Principles of Treatment


→ The treatment of infectious diseases consists of two steps. They are to reduce the effects of the
disease (symptoms) and to kill the microbes which caused disease.
(i) To reduce the effects of the disease: This can be done by taking medicines to bring down the
effects of the disease like fever, pain or loose motions etc. and by taking bed rest to conserve our
energy.
(ii) To kill the microbes: This can be done by taking suitable antibiotics and drugs which kills the
microbes and the disease is cured.

Principles of Prevention
 

• There are two ways of prevention of infectious diseases. They are general ways and specific way
(i) General ways of prevention: Public hygiene is most important for prevention of infectious
diseases. Proper and sufficient food for everyone will make people healthy to resist the infection.
→ Air borne diseases can be prevented by living in conditions that are not crowded. Water borne
diseases can be prevented by providing safe drinking water.
→ Vector borne diseases can be prevented by providing clean environment.

(ii) Specific ways of prevention: There are disease specific measures which are used to fight them
It is done by Immunisation.
→ This is the process of introducing a weakened pathogen inside the body of the host to fool his/h
immune system to produce antibodies against that particular disease.
→ Not only does our immune system fight the disease (feeble pathogen), but also keeps a memo
of the incident by keeping those antibodies in blood.
→ Thus, next time even if the disease will strike the host’s body with full vigor, the body will be able
protect itself with the help of these antibodies.
→ This is also the basic law followed by vaccination programmes done for infants.

Classification of infectious diseases based on their causative agents.... |  Download Scientific Diagram