A common misconception regarding onchocerciasis is that the disease can be contracted through physical contact. In many communities, contracting the disease meant social destruction. More specifically, those with the disease were often viewed as “imperfect” and are an “abnormality” to their community (Adeoye et al, 2010). Interaction with them are looked down upon and deliberately avoided. In fact, many infected individuals were observed to enter self-imposed isolation. This causes a lot of problems for the infected: depression due to isolation due as well as employment and occupational difficulties. As mentioned earlier, onchocerciasis is the world’s second leading cause of blindness in preventable infectious diseases (WHO, 2014). People that are blind or partially blind are unable to find or keep jobs, and rely heavily on their family for income, food and shelter. According to WHO 2013 report, the loss in socioeconomic development due to onchocerciasis was thirty million U.S. dollars in the early 1970s. It led to immediate response from the west and the implementation of the Onchocerciasis Control Program (OCP) in 1974. …show more content…
In fact, 93 percent of all cases of nodding syndrome are from areas where onchocerciasis is prevalent (WHO, Feb. 14, 2012). Nodding syndrome stunts mental growth in children between five and 15 years old, and lead to disturbed levels of consciousness and cognitive impairment later in life. In rare cases, some with nodding syndrome may even develop epilepsy. The affected individuals were often seen tied around trees, many became victims of criminal acts. Furthermore, onchocerciasis also promote other diseases by degrading the skin of individuals to such an extent that injections cannot be administered (WHO,
In total, over 600,000 soldiers lost their lives in battle and to disease. While many soldiers anticipated the honorable death of dying on the field, there were twice as many soldiers that died from disease in the camp as that that died in battle. During the 19th century, medicine was relatively primative, and the lack of the germ theory or knowledge of antiseptic resulted in rapid disease spreading. Lack of general resources such as adequate clothes, nutrition, clean water, and santitary stations also contributed to the spread of common diseases like measles, typhoid fever, and malaria. Most commonly, soldiers suffered from diarheia and disentary, which combined with lack of clean water resulted in many cruel deaths.
The community is scared of patients in quarantine and health consequences occur such as the inability to get food from the grocery store, go to the bank or write cheques and the victims are encouraged to stay indoors. This puts victims at risk for mental consequences such as depression and mental illnesses related to isolation. Health care workers risked their lives to interact and treat the victims in the story as well as an anonymous nurse who showed Bruce their support by leaving groceries outside his door (CBC, 2013). 5. The Ebola virus is spread through infected body fluids that get in your mucous membranes or breaks in the skin and it is only contagious when the infected individual presents with symptoms know as droplet spread.
Autism There are many common diseases that modify the functions of the human body. Neurological diseases, for example, could affect anyone at any time. The worst kinds of neurological diseases are those which can affect the functions of the human brain. A well-known example is autism, and it has become a widespread disease among children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 of every 68 children in the U.S would have autism spectrum disorder; moreover, the study shows that 1 in 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls would have autism spectrum disorder (1).
However, diseases began to impact populations more than previously imaginable. For example, syphilis became dangerous
They would use dirty instruments and would neglect to wash their hands between patients, which would cause the patients’ wounds to become infected. There were outbreaks of measles, malaria, small pox, pneumonia, and camp itch, which was spread by insects. In addition to bugs and doctors spreading disease, there was also the fact that garbage was everywhere around soldiers’ campsites, having been dumped just inside camp boundaries in an attempt at
These diseases were spread throughout many military camps because of poor sanitation, lack of clean living quarters, over-crowded camps, poor nutrition, and lack of shelter and clothing. A few of the most common methods used by physician to “cure” these
The afflicted girls lived with people who owned that grain that had the fungus so if they ate it it would cause the
The spread started in the 1970s when the medical community became aware.
This is a disease caused by ingesting the same fungus used to make LSD. The fungus can also be found in water, which may lead to why it was mainly females and children to become affected. For one, they would be drinking less alcohol than men. Alcohol would have killed the ergot fungus, leaving drinks like beer and cider unaffected. In addition, children would have had lower immune systems, and would be more prone to contracting the illness.
Ranging from physical diseases such as cancer to mental disorders such as
The movie “One flew over the cuckoo’s nest” gives an inside look into the life of a patient living in a mental institution; helping to give a new definition of mental illnesses. From a medical standpoint, determinants of mental illness are considered to be internal; physically and in the mind, while they are seen as external; in the environment or the person’s social situation, from a sociological perspective (Stockton, 2014). Additionally, the movie also explores the idea of power relations that exist between an authorized person (Nurse Ratched) and a patient and further looks into the punishment a deviant actor receives (ie. McMurphy contesting Nurse Ratched). One of the sociological themes that I have observed is conformity.
Characterized by “nausea, vomiting, muscle pain, weakness, numbness, and itching”, ergotism, caused by the fungus Claviceps purpurea that grows on rye and grasses, is also responsible for gangrene of the limbs in victims (WebMD). When accusing Witches of inflicting “evil” on others, one commonly cited symptom was the death of the inflicted person’s body parts. Symptoms of ergotism were prevalent in other locations, such as Norway. In the 1621 witch trial of Siri Knudsdatter of Vardso, one of Knudsdatter’s confessions stated that when she and her
They cannot enjoy the things they once loved to do. They try to avoid the company of others because they feel they are only pitied due to the disease. Even after all that there is hope to escape the dreadful darkness. Dale Maxin is proof of
To have the privilege of being able to see, you always wonder how life is to someone that can’t. Life revolves a lot in knowing what you can see, hear, taste, smell, and touch. These are some things we take for granted, sometimes you really have to sit yourself down and acknowledge how lucky you are. But in an imperfect world, some people aren’t as lucky and you have to be willing to listen and learn about what other people go through.
As children are exposed to influences outside the home, they begin to develop social skills such as self-control, sharing, and relationship building. Imagine if these skills were never learned. Dining out would be an entirely different experience. Adults would be pitching fits and fighting over the menu! Sadly, there are known cases of human isolation that prove the importance social