How Many Diseases Can You Get At Once?

hey Brainerd is that a career quiz you're taking what do you got for the results you're meant to be a brilliant infectious disease researcher hey not bad for a guy who falls asleep in biology class yeah well your first assignment is to figure out the following how many diseases can you get it once since the research of diseases has always been well supported and well funded this should be a walk in the park right but before you get excited about sporting the fancy white lab coat we gotta ask Brainerd even know the first thing about diseases yeah thought so in that case listen up Brainerd as we unravel the mysterious science of disease according to the Dorland's Medical Dictionary a disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of an organism also commonly known as medical conditions diseases are not related to external injuries it's important to keep this definition in mind especially because the word disease is often more broadly used to refer to conditions that cause pain distress or dysfunction in a broader sense we even use the word when we refer to injuries disabilities disorders syndromes and infections which is all to say that we don't typically use the word disease correctly so now that the definition has been settled what's a virus and how does it differ a virus is a small organism that requires a living host otherwise they can't live themselves freaky huh sounds just like every alien movie you've ever watched Brainerd when a virus enters the body it invades your cells minding their own business and takes over the cell machinery as we like to say then it redirects the cells to produce the virus when viruses enter the body they risk causing an infectious disease like the kahlan flu or chickenpox [Music] man that was a terrible photo-op now back to the main star of the show diseases there are two camps of these bad boys infectious as mentioned before and non-infectious infectious diseases are called by pathogens such as bacteria viruses fungi and parasites while non-infectious diseases are the result of a person's environment lifestyle or genetics why is this important to understand because how you get sick reveals a lot of information about what is causing you to be sick let us explain imagine that a human body is the most popular party on the block all the pathogens are dying to get in think I just saw a parasite try to pay the bouncer so the only way to get into the party is to sneak through the air we breathe the food we eat and the liquids we drink and if they're really eager sometimes pathogens can also enter the body through openings in the skin like cuts when someone else carries an infectious disease if they coffin to their hands and then touch a doorknob or a staircase thus placing the virus on their surfaces then it's also possible the next person to touch that surface will pick it up especially if they don't practice good hygiene like washing their hands before chowing down but once these pathogens enter the body it doesn't guarantee disease either our body's bouncers also known as the immune system are often very good at veering off unwelcome visitors however pathogens have the ability to adapt and evolve much more quickly than the immune system in these cases pathogens have the upper hand and our body goes into defense mode in an effort to ward off the party crashers so that information wasn't only informative to your future career brainerd but it also was a lesson on the importance of hygiene plus you're confident in your immune system you eat a lot of oranges after all what if we told you that scientists hypothesize that there are about 10,000 diseases out there wait could that be right 10,000 well in 2016 the Washington Post fact checked this claim and reported that faster cures a branch of the Milken Institute counted you guessed it 10 big ones worth of diseases that affect the human race the World Health Organization also confirmed the number what's more terrifying is that 90 two hundred and thirty five of those are considered orphan diseases which is a category of rare disease that affects fewer than six out of 10,000 people if you ask us Brainerd we don't like those odds thankfully some of the deadliest diseases such as coronary artery disease and stroke are preventable if you practice a healthy lifestyle now to answer the big question is it possible to catch more than one disease at once and if so how many could you catch you see in 2010 a man by the name of soma Solanki was reported by The Times of India to have a record-breaking list of ailments it was reported that in his 47 years he suffered 20 Carius diseases so much that they sent his medical paper to the Guinness World Records for consideration before you go looking it up Solanki never made it to the infamous book mostly because the Guinness World Records doesn't want to encourage people to beat that one because each disease is mutually exclusive of the other or not relevant to one another doctors consider Salah Keyes condition extremely rare but his team of practitioners also affirm that many predisposing factors like heavy smoking most likely led to such a multitude of conditions many people like solanki are considered to suffer from a combination or calm or bida T as the medical field likes to call it of diseases a 2009 article released in the annals of family medicine scientific journal found that 90% of Medicare the United States primary health care provider is devoted to patients with four or more chronic diseases similarly those who suffer from a number of autoimmune diseases or those with multiple autoimmune syndrome also face a difficult time navigating everyday life uniquely autoimmune diseases are linked through genetics and environmental causes doctors are trying to figure out if there are common mechanisms between these that overlap for example a common combination is rheumatoid arthritis and C ogron's syndrome as per why scientists are still trying to figure it out those with multiple diseases can make things very challenging for their doctors here's why when there's an overlap in medical conditions considerations must be made for medication for example treatments for various diseases cannot interfere with one another at the risk of the patient it's like mixing two chemicals together in science class there are some mixtures that are more react give than others it could also be hard to seek out treatment when someone with a multitude of diseases reports their symptoms to a doctor practitioners could get confused you may be talking about different symptoms that are unrelated to one another but your doctor is seeking solutions for only one of them and then there's the fact if you have a rare disease which we've determined is roughly 9,000 of the 10,000 diseases in the human repertoire are you still hanging in there Brainard we hope you aren't too squirmy from all the medical talk a rare disease is tough to diagnose simply because most doctors don't see them if you've ever watched the Netflix New York Times documentary diagnosis this is a big problem in the medical world experts on a particular branch of a disease aren't all working together in a single lab no they're all over the world this is what experts refer to as of the diagnostic Odyssey which is the unfortunate reality of many patients with rare diseases they go to doctor after doctor after doctor in yep you guessed it to do a bunch of tests in between takes often this can take years of not knowing what's going on but there's some good news Medical Research is a highly funded field we're talking millions even billions of dollars go into comprehensive research into rare diseases but why a doctor from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons says that once rare diseases are understood that knowledge often translates into insights into common diseases not a bad incentive if he asked me so all this talk of diseases must really make you want to never leave the house right does this sound familiar Brainard well according to doctors a few steps could really decrease the chances of you getting a disease especially infectious ones if you experience fever fatigue coughing or muscle aches your body is trying to seriously tell you that you've caught something but if your immune system is up and working this should go away after some rest and lots of fluids the number one tip for prevention wash your hands like all the time secondly get vaccinated recommended vaccinations can drastically reduce your chances of contracting many diseases just make sure you're up to date and taking those extra doses if needed another room Orton keys to prepare food safely cook meats thoroughly clean your surfaces frequently and refrigerate leftovers don't let cooked foods remain at room temperature for long periods of time and your final tip is to stay home when you're ill in this case sharing is not caring Brainard if you've caught the bug virus bacteria whatever it is stay home this will not only quicken the time it takes for you to recover but it won't spread to other people either now enough of this heavy talk of diseases you need some good news like the rest of us the good news no actually the great news is that the future of healthcare is beyond promising general practitioners are talking about using their tablets to do ultrasounds little tiny drones will be able to enter into your body and shoot down intruders like cancers or viruses and then there's regenerative medicine that will be able to grow organs in labs so that the waits for organ transplants won't be so long other researchers predict a vaccine for asthma and algorithm to monitor patients nanotechnology that will transform chemotherapy treatments and even a cure to type one diabetes and then there is always robots and fancy lab coats and AIS that are so helpful that they can reduce hospital wait times and diagnose patients at internet speed yeah we're excited about the future of medicine as much as you are Brainard it's extremely promising especially for your curious and determined mind and minds that are determined to enter the field if the data from UC Berkeley is correct then there should be no shortage of funding for this exciting field with governments nonprofits and private investments supporting the advancement of medicine there's bound to be more answers than questions in the future it may be hard to focus on the good news these days but we swear it's out there bran yurt but of course there's lots to learn in this field so if you feel like brushing up on other topics concerning the human body then check out some of these videos it'll be good to watch something other than logan paul it's just as entertaining but way more informative later Brainard [Music] [Music]

Channel: Brainiac

Views: 67,160

Rating: 4.9135022 out of 5

Keywords: the science of diseases, virus versus disease, autoimmune disease, infectious diseases, pandemics, epidemics, immune system, how to prevent diseases, how to stay healthy, brainiac, cold & flue, covid-19, bug vs virus

Id: k8AA6EehF0Y

Length: 10min 27sec (627 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 21 2020