Why are older people more vulnerable to diseases and illnesses?

---

Why is it that the older you get, the more vulnerable you are to diseases and illnesses?
Everything begins to wear out as we grow older, including our immune systems. The same thing happens to our eyes with cataracts, our joints with arthritis, and our hearing with age-related deafness. Stuff just wears out.  (+ info)

What diseases can you get from touching trash?

---

Say you take out the trash and don't wash your hands afterward. What kind of diseases/germs can you pick up? Or is this a germaphobe type of question?
It is a germaphobe kind of question.

So take a deep breath, take out the trash, and wash your hands.

All the best.  (+ info)

What other diseases can be acquired by getting addicted to alcohol?

---

Harry, my lab partner, is an alcoholic. He doesn't want to admit it but he is an alcoholic. Alcohol is like his daily vitamins or something. He drinks whenever he can... even before going to class! I'm really worried about him and I want to help him overcome his alcoholism. I'm also scared that he might develop other diseases just because of his bad drinking habits. I can't get through a day in chem without him. Please help me.
Are you in love with you lab partner? I'm just kidding. Anyway, there are certain diseases which may be developed because of alcoholism. Some of these are Wernicke's Encephalopathy, Korsakoff's syndrome, cirrhosis, fetal alcohol syndrome (for babies with drinking mothers), liver diseases and even cancer. Alcoholics have difficulties in coordination, reflexes, concentration, judgment and sleeping. Other effects of alcoholism include distorted vision, memory lapses and blackouts.  (+ info)

What causes the emergence and reemergence of infectious diseases?

---

What causes the emergence and reemergence of infectious diseases?

-Thank you sooo much!
Many things cause the emergence/reemergence of infectious diseases: antimicrobial resistance, increasing global travel, globalization of the food supply, ecological and climate changes, people and wild animals living in closer proximity and human behavior to name a few.  (+ info)

What are diseases caused by shortage or excessive of lipids?

---

I just want to know the names of the diseases.
Deficiency of essential fatty acids
A major deficiency may cause damage to the heart, as well as the kidneys and liver. Behavior disturbances may also result from a deficiency in the diet.

Hair loss and skin eczema have also been reported as well as excessive sweating.

An under-par immune system may result from a shortage of this nutrient which in turn may result in slow healing wounds, and susceptibility to infections etc.

Stiffness in joints may happen, and an under secretion of tear and saliva may be indicative of too little essential fatty acids in the diet.

It has also been suggested that it may have an influence on infertility in men and miscarriages in women.

Blood pressure may be elevated and the formation of blood clots may be an increased risk to contend with.

Toxicity and symptoms of high intake
No toxicity has been reported in healthy individuals but people with health problems should be careful with taking any supplements.

People suffering from epilepsy should be careful of taking supplements of seed oils, as they can aggravate the problem, while people with blood disorders or a problem with bleeding should be careful of fish oil supplements.

Should you be taking a supplement of essential fatty acids, it would be recommended that you first discuss it with your health professional.

www.anyvitamins.com/fatty-acids-info.htm   (+ info)

What are the major causes of heart diseases?

---

I know "heart disease" is like a term used to describe ALL kinds of diseases having to do with the heart and arteries...so I was wondering if there were any causes to these diseases that are common in most of them. Thanks for any help!
There are many factors that increase one's risk for heart disease. The biggest three are smoking, obesity and blood pressure. Also take into account age, comorbidties (other diseases that can affect the heart, like diabetes) heredity, and diet.  (+ info)

How many diseases can you get with smoking?

---

I'm doing a report on smoking and need to find out how many diseases you can get with smoking.
Smoking causes many diseases, and is a contributing factor in many other diseases, including many cancers.  (+ info)

What is the name of the doctor who studies insect, tick and spider borne diseases?

---

I've heard of the term vector bourne diseases, and also infectious diseases. What is the specific name of a doctor who studies insect, tick, and spider bite diseases?
Epidemiologist  (+ info)

What brain and body diseases have been cured due to animal testing?

---

I'm totally against animal testing but I'm doing this project and I have to take an unbiased view... but no one seems to want to tell me how certain diseases have been cured. Do you know any diseases (brain and body) that have been cured due to animal testing? Please provide sources so I can check it out myself.
In 1937 the US government required that all drugs to be used by humans must be tested on animals first. other countries soon followed suit. So the simple answer is any disease that has been cured since 1937. But a really good example is rabies. since the carrier of rabies is animals. good luck with the report and i hope you learn a learn a lot. (the wiki page will take a while to get through)  (+ info)

Are there any long term diseases that cause a weaker immune system?

---

I want to know if there are any diseases that are basically long lasting, even lifelong that cause a generally weaker immune system. So that a person with this disease would generally be more susceptible to basic colds and flu and get them quite often as opposed to a regular person. Any such conditions?
HIV / AIDS and cancer are the two biggest ones for causing this...

Primary Immune Deficiency is another one. It's genetic, meaning you were born with it, and also means you have it your whole life. People who have this actually have part of their immune system "missing", so they get very sick very easily. In order to maintain some sort of normal life they need to have immunoglobulin injections regularly. Their symptoms can be similar to those who have HIV or AIDS.

Diabetes also causes increased susceptibility to infections, and people whose diabetes is more severe do have to be careful about what they're exposed to.

All autoimmune diseases (and there are a lot of them) essentially cause weakened immune systems due to the type of treatments that are necessary to treat the disease (immune suppressants). People being treated for autoimmune diseases need to be very careful about infections, because their immune systems are suppressed from the treatments, to the point that they can't fight them off easily.
There are too many autoimmune diseases to list here - hundreds. You may have a good result if you google "autoimmune disease". These range from systemic disorders, such as Lupus, to more specific disorders affecting certain systems, like Crohn's disease (affecting the bowel) and Rheumatoid Arthritis (affecting the joints). Autoimmune diseases are basically lifelong, although they can go into periods where there are no symptoms for awhile (remission).  (+ info)

---

---

• Home
• Our method
• Usage examples
• Index

• Statistics
• Contact

---