Hi guys I wanted to start this chapter on talking about my physical and health updates for the week. I have been trying to focus on meal prepping and getting every workout in. But that was not the case this week. I have been extremely busy as my schoolwork has been none stop and also I just recently got a new 8 week old puppy, which is a lot of work. I honestly just want the world to go back to normal so I can have normal conversations with my friends and family not having to worry about this anymore. Hopefully it doesn’t go into our summer even thought I am fearful it is going to.
Overall this Chapter focused on sexually transmitted disease and infectious conditions. The first thing that stood out to me was how quick acting and strong our immune systems are at this age. “As soon as an antigen breaches the body’s initial defenses, the body responds by forming substances called antibodies that are matched to that specific antigen, much as a key is matched to a lock”(p.286). This is crazy to think about how our bodies are always on guard trying to protect and defend itself from infection illnesses or diseases. There are a multitude of steps that our body does to defend itself. It is also cool to think that we build immunities to diseases that we have already had. Meaning once we develop them it is almost impossible for us to redevelop the same illness or disease. Another thing that can help keep our immune systems strong is to work on bettering ourselves everyday through physical activity and practicing healthy habits.
The next that caught my attention was the tremendous risk that STI’s have. It is crazy to think that even when practicing safe sex by using condoms or other protective sexual products you are still at a moderate risk to develop an STI. So the only way to truly stay away from ever developing this is not engaging in sexual intercourse which is ridiculous and I feel that there should be something that is going to limit your risk factors more than the average condom would. Another thing that caught my attention was the large number who are afraid to face the reality of the situation. “Unfortunately, the infected usually continue to be sexually active, thereby infecting unsuspecting partners”(p.298). IT is scary to think that so many people are “afraid” to seek medical attention and rather continue to affect there health and the health of the people they choose to infect. This is pure ignorance.
The last thing that caught my eye was the emerging diseases chapter in which it stated “Although our immune systems are adept at responding to challenges, microbes and other pathogens appear to be gaining ground”(p.294). This is concerning especially because of the pandemic we are in right now, facing a virus that we have not seen before so our bodies don’t know how to react. This has happened many times over the years and will continue to happen when new and emerging viruses and disease continue to develop and spread. The only thing we can do to help prevent this is limit “human overpopulation, inadequate health care, increasing poverty, environmental degradation, and drug resistance”(p.294).
I figured I would post a picture of my new puppy with my other german shepherd to put a smile on everyones face who is struggling with this quarantine.
