DISEASES Infectious diseases these are caused by micro-organisms including bacteria, viruses, and fungi, and other parasites such as worms. They diseases can be spread, directly or indirectly, from one person to another. Example of an infectious disease Malaria

When Plasmodium parasites enter the human bloodstream, they travel to the liver and reproduce quickly. In most forms of malaria, some parasites also flow into the bloodstream and destroy red blood cells, which carry vital oxygen to the tissues of the body. This can result in anaemia (a decreased number of red blood cells). The parasites that stay in the liver continue to reproduce and periodically send more parasites into the bloodstream. This results in repeated attacks of flu-like symptoms each time new parasites are released into the blood. What causes malaria?

The malaria parasite, Plasmodium, is a small, single-cell organism (protozoan) that lives as a parasite in man and a specific species of mosquito (Anopheles). There are four different types of malaria parasite: Plasmodium falciparum is the cause of fatal malaria, while Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale and Plasmodium malariae cause more benign types of malaria. Falciparum malaria can kill, but the other forms are much less likely to prove fatal. Symptoms of malaria

Symptoms first appear in about eight to 30 days after a bite from an infected mosquito. Repeated bouts or attacks occur every two to three days. Symptoms are similar to those of the flu. The main symptom of malaria is a fever that occurs in regular episodes, with sweating and shivers (known as rigors), and exhaustion (because of anaemia). In some cases, it can affect the brain or kidneys. Treatments for malaria

The treatment of malaria depends on the severity of the disease; whether patients who can take oral drugs have to be admitted depends on the assessment and the experience of the clinician. Uncomplicated malaria is treated with oral drugs. Severe malaria requires the parenteral administration of antimalarial drugs.

Preventing malaria

By far the most important step is to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes by:

Using effective insect repellent Wearing long sleeves and full-length trousers Staying in accommodation with screen doors and closing windows Spraying insecticides on your home's walls to kill adult mosquitoes that come inside. Sleeping under bed nets, which are especially effective if they have been treated with insecticide. Taking anti-malaria medications for malaria prophylaxis (prevention of spread). Eliminating places around your home where mosquitoes breed. Can malaria be cured or eradicated Malaria can be cured with proper diagnosis and immediate treatment. There is medicine that may be used as to cure malaria if the disease is treated early enough. Examples of these medications include chloroquine, mefloquine, and quinine. These medicines work by killing the parasite that causes the disease.

ENVIRONMENTAL DISEASES Environmental diseases-Environmental diseases are illnesses and conditions that result from manmade environmental problems. Example of an environmental disease Asthma

Asthma is an inflammatory disease of the lung. This inflammatory process can occur along the entire airway from the nose to the lung. Once the airway becomes swollen and inflamed it becomes narrower, allowing less air through to the lung tissue and causing symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and trouble breathing. What causes asthma?

Asthma has many different causes, but scientists still don't know exactly what these are. You may have oversensitive airways, a family history of asthma or be allergic to one or more asthma triggers.

Some doctors believe the airways become oversensitive because cells in the lungs are damaged by viruses. Others believe the initial damage is caused by an allergic reaction causing the lungs to overreact to viral infections. One of the most common predisposing factors for asthma is an allergy to:

House dust mites Mould spores Pollen Pets Food allergies Symptoms of asthma

The symptoms of asthma include:

feeling breathless (you may gasp for breath) a tight chest, like a band tightening around it wheezing, which makes a whistling sound when you breathe coughing, particularly at night and early morning attacks triggered by exercise, exposure to allergens and other triggers

Treatments for asthma

There are two main treatments for asthma: preventers and relievers. These come in a variety of delivery devices called inhalers, which enable you to breathe the medicine in through your mouth, directly into your lungs. The addition of a spacer device increases the medication delivered to the lungs.

Preventing asthma

The first step in asthma management is environmental control. Asthmatics cannot escape the environment, but through some changes, they can control its impact on their health. Ways of preventing asthma:

Clean the house at least once a week and wear a mask while doing it Avoid pets with fur or feathers Wash the bedding (sheets, pillow cases, mattress pads) weekly in hot water Encase the mattress, pillows and box springs in dust-proof covers Replace bedding made of down, kapok or foam rubber with synthetic materials Consider replacing upholstered furniture with leather or vinyl Consider replacing carpeting with hardwood floors or tile Use the air conditioner

Keep the humidity in the house low

The second step is to monitor lung function. Asthmatics use a peak flow meter to gauge their lung function. Lung function decreases before symptoms of an asthma attack - usually about two to three days prior. If the meter indicates the peak flow is down by 20 percent or more from your usual best effort, an asthma attack is on its way. Can asthma be cured?

Asthma is an incurable illness, but is an eminently controllable illness. For most sufferers, control is so effective that it amounts to a virtual cure. But asthma is not curable in the same way as, say, a bacterial pneumonia; it never entirely goes away. However, with good treatment and management there is no reason why a person with asthma cannot live a normal and active life.

DEGENERATIVE DISEASES Degenerative disease- This is the breakdown of body cell, tissues, organs and or organ system

Example of a degenerative disease Alzheimer Dementia is a brain disorder that seriously affects a person's ability to carry out daily activities. Alzheimer's is a form of dementia most common among older people. It involves the part of the brain that controls thought, memory and language.

What causes Alzheimer

Alzheimers disease is caused by parts of the brain wasting away, which damages the structure of the brain and how it works. The medical name for wasting away is atrophy. The atrophy mainly affects the cerebral cortex, which is the layer of grey matter that covers the brain. Grey matter is responsible for processing thoughts. Symptoms of Alzheimer

Many of the symptoms of Alzheimers disease are similar to those of other conditions.

No two cases of Alzheimer's disease are ever the same because different people react in different ways to the condition. Symptoms that mimic early Alzheimers disease may result from:

Central nervous system and other degenerative disorders, including head injuries, brain tumours, stroke, epilepsy, Picks Disease, Parkinsons disease, Huntingtons disease. Metabolic ailments, such as hypothyroidism, hypoglycaemia, malnutrition, vitamin deficiencies, dehydration, kidney or liver failure. Substance-induced conditions, such as drug interactions, medication side-effects, alcohol and drug abuse. Psychological factors, such as dementia syndrome, depression, emotional trauma, chronic stress, psychosis, chronic sleep deprivation, delirium. Infections, such as meningitis, encephalitis, and syphilis.

Treatments for Alzheimer

Treatment for Alzheimers disease involves creating a care plan. This identifies the type of assistance that you might need, and focuses on ways of providing this support. Medication Medication that may be prescribed for Alzheimers disease includes:

donepezil (brand name Aricept) rivastigmine (brand name Exelon) galantamine (brand name Reminyl) memantine (brand name Ebixa)

Whether these medications are used will depend on the severity of your Alzheimers disease. This will be assessed with tests, such as the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE).

Can Alzheimer be cured or eradicated? There is currently no cure for Alzheimer's disease, but there are various medications that are available on prescription that can help delay the conditions development.

TASK 2 (D1/D2) THE PROCESSES AND TOOLS DOCTORS USE TO DIAGNOSE DISEASES The diagnostic process is a complex transition process that begins with the patient's individual illness history and culminates (ends) in a result that can be categorized. A patient consulting the doctor about his symptoms starts an intricate (hard) process that may label him, classify his illness, indicate certain specific treatments in preference to others and put him in a prognostic category. The outcome of the process is regarded as important for effective treatment, by both patient and doctor. Various models have been proposed for diagnostic work in clinical practice. Sackett describes four main strategies. Pattern recognition-this is the instant recognition of a disease, for instance diagnosing downs syndrome after one look at the patient. In the hypotheticodeductive strategy, one performs some form of test to check a hypothesis, a tentative diagnosis. The two last strategies that he mentions are the algorithm strategy and the complete history strategy. The patient's account of his illness will be structured largely by the pathological (involving disease)process taking place in his body, i.e. the pathological process has an impact on how and in what order the patient experiences and describes his symptoms. In the consultation, the doctor works on the way in which the patient has involuntarily clustered the symptoms based on his illness experiences, and at how he lets them develop chronologically in his illness story. These factors give far more information on which to base the diagnosis than a mere listing of symptoms. Some other tools doctors used in diagnosis are, x-ray, ultrasound, blood tests,

Even though most of doctors diagnosis are true, sometimes there can be difficulties where the doctor may give the wrong diagnosis (because sometimes different illnesses have the same symptoms) which may cause a serious problem for the patients because they will be taking drugs for an illness that they did not have. Or sometimes doctors may give patients the wrong dose of drugs which is also harmful because it can cause an over dose which may result in the patient being in coma or can sometimes even cause death. Also there are some people that think that they have a certain type of illness just cause everyone else does, in this case doctors may just give the patient medication without doing any tests to confirm the illness. In this it can be very dangerous.