Notes for Mr. Brown’s 10 grade Health Education class.

Introduction

 

Health Knowledge vs Health Behavior

                While knowledge is important, our behavior determines our health.

                I used an Apple vs M&Ms choice to illustrate this point.    The idea is that the apple is the better choice if you are  using health knowledge but because the M&Ms tastes better our behavior is usually to eat the candy. 

 

Health Definitions:

  1. Health is total mental, physical, and social well being not just the absence of disease or infirmity.  (notice this has the three parts of the health triangle)
  2. Health is the ability to rally from insult.
  3. Health is relative not absolute.

Mr. Brown finds the first (a World Health Organization definition) an ideal to strive for but not a realistic working definition.  Mr. Brown likes the second one as it recognizes the reality of life.  The third is important to keep in mind as we search for the best health options for ourselves.

 

Some use the word Wellness to describe this overall state of good health.

 

 

Put Down/Vulture/Validation

Putdown: Words, looks or actions that make someone feel bad about themselves.

Vulture:  a self-putdown.

Validation:  Words, looks or actions that make someone feel real.

 

Sarcasm:  a cutting, hostile, or contemptuous remark.  The use of caustic or ironic language.

                It is usually opposite of your real feelings, mean spirited, and used in a way to hide true feelings.

                Tone of voice is usually an integral element of sarcasm.

                Mr. Brown feels that sarcastic interactions are not healthy.

 

Pecking Order:  (a story Mr. Brown tells about chickens)

 

Decision-Making Model

1. Define the Problem.

State exactly what the problem is or the situation around which a decision needs to be made

2. Consider All Alternatives.

3. Consider the Consequences of Each Alternative.

List all possible outcomes – both positive and negative – for each alternative or each course of action that could be taken.  It is important to have full and correct information at this point.

4. Consider Family and Personal Values.

5. Choose one Alternative.

                Some times it is easy to choose and hard to do, other times hard to choose and easy to implement.

6. Implement the Decision.

Do what is necessary to have the decision carried out the way you want it to be.  It may be necessary to develop a step-by-step program with a  timetable to make sure things get done.

7. Evaluate the Decision.

Mr. Brown thinks this is the most important step.

 

Decision Making:      http://www.mapnp.org/library/prsn_prd/prb_bsc.htm

 

 

 

 

Disease Unit

 

Communicable Disease

Mr Brown tells two stories to introduce this area:  One is about his daughter Katherine, Chicken Pox and His Grandmother.  Mr. Brown's Nanny was born in Portsmouth, Ohio in 1899, was infected with a herpes zoster virus about 1904, gave her virus to her 3 and ˝ year old great grand-daughter in November of 1979, who then in turn carried the virus to her play group in New Jersey.  Several of Katherine's friends had chicken pox for Christmas!  The decedents of that virus are now in my daughter waiting for its opportunity to come and infect a new round of people.

 

 

The second story is about a ski lodge in Colorado that had an improper septic/well design.  When a guest came to visit who was an asymptomatic carrier of Entamoeba histolytica (the organism that causes amebic dysentery), The disease was passed on to several other guests.

 

What was the time and place line of the herpes zoster virus in story #1?

What should an investigator think when a number of isolated cases of a fecal-oral disease such as dysentery show up on the CDC reports?  Do you know what a fecal-oral disease is?

 

Terms and concepts:

Communicable Disease / Contagious Disease

 

                Resident Bacteria -Live with us but do not help or hurt us.

                Symbiotic Organisms - live with us in a mutually helping relationship.

Learn about Vitamin K - http://arbl.cvmbs.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/misc_topics/vitamink.html

                Pathogens

                                Virus - remember antibiotics do not work against virus! 

                                Bacteria

                                Fungi

                                Protozoa

Toxins - Pathogens make us sick because their metabolic activity produces something that is toxic to humans.

                Virus make us sick because their life cycle kills our cells!

 

CDC - Center for Disease Control, Atlanta Georgia

 

Organisms to understand:

                Herpes Zoster - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/list_varicl.htm

                Entamoeba histolytica   - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/amebiasis/default.htm

                Salmonella - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/submenus/sub_salmonella.htm

                E-Coli - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/submenus/sub_ecoli.htm

 

Stages of Communicable disease:     

                                http://www.jacobbrown.com/RidgewoodHealthEd/grade10-2006-Disease/StagesOfDisease.jpg

                Contact - There are many ways to come into contact with a pathogen and have an infectious disease enter your body.  touch, sneeze, blood transfusion, share utensils, etc.

Incubation - pathogen growing but you are not sick.

                Prodromal - Start to get sick - usually infectious - still feel OK

                Acute stage - typical illness stage with all the standard symptoms

                Recovery/carrier/relapse/death   -  What determines which way a person goes during this final stage?

We watched a video about  Typhoid Mary - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Mallon

                "Typhoid Mary remains a potent symbol of our fear of disease and of the dilemma of how far should we go to protect ourselves"