Chapter 12 discussed many topics dealing with infectious conditions. These conditions ranged from bacterial infections to the different types of sexually transmitted diseases. While reading this chapter, it was interesting to read about what pneumonia entails. I am aware that pneumonia involves the lungs, but I never knew that the chronic coughs, chills, and a high fever were the result of viruses, fungi, chemicals, or other substances in the lungs. For those who have pneumonia or people they know who have it, it is important to know that bacterial pneumonia responds promptly in the early stages to antibiotic treatment. However, if not treated immediately, pneumonia can cause respiratory failure. A few weeks ago, one of my friends had been sick for almost a month. When he finally went to the Wellness Center, they told him he had to go to Urgent Care right away to get an X-ray. He found out that he had pneumonia and was put on antibiotics. During the flu season, it is especially important to go to the doctor’s when you don’t feel well, even if it results in a simple cold. I think it’s important to utilize the Wellness Center here on campus because it is important to take care of our health while attending school. It’s a relief to know that my friends are healthy, and that he didn’t prolong his wait to the Wellness Center.
(Donatelle, 2019, p. 287)
Another interesting topic I learned was reading about tick-borne bacterial diseases, such as lyme disease and ehrlichiosis. Lyme disease is characterized by symptoms such as a rash or bull’s eyes lesions, blindness, chronic arthritis, and sometimes no symptoms at all. Humans and pets are targets to tick-borne bacterial diseases and occur in many regions in the United States. The symptoms of ehrlichiosis are characterized by flu like symptoms, in which many progress quickly to respiratory difficulties and worst of all, death. If this disease is caught early, antibiotics can be administered to prevent any serious threats. Whenever my family takes my dogs out to the park, we always check for ticks hiding in the fur. It’s a relief when there aren’t any on them, but when we do find a tick, my Dad takes a pair of tweezers and plucks them out. Additionally, we put tick collars on my dogs to protect them from ticks. My parents are always reminding me to wear long socks when I go hiking to protect myself from ticks.
(Donatelle, 2019, p. 287)
Lastly, it was interesting to learn about antibiotic resistance. When we think about antibiotics, we think about how they are supposed to eliminate bacteria that are prone to them. However, many antibiotics are becoming impotent against resistant strains of bacteria. Before reading this chapter, I was unaware that antibiotic resistance is on the rise, which is something that is surprising to me. This rise is caused by many factors, such as improper use of antibiotics and the misuse of soaps and other cleaning products. A major contributor of antibiotic resistance is dumping unused prescriptions down the toilet, which causes water to become contaminated and soil. According to the CDC, an astonishing 150 million written antibiotic prescriptions were reported unnecessary. The negative consequence of these unnecessary prescriptions resulted in bacterial strains that are tougher than the drugs that are used to fight combat them. Another contributor of antibiotic resistance misusing and overusing antibacterial soaps or other cleaning products. Cleaning product companies often use people’s fears of germs and diseases as a way to add unnecessary antibacterial ingredients to their products. However, it is difficult to assess the overall resistance because the germs may become stronger than they were before and the products may not kill all of them. I know during the flu season, many people are extra cautious when washing their hands, and cleaning everything they touch. However, it can be overwhelming constantly washing our hands and constantly using hand sanitizer every moment. But like many say, a little can go a long way and sometimes too much isn’t necessarily the best.
(Donatelle, 2019, p. 297)
Health Aspect:
I had a better week than I did last week, which makes me overall happier. I mapped out what assignments, projects and final exams are due, which makes me a little overwhelmed, but allows me to get a head start now. I’m trying to not stress myself out about everything and truly am taking life day by day, working hard in school, spending time with friends, and taking good care of my body by going to the gym. This past week I have been running and have consistently been hitting my ten minute mark. I’m excited to go home for Thanksgiving and spend time with my family. I went into the city today and spent the day ice skating and Christmas shopping. It’s crazy to think that we have less than a month left of the semester and we will be on winter break.
Health Aspect 