Immune System Diseases

The immune system is a biological defense system in living organisms that act by identifying and then annihilating pathogens and malignant cells. The major immune system function is to identify various types of viruses, germs and parasites and differentiate between them and the host's healthy tissues and cells. It is very important for the immune system to be able to identify pathogens and harmful invaders at the earliest possible as some of these pathogens have the ability to evolve very quickly and adapt to the host body's environment so that they either evade or become immune to the host's immune system, thereby interacting with the host's tissues unhindered! Immune system diseases weaken and damage the immune system's ability to detect and fight disease-causing pathogens. This way, diseases of the immune system open the doors for many other illnesses and disorders to invade the body because lowered immunity means decreased resistance by the body towards disease-causing agents. Let us look at certain immune system diseases and disorders to get an idea how these immune system disorders lower our defenses against other ailments.

Immune System Disorders

Most diseases of the immune system occur due to one of the three following immune system disorders. Let's see what they are and how they prevent our immune system from working the way it should.

Immunodeficiencies: This type of immune system problem is experienced when one or more components of the entire immune system become inactive and stop identifying, therefore fighting, pathogens and disease-causing agents. Immunodeficiency can pave the way for weak immune system diseases such as AIDS and certain types of cancer. The most common causes behind the onset of immunodeficiency are malnutrition, smoking, alcoholism, obesity and stress which makes a compromised immune system out of a healthy one.

Autoimmunity: Under this condition, the immune system fails to differentiate between its own defensive mechanism and external pathogenic invasions. For instance, while attacking an invading pathogen, the immune system erroneously identifies its own attack as foreign invasion and turns on itself. This way, the pathogen finds a way to slip among the host's tissues unharmed while the immune system fights itself! A list of autoimmune diseases includes such disorders as ADEM, Chagas Disease, Autoimmune hepatitis, Crohn's disease, etc.

Hypersensitivity: A hypersensitive or overactive immune system is that which causes damage to the host's body tissues. There are four types of immune system hypersensitivity. The first type of hypersensitivity comprises instant reactions and can be seen manifesting as an allergic reaction to certain otherwise harmless things. The second type is characterized by destruction of the host's cells as a result of antibodies getting attached to the antigens on the host's own cells. The third type of hypersensitivity is triggered due to immune complexes like antigen aggregation, etc. The fourth type of hypersensitivity may take a longer time to manifest and can be seen as a physical or physiological irritation a day or two after the irritant is contacted.

Immune System Diseases Symptoms

Diseases that affect the immune system usually exhibit some of the most prominent symptoms of a weak immune system such as susceptibility to infections, serious manifestations of very minor ailments, allergic reactions, increased risk of malignancy, break-outs, abnormally rapid spread of infection, decreased efficacy of medicines to arrest the symptoms, etc. Diseases of the immune system usually lower the body's defenses against all other diseases, infections and irritants, making the body vulnerable and making as small an issue as a common cold to evolve into something serious like pneumonia in a matter of a couple of days, despite all precautions.

Immune System Diseases List

The following is a list of the most common and chief immune system diseases that occur when a person falls victim to any one of the above mentioned three immune system disorders.

• AIDS
• Addison's Disease
• All kinds of allergies
• Anaphylaxis
• Asthma
• Bacteremia
• Cancer
• Candida
• Celiac disease
• Chronic fatigue
• Chlamydia
• Colitis
• Crohn's disease
• Diabetes
• Eczema, contact dermatitis and certain other skin disorders
• Epstein-Barr
• Fibromyalgia
• Common cold and influenza
• Gastritis
• Hodgkin's disease
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Legionnaires' Disease
• Lupus
• Lymphoma
• Multiple sclerosis
• Parkinson's disease
• Parasitic infections and diseases
• Psoriasis
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Reye's syndrome
• Raynaud's disease
• SCID
• Shingles
• Toxic shock syndrome
• Vasculitis

That was a brief overview of immune system diseases and disorders. As we can see from the above, a healthy lifestyle and proper diet can go a long way towards strengthening and improving immune system. Immune system boosters like antioxidants and vitamins also equip our bodies to fight off infections and diseases without much medical intervention. A healthy immune system is the master key to our health - grab it to unlock wellness, vitality and happiness!