Inflammation: Even The Word Makes You Think, “Ouch!”

Inflammation is truly a fire within the body, generated by the immune system to fight a foreign substance or protect an injured area. We have all experienced it: the redness, swelling and pain. What many people aren’t aware of is that there are two different kinds of inflammation within the body – acute and chronic.

The Two Kinds of Inflammation

Acute inflammation is often caused by an injury. Chronic inflammation is generally more serious for it is difficult to stop and will result in the deterioration of body tissues over time. It may destroy a knee, as with rheumatoid arthritis, or even lead to cancer. Often with chronic inflammation the pain isn’t immediate, but only shows itself when the affected area has suffered some tissue destruction. With chronic inflammation the pain can even be located in a part of the body not associated with damaged tissues. When the heart is inflamed the person is more likely to experience a swelling in the legs than a pain in the heart.

The Immune System: The War Over Disease

Part 1 of 2 | Read Part 2 of Series

If the body’s immune system were to be compared to a known society it would have to be the Spartans of ancient Greece. The immune system is a warrior-like federation with all the sophistication of a modern military. Within its ranks is an intelligence seeking force, B cells; standing army, Killer T cells; database of past actions, Memory B and T cells; weapons experts, Granulocytes; and even a force that does a little of everything, Macrophages.

First Line Of Defense

The immune system has forces within and without the body working in unison to keep the body disease free. The first line of defense is the hair, skin, tears and mucus of the mouth, nose and lungs. These, in and of themselves, possess powerful weapons. Both the skin and mucus carry chemicals which fight bacteria. The mucus has an added feature which traps invaders and through tentacle-like cilia moves them back up toward the body entrance, so they can be expelled.

Strengthen The Lymphatic System

Part 2 of 2 | Read Part 1 of Series

Can exercising for only two minutes actually benefit the body in any major way? If you are stumped, try this question. Can stress ever have a positive physical effect on the body? Still don’t know? Well, the answers to both questions is ‘yes’. The details for why this is so lies with the mechanics of the lymphatic system.

How Does The Lymphatic System Work?

The lymphatic system is part of the circulatory system. Lymph fluid is formed when pressure within a capillary vessel pushes it into the surrounding tissue space. The lymphatic vessels then take the lymph fluid into its system of vessels. From there the lymph fluid, which is full of toxins, flows against gravity up the body to various lymph nodes. Each lymph node is designed with more ‘in’ than ‘out’ doors. The magic in this design is that the lymph fluid has no choice but to linger in the node where it can be more thoroughly scrubbed clean. Eventually, the cleaned fluid returns to the blood vessels through veins in the neck.