Introduction of health

• Health State of perfect

functioning of body and mind,
unhindered by diseases.
• Disease. Malfunctioning of the
organism or a part of it.( Due to
infection, inherent weakness or
environmental stress that upsets
the normal physiological
functioning of the organism.
 Diet & Nutrition

Health

Lifestyle and
Surroundings
Habits
• Rely heavily on convenience or
manufactured foods.(Do not
support good health).
• Eat not enough vegetables and
fruits.
• Consume an extremely high amount
of fat, animal products, and refined
carbohydrates such as flour and
sugar.
THE HUMAN BODY IS
MEANT TO
BE ACTIVE MOST OF THE
TIME.
• Average people watch
about 6 hours of
television per day.
• Physical movement and
exercise are necessary
for the lymphatic system
to operate properly.
• Surroundings play an
important role in our health &
life.
• Stagnant water and garbage
pits in our surroundings lead to
spread of dangerous diseases
like malaria ,chickun guinea etc.
Illness : Reasons

• Lack of nutrition.
• Polluted water.
• Unhygienic surroundings.
• Polluted air.
Types OF Diseases

 Communicable diseases
(Infectious) 
 Non-communicable diseases
(Non-infectious)  
Communicable Diseases
. Caused by the entry and
development of living
organisms such as virus,
bacteria, protozoan, worms or
fungi into the body.
. The organism causing the
disease may be transmitted
from one person to another by
means of air, water, food,
physical contact or insects
EXAMPLES : communicable diseases (
symptoms, preventions and control)
Malaria

 This insect-borne disease is caused

by a parasitic protozoan,
plasmodium

 Transmitted from person to person

by the bite of an insect vector, the
female anopheles mosquito.
Malaria is one of the most deadly
diseases.

 Quinine which is an extract from

 Symptoms
• High fever, headache, body ache,
nausea and violent shivering
(rigours).

• Each malarial attack lasts for 6-10

hours and consists of the cold
stage (shivering), hot stage (fever)
and sweating stage (temperature
goes down to normal).

• The fever is repeated on the third

or fourth day. This leads to general
weakness in the patient.
 Prevention
• Use wire mesh on doors and
windows to prevent entry of
mosquitoes into the house  
• Use mosquito repellents to prevent
mosquito bites
• Spray kerosene on stagnant water
bodies or introduce fishes that feed
on mosquito larva
• Do not allow rain water to collect
and stagnate in the garden
 Influenza (flu)

• This is an air borne disease caused

by a virus called myxovirus
influenzae.

• Being viral there is no known

control for influenza. Fortunately it
is self limiting. Relief can be given
to the patient by administering a
paracetemol (like crocin) but this
by itself it is not a cure.
 Symptoms

Running nose, sneezing, coughing,

body ache and fever are some of
the symptoms of this disease.
Prevention
Avoid physical contact with patients
suffering with flu.
 Jaundice (Hepatitis)
Jaundice is the disease that effects
the liver which is caused by viral
infection. The types of hepatitis are
A, B, C, D, E and G.
Symptoms
• There is loss of appetite, eyes and
skin turn yellow.
• Urine is dark yellow and stools are
light yellow.
• The other symptoms are headache,
temperature and pain in the joints.
 Prevention 
 Use potable water that is
chlorinated, boiled, filtered and
ozonised 
 Prevent infection through
physical contact by washing hands
thoroughly after handling any
article used by the patient 
 Hepatitis-B vaccine should be
taken to prevent the disease 
Rabies (Hydrophobia)

• The patient develops severe

headache, high fever, painful
contractions of the throat
muscles and chest.
• Hydrophobia (fear of water)
sets in as the virus selectively
attacks the brain i.e., the
nervous system.
• Damage to the central nervous
system causes paralysis and
 Prevention 
 Wash the wound with carbolic soap, and
clean water without delay soon after the
bite.
 Apply an antiseptic and consult the doctor
for anti rabies vaccine. 
 Pet dogs or cats should be immunized by
getting them vaccinated with anti-rabies
vaccine 
 A rabid dog can be easily identified
because it will show excessive salivation and
try to seek isolation after biting.
 Non-communicable
Diseases
• Diseases which do not spread
from an infectious person to a
healthy person.
• These are non-infectious
diseases e.g., diabetes,
arthritis, heart disease and
cancer.
• Many non-communicable
diseases are caused by
Nutritional Disorders
• For the healthy growth of the
individual, a nourishing, well
balanced diet is required.
• A diet with nutrients in the
right proportion ensures
proper growth and
development of both body and
mind.
• If the nutrients are inadequate
or not in the right proportion
nutritional disorders may
occur.
Protein Energy Malnutrition
(PEM)
Protein energy malnutrition leads to
two types of diseases. 
• Marasmus 
• Kwashiorkor
 Marasmus
• This is due to protein deficiency and
not food calories
intake.
• In developing countries like India it is
common in infants below one year
of age.
• The common factor may be due to early
replacement of mother's milk by other
foods of low protein and calorific value.
This may happen if the mother has a
second pregnancy when the older infant
is still too young.
 Symptoms 
 As the stored fats and tissue proteins
are used up for the production of energy,
the infant develops a shriveled look  
 Ribs become prominent and limbs
become very thin as the fat layer beneath
the skin disappears 
 Retarded physical and mental growth 
 Severe diarrhoea and other digestive
disorders
 Prevention / Control 
A protein rich diet such as a
combination of wheat, gram,
peanut, soyabean and jaggery or a
diet with animal protein like
mutton, chicken and fish, will help
the patient to return back to
health. 
 Kwashiorkor
Children between 1-3 years of age must
consume 1g protein/kg body weight. If
they consume below this quantity they
can suffer from this protein deficiency
disease.
 Symptoms
 Growth is stunted, appetite is poor 
 Stomach gets distended 
 The eyes are bulging 
 The patient develops match stick legs-
legs become thin, long and curved
  Skin may become dark and start
peeling off and hair may become dull and
loose its lusture  
 Prevention / Control
  By including food rich in protein into the
diet, the disease can be cured. Wheat,
gram, peanut, soyabean and jaggery are
recommended.  
 Mineral Deficiency
• Minerals are elements which
are required by the body in
small quantities along with
food.
• They regulate various
metabolic functions in our
body. 
 Anaemia
• Iron deficiency causes Anaemia.
• Iron is required by the body to form the
protein haemoglobin present in the red
blood cells in our body.
• The main function of haemoglobin is to
transport oxygen from the lungs to the
various parts of the body. 
 Symptoms
Patients suffering from anaemia become
pale, lose appetite and feel exhausted.

 Prevention / Control 
• The diet should be supplemented with
liver, egg, molasses, cereal, pulses, leafy
vegetables, brinjal, apple, banana, and
guava which are rich in iron.
• The daily requirement of iron is 25mg.
Care should be taken to maintain this level
by including vegetables and fruit rich in
 Goitre
Iodine deficiency leads to this
disease. Iodine is essential for the
body in very small quantities for
the preparation of thyroid
hormone thyroxine.
 Symptoms  
• Iodine deficiency causes abnormal
enlargement of the thyroid gland
which is situated in the neck region.
• In childhood, iodine deficiency
causes reduced thyroid functioning
which results in retarded physical and
mental growth. 
 Prevention / Control 
• The government has made it
mandatory to iodise the salt
consumed by the public.
• Besides sea food, green leafy
vegetables etc are rich in iodine and
if included generously in the diet will
restore the normal functioning of the
gland.  
 Vitamin Deficiency

Vitamins are organic compounds

which are taken along with food in
small quantities. They are essential
for life as they are responsible for
certain metabolic activities in the
body.
Vitamins are of two kinds
 Water Soluble  (A and C vitamins)
 Fat soluble (B and D vitamins)
 Xerophthalmia 
This disease is caused by vitamin A
deficiency. 

Symptoms
•  In a mild form this disease causes
night blindness. i.e., difficulty to see
in a dim light.
• In severe cases it may lead to
permanent blindness.
• The symptoms are non functioning
of lachrymal glands, dryness,
 Prevention and Control
 Fish, cod liver oil, milk, butter,
carrots, tomato, green leafy
vegetables, papaya, guava, yellow
fruits containing carotene and
vegetables such as pumpkin are rich
in vitamin A and if included in the
diet will help prevent or control the
disease.
 Rickets
This disease is caused by vitamin D
deficiency. Vitamin D is synthesized
naturally in the presence of sunlight. 
 Symptoms
• Deficiency of vitamin D leads to loss of
Ca++ in the urine. Due to this, no Ca++
gets deposited in the bone. The result is
deformities in the bones of the legs and
ribs.
• This condition is called rickets and occurs
in children. The patient has restricted
movement of the limbs and the ribs get
pigeon chested.
• A condition called knock knee may also
occur. In adults vitamin D
 Prevention / Control
 Cod liver oil, fish, milk are rich in
vitamin D. If included in the diet, it
prevents the disease and / or controls
it.     
I take this opportunity to
request you all to take small
precautions which can prevent
the spread of harmful and
infectious diseases killing
hundreds of innocent people .
I also recommend to think of
poor and needy people before
splurging money on useless
things and instead donate the