Contagious diseases can be spread through bodily fluids, coughing, sneezing, and touching contaminated objects. Vaccines can help prevent some diseases, while hand washing and proper hygiene can limit exposure.
A contagious disease is a disease that you can get from another person. Often, just being near the person, having contact with the person, or touching something the person has touched is enough to get the disease. These diseases are not necessarily dangerous or life-threatening, although some can be. For example, the common cold isn’t usually dangerous, but the HIV virus, which causes AIDS, is.
Many times, a contagious disease is spread through the transfer of bodily fluids, such as saliva or blood. Some pathogens that can make you sick are hosted in saliva droplets. The act of coughing and sneezing causes those droplets to fly through the air and possibly infect someone else. Even sneezing or coughing into a hand can be a vehicle for the spread of disease because pathogens can be transferred to an object when an infected person touches it. You can even transfer pathogens by shaking hands with a person after they cough or sneeze.
Some countries have virtually eliminated some of the deadliest communicable diseases through the use of vaccines. A vaccine solution consisting of a weak or dead version of the pathogen that causes the contagious disease. In some cases, the vaccine may even be just a part of the pathogen. The vaccine is introduced into the body of a healthy person, many times by injection. The goal is for the body to identify these diseases and form antibodies to fight the pathogen.
The ultimate goal of this method is for the inoculated individual to become immune to subsequent exposure to the contagious disease. Although many versions of vaccines involve injection, some, such as the flu shot, can also be administered through the use of a nasal spray. Whether you get a vaccine through one method or the other depends on your age and other factors. Both vaccination processes can have some associated side effects, so it’s important to know what to expect. Some examples of a contagious disease whose spread has been controlled by the use of a vaccine are chickenpox, rubella, mumps, and measles.
While it may not be possible to completely eliminate the pathogens that cause the contagious disease, there are some steps you can take to limit your changes from contracting one. Washing your hands can often eliminate germs on your hands. When you sneeze or cough, remember to do it in the crook of your arm. This will prevent germs from getting on your hands and prevent them from spreading through the air. It is also important to limit exposure to any bodily fluids, i.e. do not share needles, have indiscriminate intercourse, or touch bodily fluids or objects contaminated with bodily fluids without proper protection.
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