Health-Care-and-Epidemics

HealthCareandEpidemicsEveryonesuffersfromdiseaseatsometimeoranother.However,millionsofpeoplearoundtheworlddonothavegoodhealthcare.Sometimestheyhavenomoneytopayformedicaltreatment.Sometimestheyhavemoney,butthereisnodoctor.Sometimesthedoctordoesnotknowhowtotreatthedisease,andsometimesthereisnotreatment.Somepeopleareafraidofdoctors.Whentheseconditionsarepresentinlargepopulationcenters,epidemicscanstart.Epidemicscanchangehistory.Explorationandwarscausedifferentgroupsofpeopletocomeintocontactwitheachother.Theycarrystrangediseasestoeachother.Forexample,whentheEuropeansfirstcametoNorthandSouthAmerica,theybroughtdiseaseswiththemthatkilledabout95%oftheNativeAmericanpopulation.Peoplehaveallkindsofideasabouthowtopreventandtreatdiseases.Somepeoplethinkthatifyoueatlotsofonionsorgarlic,youwon’tgetsick.Otherssaythatyoushouldtakehugeamountofvitamins.Scientificexperimentshavenotprovedmostofthesetheories.However,peoplestillspendmillionsofdollarsonvitaminsandotherprobablyuselesstreatmentsorpreventatives.Somepeoplewantantibioticswhenevertheygetsick.Someantibioticsareveryexpensive.Muchcausedbyviruses.Virusesareevensmallerthanbacteria,andtheycausedifferentkindsofdiseases.Antibioticsareuselessagainstviruses.Peopleareafraidofmanydiseases.Becauseoftheirfear,peoplecanbecrueltovictimsofdisease.Sometimestheyfirevictimsfromtheirjobs,throwthemoutoftheirapartments,andrefusethemtransportationservices.Intheepidemicsofplagueafewhundredyearsago,peoplesimplycoveredthedoorsandwindowsofthevictims’housesandlefttheminsidetodie,allinanefforttoprotectthemselvesfromgettingsick.Doctorsknowhowmostepidemicdiseasesspread.Some,liketuberculosis,arespreadwhenpeoplesneezeandcough.Theexplosivecoughorsneezesendsthebacteriashootingoutintotheair.Thentheyenterthemouthornoseofanyonenearby.Othersarespreadthroughhumancontact.Whenyouaresickandblowyournose,yougetvirusesorbacteriaonyourhands.Thenyoutouchanotherperson’shand,andwhenthatpersontoucheshisorhermouth,nose,oreyes,thediseaseentersthebody.Somediseasesspreadwhenpeopletouchthesamedishes,towels,andfurniture.Youcanevenpickupadiseasewhenyoutouchthingsinpublicbuildings.Otherdiseasesarespreadthroughinsects,suchasflies,mosquitoes,andticks.Onediseasethatcausesfrequent,worldwideepidemicsisinfluenza,orfluforshort.Thesymptomsofinfluenzaincludeaheadacheandsometimesarunnynose.Somevictimsgetsicktotheirstomach.Thesesymptomsaresimilartothesymptomsofother,milderdiseases.Abouthalfofallflupatientsalsohaveahighbodytemperature,calledafever.Influenzacanbeaveryseriousdisease,especiallyforpregnantwomen,peopleover65,andpeoplealreadysufferingfromanotherdiseasesuchasaheartproblem.Fluisverycontagious.Onepersoncatchestheflufromanotherperson;itdoesn’tbegininsidethebodyasheartdiseasedoes.Sometimesmedicinecanrelievethesymptomsofadisease.Thatis,itcanmakepeoplecoughless,makeheadacheslessintense,andstopnosesfromrunningforawhile.However,medicinecan’talwayscureadisease.Sofar,thereisnocureformanydiseasesandnomedicinetopreventthem.Peoplehavetotrytopreventtheminotherways.Somediseasescanbepreventedbyvaccination.Aliquidvaccineisinjectedintothearmoftakenbymouth,andthepersonisthensafefromcatchingthatdiseases.Otherdiseasescanbepreventedbygoodhealthhabits,suchasdrinkingonlycleanwater,boilingwaterthatmightcarrydisease,andwashingthehandsoften.Epidemicsusuallystartinareasoflargepopulation.Poorpeopleinbigcitieswholivecrowdedtogetherinmiserableconditionshavethemosthealthproblems.Theyoftenhavetheleasteducationaboutdiseaseprevention.Iftheyknowwhattodo,theyoftendonothavethemoneytodoit.Forexample,itisdifficultforapersonwhohasnoelectricitytorefrigeratefoodorboildrinkingwater.Withnomoney,thepersoncan’tevenbuysoaptowashhisorherhands.Diseasepreventioncostsmuchlessthandiseasetreatment.Itseemscompletelyillogical,butsomecountriesliketheUnitedStatesspendmuchmorehealth-caremoneyontreatmentfordiseasesthanonprogramsotherhospitalworkersstayintheirinstitutions.Onlyafewdoctorsgooutintothestreetsofthepoorareastoeducatepeople.Onlyafewdoctorsandsomenursesvaccinatepeopleandsupervisethemtomakesuretheytaketheirmedicine.Manypeoplewhohelppoorpeoplewiththeirhealthproblemsarevolunteers.Howcanyouuseallthisinformationforyourowngoodhealth?Whensomeoneyouknowbecomesill,trytoavoidphysicalcontactwiththatperson.Ifyougetsickyourself,keepyourtowelanddishesseparatefromeveryoneelse’s.Trynottotouchthingsthatbelongtoothers.Don’ttouchotherpeople,anddon’tshakehands.Explainwhy,however;youdon’twantpeopletothinkyouareimpolite.Washyourhandsoftenifyouareillorifanyonearoundyouisill.Researcherscontinuesearchingforawaytocureorpreventepidemicdiseases.Meanwhile,itisworththemoneyforgovernmentstoprovidepreventivehealthcareforalloftheirpeople.Preventingepidemicsismuchcheaperthanstoppingthem.(958words)