Health: The Ultimate Treasure

Diseases can be broadly grouped into communicable and non-communicable diseases. From the options given below, identify the non-communicable diseases. (i) Typhoid (ii) Asthma (iii) Diabetes (iv) Measles

There is a flu outbreak in your school. Several classmates are absent, while some are still coming to school coughing and sneezing. (i) What immediate actions should the school take to prevent further spread? (ii) If your classmate, who shares the bench with you, starts showing symptoms of the flu, how can you respond in a considerate way without being rude or hurtful? (iii) How can you protect yourself and others from getting infected in this situation?

Your family is planning to travel to another city where malaria is prevalent. (i) What precautions should you take before, during, and after the trip? (ii) How can you explain the importance of mosquito nets or repellents to your sibling? (iii) What could happen if travellers ignore health advisories in such areas?

Your uncle has started smoking just to fit in with his friends, even though it is well known that smoking can seriously harm health and even cause death. (i) What would you say to him to make him stop, without being rude? (ii) What would you do if your friend offers you a cigarette at a party? (iii) How can schools help prevent students from indulging in such harmful habits?

Saniya claims to her friend Vinita that 'Antibiotics can cure any infection, so we don't need to worry about diseases.' What question(s) can Vinita ask her to help Saniya understand that her statement is incorrect?

The following table contains information about the number of dengue cases reported in a hospital over a period of one year: [Table showing monthly dengue cases]. Make a bar graph of the number of cases on the Y-axis and the month on the X-axis. Critically analyse your findings and answer the following: (i) In which three months were the dengue cases highest? (ii) In which month(s) were the cases lowest? (iii) What natural or environmental factors during the peak months might contribute to the increase in dengue cases? (iv) Suggest a few preventive steps that the community or government can take before the peak season to reduce the spread of dengue.

Imagine you are in charge of a school health campaign. What key messages would you use to reduce communicable and non-communicable diseases?

It is recommended that we should not take an antibiotic for a viral infection like a cold, a cough, or flu. Can you provide the possible reason for this recommendation?

When our body encounters a pathogen for the first time, the immune response is generally low but on exposure to the same pathogen again, the immune response by the body is much more compared to the first exposure. Why is it so?