The Ability Of Protecting Yourself From Infection And Disease Essay

The immune system is made up of several types of cells that work together to fight infections. Lymph cells (called lymphocytes) are the main type of cell in the adaptive immune system. There are 2 types of lymph cells: T cells and B cells. When B cells respond to an infection, they change into plasma cells. The plasma cells are found mainly in the bone marrow—the soft, inner part of some bones. The plasma cells

The immune system plays a vital role in helping the body to fight diseases, as well as pathogens, the disease-causing factors. It is mainly composed of the tonsils and adenoids, the lymph nodes and lymphatic vessels, the spleen, appendix, and bone marrow. The main purpose of the immune system is to assist the body in its struggle to maintain optimal health.

The main function of the immune system is to protect the body from infectious agents such as viruses and other toxins. The immune system can fail us in two ways-either by becoming under-vigilant, letting infections enter the body, or over-vigilant, so that it is the immune system itself, rather than an infectious agent that causes illness.

Secondly, several in today’s society believe that natural immunity is more beneficial than artificial immunity. This is because although artificial immunity is strong, the effects caused by natural immunity are much greater hence longer lasting.5 One way of natural immunity is natural passive immunity. Through this, offspring receives antibodies to help fight infections during the beginning of its life either through the placenta while in the uterus or breastmilk from the mother. Natural active immunity is said to produce higher antibody levels against ailments as

The circulatory and immune systems are two very closely related systems. The circulatory is composed out of blood vessels, the heart, and blood. The immune system is made up of white blood cells and various lymph nodes. Basically, most of the immune system is found inside the blood of the circulatory system. The circulatory system provides the body with blood. It gives the kidneys of the digestive system something to filter and picks up nutrients from the small intestines. It also picks up air from the lungs of the respiratory system and provides the brain of the nervous system with blood, along with the rests of the body. Protection from wounds in the integumentary system is also provided by the circulatory system which has platelets that aid in blood clotting and forming scabs. The immune system protects all the other systems from disease and helps them from being attacked by viruses and bacteria. It also aids the ears of the nervous system with some very protective earwax. The circulatory system provides us with life fluid while the immune system protects that fluid and the rest of our body.

262). Vaccinations work by using two forms of immunity, active and passive. Active immunity occurs when the immune system is triggered by a person receiving a vaccination to produce antibodies for a specific disease process as if they have contracted the actual disease. From this point on if the person is exposed to someone infected with the disease their body will recognize it and release antibodies to fight against it. In contrast, passive immunity does not result from the person themselves receiving the vaccination but rather from antibodies a baby receives through the placenta from its mother. Passive immunity generally lasts from a few months to a year at the most which will cover children until they are able to receive their own immunizations. Children are the on the front line when it comes to spreading and preventing contagious

Hospital acquired infections are one of the most common complications of care in the hospital setting. Hospital acquired infections are infections that patients acquired during the stay in the hospital. These infections can cause an increase number of days the patients stay in the hospital. Hospital acquired infections makes the patients worse or even causes death. “In the USA alone, hospital acquired infections cause about 1.7 million infections and 99,000 deaths per year”(secondary).

Nosocomial infections refers to infections acquired during hospitalization, with symptoms usually occurring within forty-eight hours after admission.

Infection control within a healthcare facility is the prevention of the spread of many microorganisms from patient to patient, patient to a member of staff and also from the staff member to the patient that are in there care. The World Health Organisation have defined healthcare associated infections as an infection occurring in a patient in a hospital or other healthcare facility in whom the infection was not present or incubating at the time of admission. Every healthcare facility from hospitals to general practitioners office should have a designated member of staff or a team of people who ensure that the infection control procedures are abided by and adhered to at all times in order to protect both staff and patients. More than 300,000 people each year are affected by a healthcare associated infection and the cost of treatment for these patients is over £3,000 and there is also the cost of treatment after discharge.

The immune system consists of a defense system that guards the body against invasion from infections and other diseases. Normally, a healthy person's immune system has the capability to differentiate between its own cells and cells that represent threats to the health of the body. (Craft and Kanter, 2002). Autoimmune disease refers to a broad range of over 80 acute, long-lasting diseases that affect nearly every organ in the body. (Wrong Diagnosis.com, 2000).

Adaptive, or acquired, immunity refers to antigen-specific defence mechanisms that take several days to become protective and are designed to react with and remove a specific antigen. This is immunity develops throughout life.

Lymphocytes are a type of white blood cell, which are an important part of the immune system. Lymphocytes can defend the body against infection because they can distinguish the body’s own cells from foreign ones. Once they recognize foreign material in the body, they produce chemicals to destroy that material. Two types of lymphocyte are produced in the bone marrow before birth.

The immune system is comprised of two responses: the adaptive immune response and the innate immune response. The first line of defence against invading organisms is classified as the innate immune response and the second line of defence and protection against re- exposure to the same pathogen is known as the adaptive immune response.

Infections disease prevention and control and communicable and infectious disease risks are important topics that every student nurse should be exposed to during the nursing program. The impact and threats that these infectious diseases cause an effect on society and global level should be studied. Also, the economic principles to nursing and health care that public health contributes to.

Our immune system is the second most complex system in our body. It is made up of organs, cells and proteins that work together to protect our bodies from harmful bacteria, viruses or other microorganisms that can cause diseases. Usually we don’t notice our immune system defending us against pathogens, but if the pathogen (harmful microorganism) is aggressive or if our body hasn’t ever come into contact with it, we can get sick. The jobs of our immune system are to recognise pathogens, as well as neutralise and remove them from our body. Our immune system also has to fight our own cells if they have changed due to an illness, for example, cancer. (1)