Health and Diseases

I think health is the most important thing in life. Without health you can't enjoy your life. Diseases accompany you from the cradle to the grave. Mankind fight diseases and has made much progress.

Children's Diseases
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In the past millions of childrens died of children disease. Such as diphtheria, scarlet fever and polio. Some other disease were very dangerous. They were: children-pox (small-pox), measles, German measles and mumps. Today these diseases are rare because children are vaccinated against them.
German measles are very dangerous to girls and women. If they become ill with that disease, they may not have a baby.

Common Disease (illnesses)
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Sometimes you get ill but the illness isn't dangerous, so you don't go to the doctor's. You stay at home and in a day or a few days you are well again. Such illnesses may be: a cold, a stomachache and a headache.
But when you have flu or a sore throat you should see the doctor.

At The Doctor
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When it's my turn I enter the surgery. The doctor ussually asks me, "What's the metter with you?" or "What are you complaining of?" I answer, "Oh, doctor, I feel under the weather. I have a cold, I have a bad cough and I have a sore throath." Then the doctor says, "Let my examine you. Get undressed to the waist." He takes his stethoscope and listens to my lungs and hearth. He says, "Fortunately it isn't pneumonia. It is only bronchitis." He asks the nurse to take my temperature. The nurse puts a thermometer in my mounth. After a minute the nurse says that I have a temperature. Then the doctor says, "Now I'll write you out a prescription. I'll prescribe you antibiotics. You must take them twice a day each twelf hours after meal. You must stay in bad, drink hot tea with lemon and eat a lot of fruit."

Injuries
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Sometimes when we fall down or fall off tree, or fall off a bike we make injure ourselves. Sometimes it's only a bruise. Othertime it may be something more serious. Your ankle hurts it's swollen. You put a splint on your foot and then you must go for an X-ray. The X-ray will show if your ankle is sprained (put out) or broken. If it's sprained you put ice bags on it and in a few days you will be able to walk. If it's broken, your foot is put in plaster. After some weeks plaster is removed. Your foot is weak, however. You must go to physiotherapy.

If you injure your arm you use a sling and go to hospital.

Very Dangerous Diseases
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Some disease are still incurable. First of all it's AIDS. Some kinds of cancer are incurable too. However, if cancer is found out early enough and radiotheraphy and chemotheraphy are applied, cancer may be stopped. The third very dangerous disease is stroke. Many people die after stroke, many people are paralysed - many of them are confined to a weelchair. Eighty years ago tuberculosis (TBC) was an incurable disease too. Million of peoples died of TBC. But after Fleming had discovered penicilin, TBC became curable.
Cardio-vascular diseases are often the reason for death. They may end in heart attack which is often fatal. HIV And AIDS
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HIV means Human Immuno-deficiency Virus and it cause AIDS which means Acwuired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
AIDS is caused by HIV. One is infected by HIV and sometimes is takes 10 to 12 years until AIDS develops from HIV.
HIV can be passed on in these ways:
- Through unprotected sex with an infected person
- By sharing needles and other equipment with an infected person
- Through infected medical and dental instruments
- By blood transfusion with HIV infected blood
- From an infected mother to her baby during pregnancy, at birth or when breastfeeding
HIV affects first of all homesexuals and drug users. HIV can be transmitted through sex with an men or women. Many prostitudes are infected so having sex with a prostitude is risky.
How to protect from AIDS:
- be faithful to your partner
- using a condom
- not injecting drugs
- avoid having a tatoo or piercing unless the needle is sterile
- in case you need blood transfusion ask for screened blood
Blood should be screened for the presence of HIV or Hepatitis B.
Don't put your health at risk!!!

WHAT DEOSN'T GIVE YOU HIV ?
We can't get HIV or AIDS:
- by kissing
- by dirty crokery or food
- in swimming pool
- by insect bites
- by toalet seats
- by coughing or sneezing

Keep Fit
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Health is influenced by the way of life. If we want to be well, if we want to be fit we have to have a regular daily routine. It means we have to get up at the same time, we have to go to bed at the fixed time. We have to have a rest too. If we want to be well we would better walk to school not go by bus, or by car. We would better not take the lift, but walk up the stairs an down the stairs.
One of the most effective ways of keeping fit is do some sport. You needn't be a professional sportsman. Taking exercise is very healthy.

You may take exercise in the morning, you may take exercise by aerobics, by jazz-gymmnasting and by stretching. It's very useful to go jogging. You need nothing but only a pair of running shoes and tracksuit. Many people keep fit by swimming or cycling. Food And Health
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Food and health are closely connected. Your health often depends on well-ballanced diet. What does it mean ? Our food must contain: proteins, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins, roughage and minerels.
PROTEINS - they can be found in meat, in eggs, cheese, youghurt and other dairy products. White meat is better then red meat (beef, pork)
CARBOHYDRATES - they can be found in bread, pasta, pastry, cakes and chocolades
FAT - it can be found in bacon
VITAMINS - they can be found in fruit and vegetables
ROUGHAGE - can be found in cereals and poridge.
MINERALS - can be found in mineral water, in vegetables, for example beans contain a lot of calcium, which is very important for our bones and teeth, or spinch is full of iron.
Some people overeat and they are overweight or obeze. A lot of people eat fast fodd, which is often called junk food. Theese are hamburgers, cheesburgers, hot dogs, pizza, and fish and chips. On the other hand there are some health nuts. They buy foods only in health shops. It's good to eat five times a day: have a breakfast, have a snack, have lunch, have tea and have dinner. A Slovak proverb says: Have a breakfast like a king, have a lunch like a citizen and have dinner like a pauper. First Aid
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Could you help an injured friend? Do you remember a friend crying over a cut and bleeding knee? You felt very sorry and you wanted to help, didn't you ? Perhaps you didn't know what to do. Then you called your mum and she said: Tom needs first aid!
First aid means the first help in the case of an emergency.

First Aid Kit
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This is a box or a little case with things necessary for helping in an emergency. There should be bandages, sterile pads, scissors, waterproof plasters, safety pins, tape, antiseptic powder, and tweezers.

Do You Know What To Do In The Case Of Insect Sting ?
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Call and adult. If nobody is there help yourself:
1) If the sting is still in skin, remove it with tweezers. Grasp the sting as close to the skin as possible and carefully pull it out. Don't grasp the sting at the top. You may squeeze the poison sac.
2) Cool the area with cold compress to minimise the pain and sweeling.

Leave the compress in place until the pain is relieved, about ten minutes.

A Cold Compress Helps In Many Cases
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You can use a cloth - wring it out in cold water and replace every 10 minutes. You can use a bag of frozen peas - wrap it in a light towel before placing it on the injury. You can use ice.