What Is Inflammation?
Everyone's talking about inflammation, but does anyone know what it is?
The word inflammation comes up a lot when people are talking about disease, injury, and health risks.
The wellness world is full of buzzwords, but of them all, inflammation is perhaps the buzziest. Almost everyone, including doctors and facialist, fixates on it at one point or another, and there is a perfect reason for all this hype.
It seems like everything has something to do with inflammation. It is known to cause skin disorders, headaches, allergies, painful menses, and some chronic illnesses.
So, what is it? Why does it happen? Here are the things you need to know about inflammation and how you can combat them.
Why Is Inflammation Bad?
When doctors talk about inflammation, what they are referring to is a combination of heat, redness, pain as well as swelling. This often manifests inside or outside your body.
Your body exhibits these symptoms when an irritant pokes its immune system. The irritant could be a certain kind of food you like or a virus in or around the body. Contrary to our anxiety about the word, inflammation is actually a good thing. It's our body's response to fighting off illnesses and repairing the injury.
In response to irritants, your body marshals all the heavyweights, immune cells, and fluids to the affected area. These help to kill whatever is causing the irritation, which is a good thing for the body. However, if your body is inflamed too often, it could be a sign of a bigger problem.
Inflammatory responses should be self-limiting. Otherwise, inflammatory cells, immune molecules, and body fluids can cause disruption in the inflamed area. For this reason, chronic inflammation is associated with a number of illnesses, including heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer's.
Chronic Inflammation occurs as a low-level, constant form of inflammation in the body. This means the body's immune system is turned on and the white blood cells are looking for something to latch onto and attack, but there is nothing to attach to.
Researchers are still working out exactly how this is connected to the disease, but the issue has been linked to stroke, heart disease, and brain issues. There are no physical signs of chronic inflammation, but you can go to your doctor to get a CPR test that will indicate your levels.
