An Acute Illness - Paper Example

Introduction

An acute illness is any medical condition with rapid onset. The term is mostly used to differentiate cases from chronic illness. It is important to note that an acute illness includes a bacterial and viral infection, which can also be in the form of a short or sudden physical symptom. A chronic condition by definition is a long-developing syndrome such as asthma. A good example of acute illness is a heart attack. Such type of condition is onset, and it can attack a person even who have never experience such condition in the past. Reports indicate that acute illness is one of the most deadly condition since it accounts for 56% of the mortality rate around the world. It is a common condition for elderly people since the body might fail to respond well to how specific organs tend to function. There are two types of acute illness, and they include acute mountain sickness and acute radiation sickness. It is noted that an acute illness can occur throughout the body system. Example of acute illness includes acute leukemia and strep throat.

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Symptoms

Medical reports indicate that there are various symptoms associated with different types of acute illness. In that way, any person who starts to experience any such symptoms should seek medical interventional immediately. The typical symptom of acute illness is a headache. Every person who is likely to develop such type of illness will experience some slight headache, which will last for a very long period. In most case, people who experience headaches will only take a few painkillers, and it would reduce (Lamont, 2016). However, with such type of illness, the body would not respond to such types of painkillers. Another common symptom of acute illness is diarrhea. Since the digestion system of the body is not functioning properly, the person is likely to experience a lot of diarrhea cases in which he/she should seek medical intervention (Feinstone, 2013). Over the years, there have been reports, which suggest that diarrhea is a symptom for any diseases, and it would not be peculiar to determine if it is associated with acute illness. However, it is important to note that acute illness tends to affect a person within a short time and even it can result in death. For example, if a person gets a heart attack, the heart would not function as expected. This means that other parts of the body would not receive oxygen properly as the blood flow would be affected (Levine, 2018). In that way, the person is likely to experience a lot of pain, and he/she will need some medical intervention. In addition, such type, of heart attacks will require immediate intervention since if the person sty for more than one hour without any help, he/she is likely to die.

Difficulty in breathing is also another symptom that is associated with acute illness. Most of the people who are having asthma tend to walk around with inhalers. This is because that type of illness can affect them at any time of the day or night. It is a condition that is onset, and a person cannot anticipate as to what time that sickness would attack. In such a case, the person will experience a lot of breathing problems. Medical reports indicate that asthma attacks about to 10% of the total mortality rate around the world. Some people might not be able to know how best to overcome such a condition when they are affected. This is mostly experienced when those people have no one else to help them (De Andrade, 2015). It is advised that parents should keep a close eye on their children who are suffering from asthma. They should teach them on how to responds to those types of attacks and ensure that the often carry their inhalers. The primary purpose of those inhalers is to open the breathing system, which is usually blocked when a person is attacked.

People who are having Acute HIV infection might not experience any such symptoms for an extended period. It is reported that they can only experience for a few days and then it disappears. It makes people believe that they are healed (Cooper, 2017). However, once they reaper again in the future, it might be very severe. People with Acute HIV infection are instructed to continuing taking the ARVS medication as it helps in boosting the immune system of the body and suppressed the rate at which those virus spread inside their bodies. In such a case, even if the person is experiencing an acute illness, it will be at the average rate.

Dehydration is another common symptom that is associated with acute illness. This is the sect in which the body lacks enough water making the skin to appear dry. Depending on the type of acute illness patients might be suffering from, it is highly recommended that they take a lot of water. The level of water in the body helps to boost the function of the blood vessels in a way. In addition, people who experience any asthma attacks will be required to take a lot of water, which can also help in opening the air spaces. Nose bleeding is a common symptom in all type of acute illness. This is due to the disturbance of the flow of blood in the body.

Diagnosis

For any acute illness to be diagnosed, it will require the intervention of a specialist. Some acute illness can be mild while others can be easy to identify. For example, it is easy to identify any person that is suffering from an asthma attack especially if that individual has experienced such type of condition in the past (Bergmann, 2016). However, for any person who suffers from a heart attack to a stroke, it will require the medical intervention of a specialist to examine how that condition came about and the best way of treating it. With the increased level of technology, different types of acute illness cane are treated within the shortest time possible.

Treatment

Since there are different types of acute illness, different types of treatment can be administered. In most of the medical institutions, there are places allocated for people who are suffering from acute illness since, as they are likely to receive a lot of care. The treatment ranges based on the severity of the condition. People who might receive asthma attacks will only require to be given a few injections to boost the immune system. In some case, they might be given a drip of water to prevent the body from being dehydrated. However, it is noted that people who suffered from heart attacks tend to receive a particular type of treatment. This is because they can die without having proper medication. Doctors are supposed to place that individual in an intensive healthcare unit where the patients who were placed under some machines filled with oxygen. It will ensure that the amount of oxygen in the body does not reduce. It is very rare for people who are suffering from acute illness to be operated. Notably, some of that condition affects different joints of the body. In such case, the doctor would try to give the patient different antibiotics that would fight those bacteria and boost the immune system if his or her body.

Conclusion

An Acute illness is one of the most deadly conditions, which have resulted in the deaths of millions of people around the world. In fact, in 2015, the WHO organization held a meeting to discuss and list some of the most common type of acute illness that various governments need to ensure that they have the proper type of facilities to treat them. As such, it shows how serious the condition is to the society. It is recommended that people who have suffered from an acute illness in the past to continue seeking medical intervention to ensure that he/she does not receive such type of attack in the future. Another important thing is that all type of acute illness can be treated. As much as some of the condition might take a more extended period to be treated, the medical doctors are still researching how to improve on those areas. Heart attacks are the most come type of acute illness that has resulted dot the deaths of much illness. Also, most of that acute illness is likely to affect the elderly compared to the younger generation.

References

Bergmann, J. F., & Neuhart, E. (2016). A multicenter randomized double-blind study of enoxaparin compared with unfractionated heparin in the prevention of venous thromboembolic disease in elderly in-patients bedridden for an acute medical illness. Thrombosis and haemostasis, 76(04), 529-534.

Cooper, D., Maclean, P., Finlayson, R., Michelmore, H., Gold, J., Donovan, B., ... & Sydney AIDS Study Group. (2017). Acute AIDS retrovirus infection: definition of a clinical illness associated with seroconversion. The Lancet, 325(8428), 537-540.

De Andrade, D. C., Jean, S., Clavelou, P., Dallel, R., & Bouhassira, D. (2015). Chronic pain associated with the Chikungunya Fever: long lasting burden of an acute illness. BMC infectious diseases, 10(1), 31.

Feinstone, S. M., Kapikian, A. Z., & Purcell, R. H. (2013). Hepatitis A: detection by immune electron microscopy of a viruslike antigen associated with acute illness. Science, 182(4116), 1026-1028.

Levine, H., Szanto, P. B., & Cugell, D. W. (2018). Tuberculous pleurisy: an acute illness. Archives of internal medicine, 122(4), 329-332.

Lamont, C. T., Sampson, S., Matthias, R., & Kane, R. (2016). The outcome of hospitalization for acute illness in the elderly. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 31(5), 282-288.