Non-Infectious Diseases

Non-infectious diseases are diseases that are not caused by micro-

organisms. These diseases cannot be transmitted from the patients to the
other people. There are mainly five types of non-infectious diseases,
which are diabetes, allergies, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and genetic
diseases.

For a person that has diabetes, his body cannot properly use the energy
from the food he eats. It is closely related to insulin. Insulin is a substance
made in the pancreas that helps to keep the blood sugar in the normal
range. This can be cause by insulin deficiency or insulin resistance.
Insulin deficiency is the body making no or little insulin. It is related to
problem with the body's immune system that causes it to destroy the
insulin-making cells in the pancreas.

Insulin resistance is the body makes insulin, but the cells cannot use it
well.

No one knows the exact cause of diabetes. We do know that it is more

likely to occur in people who have a family history of diabetes, are
overweight, have high blood pressure, have the stress of an illness or
injury.

Diabetes brings about many long-term problems. Such as it can cause the
very small blood vessels in the eye to become fragile or blocked,
resulting in damage that affects your ability to see. Also diabetes can also
damage the small blood vessels in the kidneys. Another problem is that it
will do damage to nerves puts people at risk for serious problems with

1
their feet or lower legs. In very serious cases, it may be necessary to
surgically remove the foot.

An allergy is a hypersensitivity to foreign substances which are normally

harmless but which produce a violent reaction in the allergy sufferer.
Allergies are generally the body's effort to eliminate something it
considers unsuitable. One of the typical allergic reactions is asthma.
Asthma is the narrowing of the air tubes of the lungs due to inflammation
thus restricting normal breathing. In severe cases, this inflammation can
lead to death. Pollutants, dust, smoke, irritants, chemicals, viral
infections, bacteria, stress, emotion and exercise are other frequently
diagnosed causes asthma.

Cardiovascular diseases are diseases of the heart and blood vessels. The
commonest one is heart attack. A heart attack occurs when an area of the
heart is deprived of necessary oxygen-supplying blood, causing that part
of the heart to be injured or die. The arteries that supply the heart with
blood have with time become narrowed or blocked by fatty deposits.
When blood flow is decreased, the heart fails to receive the oxygen and
nutrients it needs to function. If the heart does not function properly,
blood cannot be pump through the body and the person may die. One of
the causes is the intake of foods that contain high levels of cholesterol
and saturated fats. Smoking and high blood pressure also increase the risk
of heart attack.

Cancer is a tumor is made up of cancer cells. These cells multiply rapidly

and destroy the body's normal tissue. Life is at risk when irreparable
damage to essential life supporting organs takes place.  The cancer cell
protects itself against attack by the body’s immune system by
surrounding itself with an outer coating that carries a negative electrical

2
charge. The latest claim for the cause of cancer is that we are predisposed
to a particular type of cancer because it is in our genes. There are many
types of cancer, such as bone cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer and many
more.

Genetic diseases are caused by the disorder of the genes in the cells. A
common one is Down syndrome. It is caused by an extra chromosome,
which could either be originate from the mother or the father. Most often,
however, the extra chromosome is coming from the mother. People with
Down syndrome have hearing deficits, many of them have congenital
heart disease and they often have more eye problems and skeletal
problems than the others who do not have this chromosome disorder.
There is no effective medical treatment available at the present time.

All of the above non-infectious diseases are related to the genes that we
have, but there are still ways in preventing them. Many of them are
closely related to our living style and eating habits. To prevent these
diseases we should not take in food with too much fat, because it will
increase the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Also we should
not smoke, because smoking lead to cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
We should also keep a clean environment and prevent pollutions, because
pollution is the causes for allergies. Regular exercise and a good sleeping
habit are also essential for preventing these diseases. The cause many of
these diseases are still unknown, but we can still prevent them by keeping
a healthy lifestyle. As the medical is advancing so quickly and we are
getting more information about our genetic make-up, I am sure that we
can find out the causes of theses disease in the near future and hopefully
we can find the method of curing them