Specific and nonspecific disease prevention

Better to prevent an ailment than to deal with the consequences. The phrase is the best suited for the prevention of diseases, especially of an infectious nature - influenza, SARS. This category includes a set of methods, measures, programs. All of them can be divided into two large categories - specific and nonspecific prevention. In the article we will reveal the content, features of these groups, as well as analyze other important issues on the topic.

What is prevention?

Prevention in medicine is a set of measures that are aimed both at preventing the development of the disease, and at stopping the spread of pathogenic microorganisms harmful to humans.

Prevention is divided into stages:

• Primary Its purpose is to prevent the development of pathology. Measures affecting the occurrence, spread of pathogen viruses.
• Secondary Eliminate factors that contribute to the recurrence of pathology. It is carried out after diagnosing the symptoms of the disease.

Types of prevention

Medical prevention is divided into two types:

• Specific. A means of combating infectious diseases, the purpose of which is to create immunity against them.
• Nonspecific. General measures that affect the distribution efficiency of a pathogenic agent.

What are specific preventive measures?

We begin to study specific and non-specific prophylaxis. What is the first? It involves the introduction of a vaccine to protect the body of a child and an adult. Vaccination helps both completely protect against infection with a particular ailment, and during the course of any disease to protect a person from serious complications.

Specific prevention is one of the most effective. In most cases, it involves the introduction of proteins of a weakened virus. This contributes to the development of the body's defense, which will be resistant to a strong strain.

Specific prevention is desirable, and often mandatory, for the following categories of people:

• Children and adolescents from 0.5 to 15 years.
• Seniors from 65 years.
• Medical staff, workers who have to contact a large flow of people during the day.

According to statistics, in 80% of cases, vaccination helps to completely protect themselves from the disease. Even if the virus penetrates into the body and strengthens in it, the course of the disease will not be so severe, dangerous complications will not develop. On average (the specificity of a given vaccine affects the term) after the introduction of the vaccine, the immune defense forms in 2 weeks.

Specific preventive category: types

Specific prevention is further divided into three groups:

• Active. The introduction of a vaccine into the body. These are living, killed microorganisms, their parts. The body produces antibodies against them on its own.
• Passive. Enter in the form of serum ready-made antibodies.
• Active passive. The combination of the first two forms.

What relates to non-specific protection

What is non-specific prophylaxis? This includes other drugs that also help the body resist infection. These are the following groups of tools:

• Immunobiological medications.
• Antiviral agents.
• Preparations of a chemical nature.

Doctors recommend purchasing such funds in advance and always keep them at hand - in a home medicine cabinet. However, only the attending physician should help with the choice of a specific prophylactic drug, its dosage, frequency of use!

Other non-specific preventive measures

Nonspecific prophylaxis is not only medications. This includes wellness, sanitary, hygienic procedures that are available to everyone, easy to remember and implement. Surely you know them from childhood:

• Wash your hands regularly with soap after the street, toilet procedures, work, games. And be sure to eat!
• Use only individual hygiene items - a toothbrush, washcloth, towels, napkins, combs, etc.
• For hygiene procedures outside the house (say, before eating at a picnic), pre-purchase wet sanitary napkins, antibacterial agents.
• Nonspecific disease prevention - do not touch your mouth and nose unnecessarily, do not bite your nails, do not keep fingers and foreign objects in the oral cavity. Thus, you directly deliver viruses to a favorable environment for them.
• Ventilate the living area regularly. In the warm season, it is recommended to keep the window open all the time - especially during sleep.
• An excellent purchase will be a home air humidifier - it will relieve the latter of dryness, which is typical for the period of the heating season.
• Follow the classic principles of daily routine, wakefulness, sleep, work and rest.
• Your menu should always have fresh fruits and vegetables, freshly squeezed fruit juices, herbal teas and fruit drinks.
• Hardening will also be useful. However, it is still worth resorting to this measure of non-specific prevention of infectious diseases in the warm season.
• Refer to folk methods - vitamin fruit drinks from berries, herbal decoctions, infusions, etc.

We have identified only general non-specific preventive measures. However, individual measures are better for forming the body's defense against viruses. They are best developed with your doctor.

How does an infection get into the body?

The specific measures of non-specific disease prevention depend on the way in which a particular infection can enter the body. Based on this, doctors recommend the most appropriate protection method.

Acute and chronic infections can enter the human body in several ways:

• Transmissible. This is how malaria, encephalitis, and typhus are transmitted.
• Contact (household). This is a route of infection with scabies, tetanus, and herpes.
• Fecal-oral. This is a method of infection with such dangerous diseases as dysentery, diphtheria, enterocolitis.
• Airborne. Measles, tuberculosis, SARS, influenza, pertussis, rubella.

We will consider each path in detail.

Airborne Disease Prevention

Non-specific tuberculosis prophylaxis, as we noted above, will fall into this category. Let's look at all the measures to counter infections that are transmitted by airborne droplets:

• Systematic hardening.
• A physically active lifestyle.
• Regular ventilation, disinfection (e.g. periodic wet cleaning) of the living room.
• During epidemics (most of all it concerns the flu), when going out, do not forget to protect yourself with a fresh cotton-gauze bandage.
• Before visiting, do not forget to treat the mucous membrane of the oropharynx and nose with a special antiseptic - especially for children. You can use the drugs widely represented in pharmacies - Miramistin, Aquamaris and the like.
• Do not forget to follow the basic rules of personal hygiene.
• If you are being treated for an acute or chronic form of a respiratory viral infection, try not to visit crowded places - take care of those around you.

Nonspecific prophylaxis of influenza, SARS - this is also a separate medical means:

• Sprays, ointments. "Oxolin", "Viferon", "Nazaval".
• Means for restoring the functions of a weakened immune system. Genferon, Arbidol, Aflubin, etc.

Prevention of fecal-oral infection

Simple measures can help to resist these diseases. Non-specific prophylaxis of infections of this type is as follows:

• After toilet procedures, as well as before eating, do not forget to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.
• When buying a particular product, always pay attention to its expiration date.
• Do not allow raw and already cooked food to come into contact with each other. Store these products in separate containers and containers.
• Before use, a number of products require complete heat treatment. This is meat, fish, eggs.
• Rinse fresh fruits, vegetables, greens thoroughly under running water (best of all with baking soda).
• Food prepared by you should not be stored in the refrigerator for more than 3 days.
• It is best to cook in small quantities, with the expectation that you fully eat them for breakfast, dinner or lunch.
• Drink only boiled water! A good replacement would be bottled, but only from a trusted supplier.

As for medicines, for the prevention of fecal-oral infections, experts recommend the use of Enterosgel, Smecta and the like.

Prevention of contact infection

Measures of a non-specific type of prophylaxis here will also be simple:

• Thoroughly process those things, places in the house that are used by several people at once. These are dishes, cutlery, kitchen towels, bathrooms, shower rooms, etc.
• Exclude casual sex from your lifestyle.
• Try to carefully visit public baths, saunas, beaches, water parks. According to statistics, most people become infected with various infections of the contact-domestic type right here.
• Follow simple personal hygiene rules.

There are no specific preventive medications for this category. As a rule, individual therapy is prescribed by a specialist only in case of infection with a specific infection.

Prevention of vector-borne infections

Again, a series of simple safety rules are proposed:

• The vector-borne route is most often the transmission of infection through insects. Therefore, walks in nature, in a forest belt and even parks must be carefully planned - wear protective clothing, regularly examine yourself and companions, use insect repellent sprays, etc.
• Avoid trips to equatorial countries with a small child or a person with a weakened immune system.
• Lead a healthy lifestyle, follow simple hygiene rules - so as not to weaken the immune defense.
• Separate rules are for pregnant women. If an infectious disease is diagnosed in a future mother in childbirth, then the birth of a child should be planned using cesarean section. This will save the baby from possible infection.

Now you know what the non-specific prevention of SARS and more serious diseases consists of. But do not forget about the specific as more effective.