Health problems are found in prisons. It should not be surprising because it has been known that health care in such places is bad. If you are interested in health problems that are usually infected by the prisoners, you may want to check out five common health problems found in prisons below. The information is taken from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the site, the data and statistics on medical problems reported by prison inmates include:
Infectious Disease
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- Hepatitis
There are a few kinds of hepatitis in the world. These include Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Hepatitis D, and Hepatitis E. This disease can infect anyone. However, people who use or inject drugs, sexual transmission, people with HIV/AIDS, men who have sex with men, people with diabetes, and people experiencing homelessness have the higher chance to get this.
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- HIV-AIDS
Anyone can be affected by human immunodeficiency virus or HIV, regardless of sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, gender or age. However, there are some groups of people whose chance to get this disease is higher compared to the others. These people include gay and bisexual men, sex workers, people who inject drugs, and so on.
If one is infected with HIV, it means their immune system has been knocked down by the virus. The important cells that they have to fight disease and infection are destroyed. What is sad is that there is currently no effective cure for HIV. However, it can be controlled with proper medical care.
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- MRSA
MRSA stands for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. It refers to a type of bacteria that is resistant to a few kinds of antibiotics. This one is known as a cause of staph infection. This kind of infection is not easy to treat because of resistance to some antibiotics. Staph infections, including the ones that are caused by MRSA, can spread everywhere, including in hospitals, other healthcare facilities, and in the community where people live, work, and go to school.
Staphylococcus aureus is the name of a bacteria that is usually found on the skin of the people. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA usually causes skin infections. Normally, they are harmless. However, they can cause pneumonia or lung infection and some other infections. If the patients do not get treatments, they can get serious infections that can lead to sepsis or in worst cases death.
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- Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Sexually transmitted diseases or STD are also known as sexually transmitted infections or STIs. They are very common diseases. In fact, millions of people get infected with them every year in the United States. For your information, these diseases spread from one person to another through vaginal, oral, and anal sex. Besides, they can also pass through inmate physical contact, including heavy petting. However, it is rare. These diseases are the kinds of diseases that do not usually cause symptoms. In some cases, they only cause mild symptoms. It means it is possible for those who are infected to not be aware about them getting infected as they feel healthy.
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- Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, which is also more known as TB in short, refers to the kind of disease caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Unlike the other bacteria that usually attack the lungs, this bacteria can attack any part of the body, including spine, brain, and kidney. Apparently, not everyone who is infected with this bacterium becomes sick. It means one can be infected with TB bacteria when they look healthy. If someone gets infected with TB, it is a must for them to get treated properly because if they are not, the situation can lead to something fatal.
Chronic Disease
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- Arthritis
Arthritis is described as the inflammation or swelling of one or more joints. This one describes more than 100 conditions that affect the joints, tissues around the joint, and other connective tissues. Depending on the types of arthritis, the specific symptoms may vary. However, the most common are joint pain and stiffness.
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- Asthma
Asthma is the name of a disease that affects lungs. Children are the most common ones who are affected by this disease. However, it does not mean adults cannot be affected as well. This disease is pretty serious as it can cause wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing at night or early in the morning. The one with this disease can have it all the time. However, they will usually be attacked by this disease when their lungs are bothered by something.
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- Cancer
One of the scariest and deadly diseases is called cancer. They are scary because it is hard for the disease to be cured. In fact, a lot of people lose life to this disease. On the brighter news, there are also some who survive. There are a number kinds of cancers. The most common ones in the United States include bladder cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, colorectal cancer, gynecologic cancers, head and neck cancers, kidney cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer, lymphoma, mesothelioma, myeloma, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, skin cancer, thyroid cancer, uterine cancer, and vaginal and vulvar cancers.
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- Diabetes Atlas
Diabetes is counted as a chronic or long-lasting disease. If one is affected by this, the ability of their body to turn foods into energy will be affected. This disease has some variations, including type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes or diabetes while pregnant. There are some symptoms of diabetes, including urinate or pee a lot (often at night), always thirsty, lose weight without even trying, always hungry, have blurry vision, have numb or tingling hands or feet, always feel tired, have very dry skin, have sores that heal slowly, and have more infections than usual.
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- Heart Disease
If someone has heart disease, it means they have a range of conditions that affect their heart. This disease includes blood vessel disease (such as coronary artery disease), irregular heartbeats (arrhythmias), heart issues they are born with (congenital heart defects), disease of the heart muscle, heart valve disease, and so on.
A bookworm and researcher especially related to law and citizenship education. I spend time every day in front of the internet and the campus library.
