Whenever you turn on your TV, you will notice that a lot of the adverts based around medicine are targeted at the elderly section of the population. This is mainly because health problems are more likely to appear as you get older. It is a lottery, and the longer you live, the more likely you are to come into contact with a life-changing illness that requires medication or supplements to fix. However, that does not mean that young people are immune to falling ill.
Becoming ill isn’t something that you can ignore until you reach a certain age. What’s more, there are even some common health issues that are more likely to affect younger people in society.
Asthma
Asthma is a respiratory illness that many people associate with the older generations. Although, asthma is just as common in younger people.
Children under the age of ten are often pulled out of school because of complications related to asthma. This is because their lungs are still forming, which means that they are less able to protect themselves from some of the irritants that cause asthma. Things like air pollution, second-hand smoke, and dust can all enter a child’s airwaves and the smaller tubes in the lungs are more likely to be obstructed by these intrusions. Also, the immune system is not developed enough to fight off the allergens in the system. Fortunately, a lot of young asthma sufferers grow out of their condition as their lungs strengthen with age.
Depression
Your teenage years are a time of great change and development. It is also a time when your self-esteem can be at its lowest. That is why a lot of young teens are vulnerable to depression.
Depression may be an illness that is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, but there are environmental factors that increase depressive feelings. Situations where you are routinely compared to your peers or experience isolation are both huge factors when it comes to depression. Unfortunately, these are two situations that are common during your teenage years. Depression can also be a symptom of an underactive thyroid. This is a medical issue that is more likely to get noticed until you get older. If you have concerns about your thyroid behaviour, then you can always book a thyroid test with Bioma. Other symptoms of an underactive thyroid include sudden weight gain and overtiredness.
Eczema
A sudden inflammation of the skin is called eczema. It will affect people of any age, but you will notice that it is most common in young children for a list of reasons.
The first is that young children are more prone to scratching the affected area. They cannot ignore the urge and do not understand the consequences of what they are doing. As such, the affected area is likely to worsen and spread. Also, eczema is an illness that is closely related to asthma. This is because it often flares up due to allergens in the air. As explained before, younger children have less of an immune response to these types of attacks. This means that their skin is more likely to become affected by asthma. Eczema in young children is another illness that is likely to become less prevalent as they grow up.
Childhood Obesity
Obesity in children has only become common in recent years. Everyone knows how obesity is caused. You become obese by eating too many calories and not burning off the excess energy. As a result, your body starts to store the fat you do not use.
Unfortunately, rapid changes in society are making it far more likely for children to exhibit these types of behaviour. For starters, the advancement of technology has led to more children playing video games or spending time in a sedentary position in front of the computer instead of playing outside. This means that they are not burning off the calories they consume. Also, newer foods have higher fat content and more chemicals to preserve them. This means that kids are eating more unhealthy food and not burning off energy. The result is a sudden rise in childhood obesity. Of course, this weight gain could also be the result of an underactive thyroid. However, the cure for obesity in children is the same as obesity in adults. That is eating less and moving more.
Tobacco Addiction
Addiction to tobacco isn’t part of the health problem that is harmful. It is all the chemicals within that lead to more serious illnesses, like heart disease and cancer.
Unfortunately, tobacco addiction is a malady that is more likely to strike when you are young. Many teenagers find themselves in a situation where they are peer pressured to start smoking. Teenagers are also less likely to be aware of or care about the dangers of smoking and far more willing to try it. Sadly, the nicotine within is highly addictive which is why four per cent of all current smokers are categorized as young people. There is help out there for those who want to quit, and the idea of smoking is slowly being phased out of the UK. Hopefully, this ends in a drop in the number of young people struggling with tobacco addiction.
Ear Infections
Since an ear infection is caused by a bacterial invasion, you are just as likely to get one at eight years old as you are at eighty. However, young children are much more susceptible to this type of illness.
This vulnerability mainly stems from their environment. Young children spend a lot of time playing outside and do not wash their hands. What’s more, their immune system is not developed enough to fight off the bacterial infection that comes as a result of this behaviour. Also, young children are less capable of voicing their concerns. This means that the infection has more time to spread before a parent realises there is a problem and can seek treatment. Parents should look out for children who pull on their ears or put their fingers inside to establish whether there is a problem.
Injury
As children spend so much time playing outside with their peers, they are more likely to encounter various childhood injuries. These injuries can range from a scraped knee to a broken bone. Fortunately, all of these injuries are easily treatable with the right response.
Unfortunately, your children are always going to be more susceptible to this type of injury because their cognitive skills are still developing. This means that they are more likely to fall over or walk into things. Also, a lot of childhood games with other children can get out of hand as they start to test their limits. As a parent, you cannot prevent these childhood injuries from happening. All you can do is respond quickly and hope that they learn from these mistakes.
Summary
Illness is just another part of life that is unavoidable. It is even common in the younger generations. Unfortunately, there are plenty of illnesses that are more common among the young. Fortunately, most people are able to outgrow many of them.
