Non-Infectious Diseases

Non-infectious diseases are diseases that are not caused by micro-organisms. These diseases cannot be transmitted from the patients to the other people. There are mainly five types of non-infectious diseases, which are diabetes, allergies, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and genetic diseases.

For a person that has diabetes, his body cannot properly use the energy from the food he eats. It is closely related to insulin. Insulin is a substance made in the pancreas that helps to keep the blood sugar in the normal range. This can be cause by insulin deficiency or insulin resistance. Insulin deficiency is the body making no or little insulin. It is related to problem with the body's immune system that causes it to destroy the insulin-making cells in the pancreas. Insulin resistance is the body makes insulin, but the cells cannot use it well. No one knows the exact cause of diabetes. We do know that it is more likely to occur in people who have a family history of diabetes, are overweight, have high blood pressure, have the stress of an illness or injury. Diabetes brings about many long-term problems. Such as it can cause the very small blood vessels in the eye to become fragile or blocked, resulting in damage that affects your ability to see. Also diabetes can also damage the small blood vessels in the kidneys. Another problem is that it will do damage to nerves and circulation puts people at risk for serious problems with their feet or lower legs. In very serious cases, it may be necessary to surgically remove the foot or the limb.

An allergy is a hypersensitivity to foreign substances which are normally harmless but which produce a violent reaction in the allergy sufferer. Allergies are generally the body's effort to eliminate something it considers unsuitable. One of the typical allergic reactions is asthma. Asthma is the narrowing of the air tubes of the lungs due to inflammation thus restricting normal breathing. In severe cases, this inflammation can lead to death. Pollutants, dust, smoke, irritants, chemicals, viral infections, bacteria, stress, emotion and exercise are other frequently diagnosed causes asthma.

Cardiovascular diseases are diseases of the heart and blood vessels. The commonest one is heart attack. A heart attack occurs when an area of the heart is deprived of necessary oxygen-supplying blood, causing that part of the heart to be injured or die. The arteries that supply the heart with blood have with time become narrowed or blocked by fatty deposits. When blood flow is decreased, the heart fails to receive the oxygen and nutrients it needs to function. If the heart does not function properly, blood cannot be pump through the body and the person may die. One of the causes is the intake of foods that contain high levels of cholesterol and saturated fats. Smoking and high blood pressure also increase the risk of heart attack.

Cancer is a tumor is made up of cancer cells. These cells multiply rapidly and destroy the body's normal tissue. Life is at risk when irreparable damage to essential life supporting organs takes place. The cancer cell protects itself against attack by the body’s immune system by surrounding itself with an outer coating that carries a negative electrical charge. The latest claim for the cause of cancer is that we are predisposed to a particular type of cancer because it is in our genes. There are many types of cancer, such as bone cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer and many more.

Genetic diseases are caused by the disorder of the genes in the cells. A common one is Down syndrome. It is caused by an extra chromosome, which could either be originate from the mother or the father. Most often, however, the extra chromosome is coming from the mother. People with Down syndrome have hearing deficits, many of them have congenital heart disease and they often have more eye problems and skeletal problems than the others who do not have this chromosome disorder. There is no effective medical treatment available at the present time.

All of the above non-infectious diseases are related to the genes that we have, but there are still ways in preventing them. Many of them are closely related to our living style and eating habits. To prevent these diseases we should not take in food with too much fat, because it will increase the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Also we should not smoke, because smoking lead to cancer and cardiovascular diseases. We should also keep a clean environment and prevent pollutions, because pollution is the causes for allergies. Regular exercise and a good sleeping habit are also essential for preventing theses diseases. The cause many of these diseases are still unknown, but we can still prevent them by keeping a healthy lifestyle. As the medical is advancing so quickly and we are getting more information about our genetic make up, I am sure that we can find out the causes of theses disease in the near future and hopefully we can find the method of curing them.