[Biology Class Notes] on Principle of Treatment Pdf for Exam

It is always better to be safe and secure than cure it after being affected. Due to many reasons, we get sick every now and then. In case of illness, we take medicines, vaccines, or visit a doctor for consultation. It is always better to be safe and secure than cure it after being affected. Falling ill can be prevented by taking care of our health and it is the only way to do so. But sometimes, it becomes too complicated and can only treat a disease after getting affected. Here is a detailed explanation of the principles of treatment of diseases.

Principles of Treatment of Diseases

The major factor that determines the number of microbes surviving in the body is the immune system. Infectious diseases can be treated in two ways which are discussed below.

Reduce the effect of the disease: Medicines are used to reduce the effect of illness. For example, illness such as the common cold does not have a cure; hence, treating symptoms will ease the illness to an extent.

It is advisable to have bed rest so that the body gets some relaxation. Personal hygiene can also be maintained to reduce the effect of the disease. However, this does not completely cure the cause of the disease but only subsides the effect of the disease. To prevent the spread of the ailment, sterilized products and eating healthy food are recommended.

Kill the cause of the disease: Process of using medicines that kills the pathogens. To survive, each microbe undergoes some specific biochemical life process. To kill the biochemical processes of the microorganism causing the disease, certain drugs can be used.

Working Nature of Medicine

By the use of medicine, the microbes have to be killed to cure the disease. Microbes are classified into different categories such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, or protozoa. Each of these groups of organisms has some essential biochemical life processes that are peculiar to that group and not shared with the other groups.

These processes are the gateway for the synthesis of new substances or respiration. For example, our cells make new substances by a mechanism that is completely different from that used by bacteria. Therefore, the drug that blocks the bacterial synthesis pathway without affecting our own cells is used for curing bacterial disease. In the same way, antibiotic drugs work. Consequently, there are certain drugs that kill protozoa such as malarial parasites without affecting the cells of our body.

Antiviral drugs are more difficult to produce than producing antibacterial drugs because viruses have only a few biochemical mechanisms of their own. The viruses enter the host cells and start using the host’s machinery for their life processes. Therefore, there are relatively few virus drugs, which check a number of viral diseases including HIV infection.