General Terminologies in Social Pharmacy
Health Education:
Health Education is educating the public in general, individually or in masses, communicating information given by experts on health aspects, diseases, drug abuse etc. so that people lead healthy lives in all dimensions of human health as covered by WHO, in the interest of public welfare. OR
Health Education is the process that informs motivates and helps people to adopt and maintain healthy practices and lifestyles, advocates environmental changes if needed to facilitate this goal, conducts professional training and research towards the same end.
Aims of health education :
1) To ensure the value of health.
2) To make health an asset for the community.
3) To impart knowledge, attitude and skills in people so that they can solve their health problems.
4) To promote the development and use of health services.
It is the branch of the pharmacy profession that deals with human lives safety and ethics and emphasizes providing pharmaceutical services to the community. It dispenses the medicines and typically involves a registered pharmacist.
It is defined as a disordered or incorrectly functioning organ, part, structure or system of the body resulting from the effect of genetic or developmental errors, infections, nutritional deficiency or imbalance, toxicity or unfavourable environmental factors.
Infectious agent:
Are those microorganisms (bacteria, virus, protozoa, fungi) which are capable of producing an infection. Eg. Mycobacterium Tuberculosis is a responsible agent for causing Tuberculosis
Infection :
It is the entry and development of infectious agents in the body. Eg. Tuberculosis (T.B.) is the Respiratory Tract Infection caused by Mycobacterium Tuberculosis.
Infectious disease:
It is a disease resulting from an infection. Leprosy is the type of skin infection
Infestation:
It is the presence of a parasite either on the surface or inside the tissue of the body. Mycobacterium leprae is the causative organism present on the skin lesions in case of disease leprosy.
Contagious disease:
It is a disease that is transmitted from one person to another by direct contact. Eg: leprosy through the skin to skin contact (exudates from skin lesions)
COMMUNICABLE DISEASE :
It is an infection along with a contagious disease. Eg . T.B. along with STD (sexually transmitted disease)
Sporadic: (few individuals)
It is an occasional occurrence of disease in a few individuals in a scattered or isolated area and occurs at intervals. Eg. Insomnia, Ataxia, Schizophrenia etc.
Endemic: (particular area)
Disease restricted to the particular areas in relatively lower layers throughout the year. Eg. TB, HIV etc
Epidemic:( rapid mass spread)
It is the quick and rapid spread of disease in smaller areas on a mass scale. Eg: chickenpox, smallpox, hepatitis etc.
Pandemic : ( world widespread)
It is a disease that spread from one country to another in a short time or occurs in different countries at the same time. Eg : SARS, influenza.
Exotic:
It is a disease introduced from a foreign land ( region ) Eg: polio
Epizootic:
It is an epidemic disease occurring in animals.Eg: Lymphocystis.
Zoonotic:
It is an infectious disease of animals through which it affects a human being.
eg: Rabies, Swine flu
Contact:
Any person who has remained in association with an infected person or infected article can develop a disease.
CARRIERS:
It is defined as an individual possessing an infectious agent without suffering from the disease but capable of transmitting the disease to others. eg: HIV Virus.
Incubation period:
It is a period between entry of an infectious agent in the body till the onset of symptoms of the disease
Quarantine:
It is the isolation of an infected individual such that he does not mingle with others till the incubation period of infecting the microorganism is over.
Toxins :
These are harmful substances produced in the body by the infecting microorganism.
Eg: S. aureus leads to pus formation.
Endotoxin :
These are the toxic substances produced by microorganisms when alive and affect distant tissues away from the site where organisms live.
Eg: TNF (Tumor necrosis factor).
Exotoxin:
These are the toxins that can diffuse freely through the bacterial cell wall and retain within the bacteria.
Eg. Exotoxin produced by clostridium tetani is responsible for causing tetanus.
VECTORS:
They are the insects like mosquitoes, flies, lice etc. which transmit the disease.
Eg: Malaria is transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito.
Fomites:
These are the articles like towels, utensils, pens, pencils, books etc. which can retain, absorb and transfer an infection.
Isolation:
Complete separation of a person suffering from the communicable disease from contact with another human being.
Notification :
It is the procedure of reporting the earliest about the occurrence of communicable disease to the government health authorities in order to control and preventive action may be taken.
Toxoids :
These are the toxins whose toxicity has been removed by heat or by chemical treatment but their antigenic properties are retained.
Antitoxins :
These are the substances containing antibodies produced by the blood which neutralizes toxins produced by the microorganisms.
Antigens:
These are the substances that stimulate the body to produce antibodies.
Antibodies:
These are the substances formed in the body in response to stimulation by antigens.
Reservoir:
Any person, animal, arthropod, plant, substances or soil in which infectious agent lives and multiplies where it is transmitted to susceptible host e.g. in tetanus, the soil is the reservoir and man is the host.
Notification:
It is the procedure of reporting the earliest about the occurrence of communicable disease to the government health authorities in order to control and preventive action may be taken.
Incidence:
A number of persons suffering from disease during a prescribed period.
Host :
A person or animal which allows lodgement of an infectious agent in its body and from which a parasite obtains its nutrition and or shelter.
Agent :
The term disease causative usually refers to the biological pathogen which may be living or non-living the excessive presence or relative lack of which may initiate a disease process such as virus, parasite, fungus or bacterium.
The disease is produced by a single agent or more than one agent independently or in combination with each other.
They are of the following types :
- Biological agents: bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozoa etc.
- Physical agents: heat, cold, pressure, radiation, humidity, electricity etc.
- Chemical agent: dust, fumes, gases, metals.
- Mechanical agents: accidental exposure to chronic friction may lead to injury, fracture, distortion.
- Nutritional agents: carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, water.
- Intervention:
Any measure taken to intervene or interrupt the natural sequence of the disease is termed as the intervention.
It induces treatment, education, help or social support.
Five modes of intervention are:
- Health promotion
- Specific protection
- Early diagnosis and treatment
- Disability limitation
- Rehabilitation.
Common examples of bacteria causing disease
Sr. no | Type | Examples | Disease produced |
1) | Gram-positive rods | ||
a) | Bacilli | Bacillus anthracis Bacillus cereus Bacillus subtilis | Anthrax Food poisoning Used in antibiotic assays . |
b) | Clostridia | Clostridium tetani Cl.botulinum cl. welchii cl. septicum | Tetanus Food poisoning Gas gangrene ( production of powerful toxins) |
c) | Corynebacterium | Corynebacterium diphtheriae | Diphtheria Produce exotoxins |
2) | Gram-negative rods | ||
a) | pseudomonas | Pseudomonas aeruginosa | Infects burns and wounds Serious eye infection |
b) | escherichia | Escherichia coli | Gastroenteritis in infants UTI in adult ( urinary tract infection ) Pyelonephritis and cystitis Pyelitis |
c) | vibrio | Vibrio cholerae | Cholera |
d) | Yersinia | Pasturella pestis | Bubonic plague |
e) | bordetella | Bordetella pertussis | Whooping cough |
f) | salmonella | Salmonella typhi | Typhoid fever |
g) | Shigella | Shigella shiga and other species | Bacillary dysentery |
h) | Proteus | Proteus vulgaris | Severe wound infection and UTI |
i) | Serratia | Serratia marcesens | Test the efficiency of bacterial filters |
j) | Chlamydia | Chlamydia trachomatis | Trachoma, conjunctivitis and non gonococcal urethritis |
3) | Gram-positive cocci | ||
a) | Staphylococcus | Staphylococcus aureus | Skin infections, boils, pimples, meningitis. |
b) | streptococcus | Streptococcus pneumoniae | Pneumonia |
4) | Gram-negative cocci | ||
a) | Neisseria | Neisseria gonorrhoeae Neisseria meningitidis | Venereal disease (gonorrhoea) Cerebrospinal fever or meningococcal meningitis |
5) | Acid-fast organisms | ||
a) | Mycobacteria | Mycobacterium tuberculosis Mycobacterium Leprae | Tuberculosis Leprosy |
b) | spirochaetes | Treponemma pallidum | Syphilis |
Some common abbreviations:
Sr.no | Abbreviation | Full form |
1. | DPT | Diptheria Pertussis Tetanus |
CVS | Cardio Vascular System | |
ORS | Oral Rehydration Salts | |
BBT | Basal Body Temperature | |
HIV | Human Immunodeficiency Virus | |
TT | Tetanus Toxoid | |
RNA | Ribose Nucleic Acid | |
STD | Sexually Transmitted Disease | |
BCG | Bacillus Calmette Guerin | |
AIDS | Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome | |
BMR | Basal Metabolic Rate | |
CPR | Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation | |
MMR | Maternal Mortality Rate & Measles Mumps Rubella | |
MTP | Medical Termination Of Pregnancy | |
IUD | Intra-Uterine Devices | |
DNA | Deoxy Ribose Nucleic Acid | |
IMR | Infant Mortality Rate | |
WHO | World Health Organisation | |
LGV | Lymphogranuloma Venereum | |
TB | Tuberculosis Bacterium | |
PEM | Protein Energy Malnutrition | |
IVF | In Vitro Fertilization | |
UTI | Urinary Tract Infection | |
CHD | Coronary Heart Disease | |
OPV | Oral Polio Vaccine | |
DT | Diphtheria Tetanus | |
BMI | Body Mass Index | |
BHA | Butylated Hydroxyanisole | |
BHT | Butylated Hydroxytoluene | |
DDT | Dichloro Diphenyl Trichloroethane. | |
BHC | Benzene Hexachloride |
Some common examples:
Sr. no | Term | examples |
Single-dose Rodenticide | Barium carbonate, zinc phosphide | |
Multiple-dose Rodenticide | Warfarin, pindone, diphacione | |
Insecticides | Contact poison: Eg. DDT, BHC, Dieldrin, Pyrethrum, parathion and melathion. Stomach poison: Eg. Sodium fluoride, Paris green. Fumigants: Eg. Calcium cyanide, Carbon disulphide, Methyl bromide or Sulphur dioxide | |
Airborne diseases | Diphtheria, Pneumococcal Pneumonia, Meningococcal Meningitis, Chicken Pox, Herpes Zoster, Measles, Mumps, Small Pox, Tuberculosis | |
Waterborne diseases | Cholera, Diarrhea, Shigellosis (Bacillary dysentery), Viral hepatitis, Poliomyelitis, Worm infestation. | |
Arthropod-borne diseases | Malaria, Filarial, Dengue Fever, Kala Azar, Sleeping Sickness, Epidemic Typhus, Bubonic Plague, Endemic Typhus, Tick Typhus, Relapsing Fever, Q-Fever | |
Solid Waste Disposal Methods | Dumping, Composting, Burial, Sanitary Landfill or Controlled Tipping, Incineration Or Burning | |
Diseases caused due to Rats ( rat fleas) | Plague, Tularemia, Salmonellosis, Lassa Fever,Haemorrhagic Fever, Scrub Typhus, Murine Typhus, Amoebiasis, Leishmaniasis, Rat Bite Fever, Leptospirosis. | |
Sandfly | Kala Azar, Sandfly Fever, Oriental Sore. | |
Housefly | Cholera, Typhoid / Paratyphoid, Diarrhoea, Dysentery, Poliomyelitis, Fever,Trachoma, Gastroenteritis, Amoebiasis, Helminthiasis, Anthrax | |
Mosquito | Malaria, Dengue, Filaria, Viral encephalitis, Viral yellow fever. | |
Methods of Water purification | Small scale methods: Boiling, chemical disinfection, filtration, disinfection of wells. Large scale methods: Biological or slow sand filtration. Mechanical or rapid sand filtration. | |
Lice | Relapsing fever, Trench Fever, Dermatitis. | |
Reduvid Bugs | Chagas disease | |
Ticks | Hard ticks: Tick typhus, Viral fevers, Viral Encephalitis. Soft ticks: Q-fever, Relapsing fever. | |
mites | Scrub typhus Scabies: ( hand, feet, buttocks, ankles, lower abdomen ) |
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Manisha Yogesh Chaudhari is working as an Assistant Professor at Kokan Gyanpeeth’s Rahul Dharkar College of Pharmacy, Karjat, Maharashtra, India. She has worked with Pfizer and Flamingo Pharmaceuticals. She is actively involved in Books writing, Review, and research paper writing as well as actively involved in contributing towards academic literature