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Chronic Illness Evaluation

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Submitted By guardchick01
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Krista Nicole Cauley

HPE/170

Mark Buck

04/13/2012

Chronic Illness Evaluation

There are millions of diseases that affect people all around the world. However, most people don’t realize that those diseases are chronic. A chronic illness is a disease or human health condition that is persistent or long-lasting in nature (World Health Organization reference). There are some characteristics of a chronic illness that could make an individual more aware that they might have one. One characteristic is that it imposes limits. What this means is that individuals who have fibromyalgia, for example, might not be able to move freely. Another characteristic is that it affects many parts of a person’s life. For example, when you have cancer, self esteem will be affected. When self esteem is affected, other parts of your life are going to be affected. Another characteristic is that it brings uncertainty. What is the future going to hold? Will I have to deal with this forever? These are some questions that a person with a chronic illness will ask themselves everyday. The relationship between a healthy nutritional program and cardiovascular disease is simple. When it comes to eating a diet high in fats, sugars, and cholesterol, there is a higher risk for cardiovascular disease. When an individual can understand how to control the factors such as high fat foods, stress, blood pressure, etc, they will be able to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. A great way to start to control those factors would be to exercise. If you can get your heart rate up to a safe level, you will begin to burn calories. Burning calories will allow the body to start reducing fat. However, along with exercise, a proper diet needs to be in place. By eating low cholesterol foods, fresh fruits, and vegetables, you will be more active, and have a lower risk of acquiring cardiovascular disease. Having a chronic illness can have a major effect on the immune system. For example, Aids. When an individual contracts aids, the virus basically hijacks the cells and uses them against the immune system. Once the virus takes over the T cells, it can replicate very quickly. Once this happens, the infected T cells no longer have the ability to fight off infection. The healthy T cells will eventually die, which in turn will damage the immune system (Sherwood, 2012). Once the immune system is damaged, if the individual gets a cold, it could cause the person to get extremely sick. In some cases, a simple common cold can kill an individual who has aids. It is possible for an individual with aids to live with the disease. It takes a cocktail of medication, and a healthy lifestyle to live with aids. Exercise can have a major positive effect on the immune system for several reasons. First, exercising can release stress. People who experience high stress get more colds, suffer more digestive tract problems and have more frequent bouts of fatigue ("Boost Your Immune System With Exercise", n.d.). When an individual can include exercise in their daily life, the immune system will be able to fight off all of those health problems. Secondly, exercising can help increase blood flow and help the cardiovascular system. By increasing blood flow and improving the cardiovascular system, the immune system will become stronger. By exercising, an individual will become more confident with the way that they look. In turn, the confidence will reduce stress, which will improve how the immune system works. By becoming aware and more involved in the health environment, an individual can learn how to take care of themselves, and lower the risk of obtaining a chronic illness. A great way to become more aware is to go to a health center. They will have several different packets and flyers that will talk about the different illnesses and how to prevent them. Another way is to go online to webmd.com. It is very important when finding information online that you make sure the webpage is credible. Web md is a great website that has tons of information regarding chronic illnesses. It is very important to be aware of changes in your body. This will help improve the chances of catching an illness before it gets worse.

References

World Health Organization. Chronic diseases, accessed 29 March 2012.

Sherwood, C. (2012). How does Aids effect the Immune System?. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4923207_aids-effect-immune-system.html

Boost Your Immune System with Exercise. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.busywomensfitness.com/immunesystem.html

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