No More Diseases

We are in a STEAM class called Disease. In this class, we are learning about the 11 body systems and how they work. For this project, we had to interview someone that we knew or someone that knew someone with a disease. I interviewed someone in my family for my project because I was able to see some of the effects the condition had on my family member it was hard to come up with questions to ask my interviewee because I had to find symptoms, and I had to try and feel the same way they felt when they had this condition. Before I started my interview I needed some research so that I would at least know what I was interviewing my person on. I had to draw a body outline for the disease I chose because I had to show an image of the body systems that this condition affects. Everyone in the class chose a different disease and they talked about how their disease affects people and how the disease also affects certain body systems. We had to figure out keywords for the disease and symptoms that went along with them. Some of the diseases only affected one or two, but mine affects 3 different body systems: The Respiratory System, Muscular System, and Immune (Lymphatic) System. I will explain how these 3 systems become affected by the flu in my AP. I hope you like it and enjoy the information that I give you about the flu, and I hope that you were able to learn something new from my AP.

Patient Profile
The disease that I chose is called “Influenza” also known as The Flu. This condition has a couple effects on and in the human body. For example, it causes muscle aches, dizziness, runny nose, fever, congestion, cough, fatigue, and chills. My patient had this condition and it made her very sleepy. She received the flu from going to a sleepover with other children that didn’t wash their hands and were running around with runny noses and they were coughing a lot. She also slept on the floor with everyone else instead of sleeping on the couch where she would have her own space. She slept for a whole week and couldn’t get up to walk because it caused her muscles pain. When she tried to take a shower, it was hard for her to reach for her sponge and soap because of the pain that her muscles were in. When she did walk, she was becoming very dizzy and she would lean over couches because she felt like she was about to pass out. When someone gets the flu they become very tired and they don’t want to move because of the pain that they are in. The flu can be deadly, especially in a high-risk group. With her, she was able to get rid of the flu by sleeping a lot. This condition can be self-curable which is what happened with my patient.

As I was talking to my patient, she was telling me how she wished that she made sure that she washed her hands before she ate and whenever she touched something that everyone else touched. She also talked about how she should have taken a shower at night instead of the morning because that could have kept some of the germs away from her and by sleeping on the couch where it was just her and no one else. She also felt like she should have listened to her guardian they were telling her that she should have probably stayed home because children carry germs and they do not know how to wash their hands or themselves. My patient was explaining how she didn’t have to take any medication because she doesn’t like the way liquid medication taste and she is afraid of taking pills. She was also talking about how she did feel the way her body was processing through this hard time because she felt like she was getting better by the day. She would sleep all day, then half a day then naps here and there, and then she would be up and sleep when she needed to be asleep. She talked about the only thing that she was happy she had the flu while she was on break because she said that she that she would not have been able to make it through school. I had a very good time interviewing my patient because she was very descriptive with what she was saying because I was able to feel what she had to go through when she had this condition. There are other ways that the flu can be cured. According to Google, “The flu is treated primarily with rest and fluid to let the body fight the infection on its own. Over-the-counter anti-inflammatory pain relievers may help with symptoms. An annual vaccine can help prevent the flu and limit its complications.”

3 symptoms that would go with this condition are:

• Fever 
• Muscle Aches 
• A Runny Nose. 

3 key terms related to this symptom are:

• Germ: a microorganism, especially one that causes disease. 
• Contagious: (of a disease) spread from one person or organism to another by direct or indirect contact. 
• Dehydration: the loss or removal of water from something. 

As I stated before my patient decided to do the self-treatment because she doesn’t like the taste of medicine and she is afraid to take pills.

Classification
The flu is just a short term for this virus’s actual name which is Influenza. Influenza is infectious and airborne because if some touches something or coughs or drinks after someone with this sickness can receive it right away. If people do not wash their hands, then they can spread this virus to others because of the germs that they are carrying.

3 risk factors for the flu are:

• Pregnancy because it can harm the baby. The child could be born with premature labor and delivery 
• A weakened immune system 
• Living or working conditions. 

My patient received this virus due to the mode of transmission. Since there were children in one location and they had a virus and no one was washing their hands, germs went around and people just like my patient touched things with their germs on them and that is how she got sick.

Question And Answer From Patient:
3. How could you have prevented this?
“By listening to my mom and not going. Taking a shower at night and not the morning. I should’ve slept on the couch where I had my own space and no one was next to me. Washing my hands, drinking more water, and not eating so much junk food.”, my patient says.

KRM, The Muscular System (2018)

KRM, The Immune System (2018)

KRM, The Respiratory System (2018)

Citation

“Influenza (Flu).” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16 Feb. 2018, www.cdc.gov/flu/index.htm.

Jabr, Ferris. “How Does the Flu Actually Kill People?” Scientific American, 18 Dec. 2017, www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-does-the-flu-actually-kill-people/.

Conclusion
In conclusion, this was a very interesting project. I enjoyed learning about the different body systems and how they worked. I hope that I pass this AP with a 90 or above because I worked really hard on the project and I feel like I put in a lot of work. The hardest part about this project was drawing the systems because I had to make sure that it was at least neat so that my work could be seen and read. I feel like I succeeded in the patient's profile because I made sure that my questions were very easy to answer due to the age of my patient. I need to improve on citing my work more using MLA format because I was never good at citing websites. I hope that my project taught you something and I would like to thank Aaron for helping us with this project.