Still other problems

With all the hype and press around corona virus and its devastating effects on the world, a lot of other diseases are being left out of the news and health reports. Especially the chronic diseases that are causing hospitalization and extreme effects on people who have developed corona. According to the CDC website, 6 in 10 Americans have a chronic disease and 4 in 10 Americans have two or more chronic diseases. These include so many but the most common are: heart disease, cancer, chronic lung disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s , stroke, and kidney disease. Specifically, this post is going to focus on chronic lung disease and diabetes.

Chronic lung disease – inflamed airways, tissues that distribute oxygen are destroyed, breath capacity decreases; sounds fun right? COPD is the third leading cause of death according to American Lung Association website. This disease is preventable, it can also be treated but their is no cure. Treatment can consist of multiple medications, oxygen therapy, and pulmonary rehab. But, figuring out what causes this chronic disease is how we prevent it. Over time, lungs that are exposed to constant irritants are damaged. Smoking puts 7,000 harmful chemicals into your lungs with one inhale. Smokers are considered largely immune-compromised especially for infectious diseases that involve the lungs. COVID-19 is killing many men and women across the world who have damaged lung capacity and immunity due to COPD and how can that be prevented: stop smoking.

Additionally, diabetes is another huge chronic disease that is rising in Americans. There are two types of diabetes. Type 1 which is classified by the lack of production of insulin and Type 2 which prevents it from being used in the body. According to the 2020 National Diabetes Statistic Report, 34.2 million people of all ages or 10.5% of the US population have diabetes and the percentage of adults with diabetes increases with age, reaching 26.8% among those aged 65 years or older. Not only is this disease hugely prevalent, but it is very costly. The total direct and indirect estimated costs of diagnosed diabetes in the United States in 2017 was $327 billion. How do we prevent this? Treat obesity and diet issues in America. With healthier lifestyles including physical activity and better diets, this issue can be slowed and decreased drastically.

So take care of your body. Make smart decisions so that we are able to develop strong immune systems in order to defend against viruses that feed on those with chronic diseases.