Inflammatory conditions

Ear Nose | Allergy & Immunology | Inflammatory conditions (Disease)


Description

Many experts now see inflammation as arising from an immune system response that’s out of control. When you catch a cold or sprain your ankle, your immune system swhiches into gear. Infection or injury trigger a chain of events called the inflammatory cascade. The familiar signs of normal inflammation — heat, pain, redness, and swelling — are the first signals that your immune system is being called into action.

Causes

In a delicate balance of give-and-take, inflammation begins when pro-inflammatory hormones in your body call out for your white blood cells to come and clear out infection and damaged tissue. These agents are matched by equally powerful, closely related anti-inflammatory compounds, which move in once the threat is neutralized to begin the healing process.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Inflammation is usually a short term process intended to protect the body. Once the cause of the injury has been neutralized or the integrity of the living tissue has been secured, inflammation gradually subsides. Inflammation is a process and not a disease, however it may require treatment if it continues to persist or is causing significant discomfort in the lack of any threat to tissue integrity. In chronic conditions, inflammation is usually persistent but low grade, with occasional acute aggravations. ...