Chronic diseases: Contributing behaviorAL and environmental factors

1. Chronic diseases: Contributing behaviorAL and environmental factors

2. What is a chronic disease? • Persistent or long-lasting, opposite of acute • Leading cause of mortality worldwide • Nearly one in two Americans has a chronic medical condition • Most common: high blood pressure, arthritis, respiratory diseases and high blood pressure • Many young people experience chronic conditions: • Diabetes • Allergies • Asthma • Epilepsy

3. A condition of the nervous system – affects 2.5 million Americans. People with epilepsy have seizures that are a bit like an electrical brainstorm. • A seizure prevents the brain from processing incoming sensory signals and from controlling muscles. That is why people with epilepsy may fall down and twitch. • Fairly common – occurs in about 1 in every 100 – 200 people. Epilepsy

4. Can epilepsy be prevented? • Yes and No. Head injuries that result from sports or other accidents can cause epilepsy, but they are often preventable. How? • Helmets • Safety belts • Hard hats • Safety measures – common sense • Epilepsy can also occur without injury or can be hereditary. Researchers are still exploring the reasons why some people have epilepsy. At least half of those with epilepsy never experienced a head injury Epilepsy continued

5. Other causes of Epilepsy: • Brain tumor • Stroke • Arteriosclerosis • Infection (meningitis or encephalitis) • What can I do to reduce the risk of seizures: • Take prescribed medication • Get enough sleep • Avoid unusual stress • Eat a well-balanced diet • Maintain correct weight • See your doctor • Keep immunizations up to date. Epilepsy continued

6. Famous People with Epilepsy • Julius Caesar • George Frederick Handel • Peter the Great • Napoleon Bonaparte • Vincent van Gogh • Lord Byron Also: Susan Boyle and Prince

7. Effects of an Allergic Response • Most of the time your immune system fights germs and bacteria to help you stay healthy. • If you have allergies, the immune system treats allergens (such as pollen) as if they are invading the body.

8. What Causes Allergies? • Common allergens: • drugs • dust • food • insect bites • mold • pet dander • pollen

9. What are Symptoms of Allergies? • Symptoms • Breathing problems (coughing, shortness of breath) • Burning, tearing, or itchy eyes • Headache • Hives • Runny nose • Wheezing

10. How a Person is Tested for Allergies • Skin testing is the most common method of allergy testing. One type of skin testing is the prick test. Skin is pricked with a small amount of the suspected allergen. The site is closely monitored to see if a reaction occurs. • Blood tests are also used to measure levels of allergy-related substances.

11. Allergies • Treatment • Medications used to treat allergies: • Antihistamines • Corticosteroids • Decongestants • Allergy shots are sometimes recommended if you cannot avoid the allergen and your symptoms are hard to control.

12. Prevention of Allergies • Breastfeeding children for at least 4 months or more may help prevent a cow’s milk allergy and wheezing in early childhood. • Once allergies have developed, treating the allergies and carefully avoiding allergy triggers can prevent reactions in the future.

13. Asthma and Allergies • People who have certain kinds of allergies are more likely to have asthma. • Allergies that affect the nose and eyes – typically pollen or dust – can also trigger asthma symptoms. • Not everyone who has allergies gets asthma. • Not all asthma happens because of allergies. • About 3 of 4 kids have asthma symptoms triggered by an allergy.

14. Asthma (continued) • People with asthma experience problems with their airways – the breathing tubes in their lungs. Airways become swollen and full of mucus. • Asthma is the nation’s fastest-growing chronic disease. Rates among children under four have more than doubled in the last 20 years. • African-American children are five times more likely to die from asthma than Caucasians. • Asthma = one of the leading causes of school absenteeism

15. Asthma • Triggers • Triggers do not cause asthma, but lead to flare-ups. • People with asthma experience different triggers • What are common triggers? • Air pollution • Smoke (first, second and third-hand smoke) • Exercise • Allergens cause allergic reactions. Examples: mold, dust mites, cockroaches, pollen, animal dander, feathers • Cold/flu • Weather (wind stirring up mold and pollen)

16. Asthma • How can asthma be controlled? • Become an advocate for clean air • Reduce exposure to air pollution • Watch for the weather reports • Keep your room clean and free of dust • Wash your sheets weekly in hot water • Keep any pets out of your room • Stay away from freshly cut grass and leaf piles • Keep your medication with you at all times

17. Diabetes • Disease in which there are high levels of sugar in the blood. • Type I diabetes can occur at any age; most often diagnosed in children, teens young adults. • In this disease, the body makes little or no insulin • Daily injections of insulin are required • The exact cause is unknown

18. Diabetes • Type 2 diabetes makes up most of the diabetes cases. • Occurs mostly in adulthood, but teens/young adults are being diagnosed with it because of high obesity rates. • Many people with Type 2 diabetes do not know they have it.

19. Diabetes • Symptoms • Blurry vision • Excessive thirst • Fatigue • Frequent urination • Hunger • Weight loss

20. Diabetes • Prognosis • Better control of • blood sugar • cholesterol • blood pressure levels • Helps reduce the risk of • kidney disease • eye disease • nervous system disease • heart attack • stroke

21. Diabetes • Complications • Heart disease and stroke • High blood pressure • Blindness • Kidney disease • Nervous system disease • Amputation • More than 60% of non-traumatic lower-limb amputations occur in people with diabetes.

22. Diabetes • There is no way to prevent Type 1. • Prevention of the onset of Type 2: • Keep an ideal body weight • Exercise

23. Keeping an Ideal Body Weight • Who is responsible for your weight? • Some interesting statistics: • Each day, 1 in 4 Americans visit a fast food restaurant. • You would have to walk for seven hours to burn off a Super-Sized Coke, fries and Big Mac • 60 percent of all adult Americans are either overweight or obese

24. Chronic diseases • When you compare the different diseases we have discussed today, what are the most common steps to prevention?