2020 has not only been the year of covid 19, numerous infectious diseases are spreading and climate change is the cause. These are some of the challenges we will face in 2021.
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has changed the lives of all humanity, with more than 80 million people directly affected and almost two million dead, changes in our hygiene and relationship habits have been necessary, rapid and profound.. Y We must maintain them because the risk of contagion is still very high.
From everything we have learnt, at Biosalud Day Hospital we have retained certain habits that can help us to stay healthy, such as good hand hygiene or protecting ourselves with our elbow when sneezing. These are simple gestures that are worth a lot. And beyond, the attention we are paying to our immune systemThe children are concerned to keep him in good health.
The network of cells, organs and molecules that make up the immune system extends throughout the body. This defence of the body has evolved over millions of years and its regulation in the face of attack depends, among other things, on interactions between the nervous system and the endocrine system. This is why, when we talk about habits that can strengthen the immune system, we know that sport, sleep and nutrition are good for our defences.. Stress, on the other hand, weakens it.
But 2020 was not only the year of Covid-19. Extreme weather events were more numerous than at any other time. Climate change is having a direct impact on entire populations, is increasing the atmospheric temperature and is bringing us diseases. Especially infectious pathologies.
Rising global temperatures particularly affect older people or those with chronic pathologies. The heat has a direct impact on their health: it is estimated that in the EU, for every degree that the average temperature increases, mortality increases between one and four percent.
The heat is also having a major impact on the changing geographic distribution of vectors - those animals that transmit diseases such as ticks or mosquitoes - and the following are being detected infectious pathologies in areas where these insects were not previously present.
A paper recently published in the journal PLoS ONEcoordinated by the Université de Tours, the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the Hannover Medical School, has revealed that half of the population is not aware of the link between climate change and climate change and concludes that the climate change is not a problem, If we are sensitive to this relationship, we will be more likely to fight climate change.
The One Health concept, on which the World Health Organisation is working to improve public health globally, links animal health, plant health and the environment. We are part of a whole and what we do in one of these areas can influence the others.
There are those who believe that we still have room to slow down global warming. At Biosalud Day Hospital, as specialists in infectious diseases, we know that the first step is prevention at the individual level. Diseases such as Lyme are already endemic in many areas of the United States and Europe and their incidence is increasing because ticks breed for longer periods and travel for longer periods with migratory birds.
The Lyme disease is a great challenge. We have talked a lot in our articles about this pathology because we consider it necessary to know how it is transmitted, the correct diagnosis and the appropriate treatment. A tick bite can paralyse a person's life if the bacteria are transmitted. borrelia bugdorferi. Affecting millions of people in Europe, there are few specialists in the diagnosis and treatment of this pathology. That is why at Biosalud we treat patients from all over the world.
The ultimate change of habits, live healthy
Diet, exercise, living in clean environments... we know that these are key determinants of health. However, we find it difficult to acquire healthy habits on a permanent basis.
In Integrative Medicine we believe that in order to maintain a good state of health, physical, environmental and emotional aspects are important. Everything influences the immune system and in our diagnostic approach it is of great importance in the following aspects analysis of those sources that interfere with our health.
Every day we see more and more chronic diseases -We are also able to treat allergies, autoimmune and rheumatic diseases, functional disorders and syndromes related to sensitivity to different substances or phenomena. Knowing the origin of the pathology in each case leads to complex but also healing treatments.
A healthy lifestyle is not only about eating a balanced diet or doing sport. We are surrounded by insecticides and herbicides, heavy metals, endocrine disrupters, fungi and other elements that pollute the air, our food or water and therefore affect our health.
READ FOOD, HEALTH AND SULPHITES
While it is difficult to get out of our environment to get away from everything that harms us, it is difficult to get out of our environment to get away from everything that harms us, it is important to remain aware of our surroundings and to make choicesThe following are some of the ways we can help: moderate consumption, read the labels on the food we eat or disconnect from the omnipresent electronic devices on a regular basis.
Sport, 43 minutes a day
The closure of gyms, restrictions on mobility and the demands of social distance have reduced the time we devote to physical activity. In other words, we are more sedentary and this has alerted the World Health Organisation, which is calling for more hours of sport.
Specifically, the WHO recommendation for adults is to spend between 150 and 300 minutes in sport. Around 43 minutes a day can help prevent non-communicable diseases and does not have to be followed, but every minute counts.
In the case of children and adolescents, the requirement is higher, as it is recommended to exercise for at least one hour during the day. In addition, they specify that "cVigorous activities that strengthen, in particular, muscles and bones should be incorporated at least three times a week.
