Diseases Essay, Research Paper

Diseases

E. coli are germs that normally live the intestines of people and animals. The most common symptoms are severe stomach cramps and diarrhea.

E. coli lives in the intestines of healthy cattle and can get into the meat when cattle are slaughtered. The germs are killed when the meat is thoroughly cooked. The most common food source is ground beef because the grinding spreads the germs throughout the meat. These germs have also been in raw milk, roast beef, apple cider, salami, and sometimes on vegetables fertilized with contaminated cow manure.

E. coli must be swallowed to cause an infection. This can happen if you eat or drink something that contains these germs and is not properly cooked or pasteurized. The germs can be spread from person to person if someone who is infected does not thoroughly wash his or her hands with soap before preparing food for others.

There is no treatment E. coli. Antibiotics do not help and may even be harmful. The most important things to remember are that the germs can only make you sick if you swallow them, and the germs are killed by thoroughly washing your hands with soap and water.

Laryngitis is a minor inflammation of the larynx and surrounding tissues causing temporary hoarseness. It is more common during epidemics of seasonal virus infections (late fall, winter, and early spring).

Some symptoms include the following: hoarseness or loss of voice, sore throat, sensation of a lump in the throat, and tiredness. The risk increases with exposure to mold, pollen, and polutants. It also increased with extremely cold weather, smoking, excess alcohol consumption, and recent respiratory illness such as bronchitis or pneumonia.

Ways to avoid it include restrain from yelling or straining your voice, and treeat respiratory infections carefully. If in fact you do happen to get laryngitis don?t use your voice (even whispering may strain your vocal cords). Use a humidifier to increase air moisture, also don?t gargle or use mouthwashes because these may contain alcohol , which is irritating.

Tonsillitis is inflammation of the tonsils(lymph glands located at the back of the throat). Tonsils are small at birth and enlarge during childhood and become smaller at puberty. Tonsils normally help prevent infection in the sinuses, amouth and throat from spreading to other body parts. Tonsillitis is contagious. Ages 5 to 10 are the most common to get it but all ages can get it.

Some signs and symptoms include throat pain, swallowing difficlulty, chills and fever, swollen lymph glands on either side of the jaw, headache and, ear pain. It causes bacterial or a viral infection of the tonsils. The risk increases in crowded or unsanitary living conditions and exposure to others in public places.

Treatment is usually with antibiotics, but surgery to remove the tonsils for repeated acute tonsillitis or for chronic tonsillitis. Symptoms generally begin to improve in 2 to 3 days, but treatment may last longer. If attacks of tonsillitis are so severe and frequent that they affect one?s general health or interfere with schooling, hearing or breathing, your doctor will then recommend surgery to remove the tonsils.

Encarta 1998

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