Maintaining Good Health

The World Health Organization defines good health as a state of physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

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We can maintain good physical and mental health by

• eating a balanced diet
• doing regular exercise to keep the various body parts in a healthy condition;
• resting the body mentally and physically through recreational activities and sleep(about 6 to 8 hours for adults, more for growing children); and
• doing work suited to our mental and physical ability.

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We can achieve social well-being through a well-balanced family and comunity life.

Bad habits like excessive smoking and drinking alcohol, and drug addiction ruin rhe health of a person. So we must be careful not to acquire these habits.

Good health helps us to resist most pathogenic micro-organisms. This is because the body has defence mechanisms to fight against pathogenic micro-organisms. These mechanisms function efficiently in a healthy person.

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The body's defence mechanisms include

• a healthy skin and mucous membrane which prevent the entry of pathogenic micro-organisms into the body;
• substances in tissue secretions such as tears, sweat, saliva and mucous secretion, that kill or inhibit the growth of invading micro-organisms;
• body's natural microflora that prevent pathogens from colonizing the body;
• white blood cells that eat up or ingest the invading micro-organisms; and
• the ability to produce antibodies, substances that can react with the invading pathogenic micro-organisms and prevent them or their toxins from harming the body.

Malnutrition makes the skin susceptible to injury, thus enabling micro-organisms to enter the body. Tobacco smoke and air pollutants weaken and injure the mucous membrane lining the respiratory tract, thereby lowering their resistance to microbial attack.

We should also take preventive measures to ensure good health by being vaccinated against diseases like diptheria, tetanus and tuuberculosis. A given vaccine helps the body make the relevant antibodies, so that when the actual disease-causing micro-organisms get into the blood, the antibodies are already present or can be made quickly. This helps the body to get rid of the disease-causing organisms rapidly.

Personal Health and Community Health

Each person must safeguard, maintain and improve his health. A person who takes all measures to promote his own health contributes to the health of the community. A person who neglects his health may be responsible for the spread of infectious diseases to others in the community. Such a person becomes a burden to the community.

Always stay healthy so you can keep up with all your daily activities, as the saying goes HEALTH IS WEALTH.

For further reading visit

http://docshare.tips/health_57527fcdb6d87f9f808b4702.html

http://textbookofbacteriology.net/innate_3.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airway

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Thanks For Reading

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