18 Where There Is No Doctor 2011
DIFFERENT KINDS OF SICKNESSES AND THEIR CAUSES
When considering how to prevent or treat different sicknesses, it helps to think of
them in two groups: infectious and non-infectious.
Infectious diseases are those that spread from one person to another. Healthy
persons must be protected from people with these sicknesses.
Non-Infectious diseases do not spread from person to person. They have other
causes. Therefore, it is important to know which sicknesses are infectious and which
are not.
Non-infectious Diseases
Non-infectious diseases have many different causes. But they are never caused by
germs, bacteria, or other living organisms that attack the body. They never spread from
one person to another. It is important to realize that antibiotics, or medicines that fight
germs (see p. 55), do not help cure non-infectious diseases.
Remember: Antibiotics are of no use for non-infectious diseases.
EXAMPLES OF NON-INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Problems caused by something
that wears out or goes wrong
within the body:
rheumatism
heart attack
epileptic seizures
stroke
migraine headaches
cataract
cancer
Problems caused by something
from outside that harms or
troubles the body:
allergies
asthma
poisons
snakebite
cough from smoking
stomach ulcer
alcoholism
Problems caused by a lack of
something the body needs:
malnutrition
anemia
pellagra
night blindness and
xerophthalmia
goiter and cretinism
cirrhosis of the liver
(part of the cause)
Problems people are born with:
harelip
crossed or wall-eyes
(squint)
other deformities
epilepsy (some kinds)
mental slowness
birthmarks
Problems that begin in the mind
(mental illnesses):
fear that something is harmful when it is not
(paranoia)
nervous worry (anxiety)
belief in hexes (witchcraft)
uncontrolled fear (hysteria)
Infectious Diseases
Infectious diseases are caused by bacteria and other organisms (living things) that
harm the body. They are spread in many ways. Here are some of the most important
kinds of organisms that cause infections and examples of sicknesses they cause: