Final answer:
It is true that acute, chronic, or degenerative illnesses can necessitate long-term care. Allergies and autoimmune diseases are caused by an overactive immune system, and a key difference between acute and chronic diseases is the duration of the disease.
Step-by-step explanation:
It is true that medical needs triggered by acute, chronic, or degenerative illness often make long-term care necessary. An acute disease is characterized by its short duration, while a chronic disease lasts for an extended period of time. For example, conditions such as type 1 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases are chronic, often requiring lifelong management. Certain infectious diseases, like AIDS and herpes, are caused by pathogens the body cannot eliminate, making them also chronic in nature.
Allergies and autoimmune diseases do indeed result from an over-reactive immune system. In both cases, the immune system responds more actively than normal, but the targets of this immune response differ. Allergies involve an immune response to a normally harmless substance, while autoimmune diseases occur when the immune system mistakenly attacks the body's own cells.
A key difference between an acute and chronic disease is that chronic diseases have an extended period of persistence in the body. For example, stepping on a rusty nail can cause an acute disease like tetanus. Specific pathogens can lead to disease when they find favorable conditions, such as a weakened immune system or an inappropriate body site. The virulence of a pathogen can be measured by the concentration of organisms needed to kill a percentage of an infected group, known as the lethal dose 50% (LD50).
Noninfectious diseases can be chronic or acute. Some chronic conditions, like cancer and heart disease, may be cured or managed with long-term treatment, while acute noninfectious diseases often cause rapid death. Some illnesses are contested by the medical community, impacting patient treatment. Critical thought is necessary to understand the differences between acute disease phases and the variables that induce the decline phase in an acute illness.