DISEASES OF THE
CIRCULATORY
AND
RESPIRATORY
SYSTEMS
5th Grade South Carolina Science Curriculum Standard
DISEASES
OF THE
CIRCULATORY
SYSTEM
Diabetes
A Circulatory System Disease that affects a
person’s blood sugar levels.
Types:
Juvenile Diabetes-(born with it) --Type 1
Adult Diabetes- (not born with it )--Type 2
Gestational Diabetes—just during pregnancy
This disease can be deadly.
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Diabetes
Symptoms: Extreme thirst, blurred
vision, frequent urination, weakness
Diagnosis: The doctor tests your blood
to see how high your blood sugar is. It
should be between 70 and 140.
Diabetes
Treatment—Eat a low sugar / low fat diet,
exercise. Check blood several times daily
to make sure your blood sugar is in the
proper range. Take medicine or possibly
insulin shots.
One cause: Your pancreas cannot
produce the correct amount of insulin to
use the sugar you intake.
Leukemia
A Circulatory System disease-cancer of the blood.
This disease can be deadly.
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Leukemia
Symptoms:
Bone and joint pain, feeling
weak, loss of appetite, possible yellowing skin
Diagnosis:
Doctor gives a set of tests
including a bone marrow test.
Treatment:
Chemotherapy (special chemicals
given through an IV to work on cancer cells),
and/or radiation therapy (a long type of X-ray
treatment that you take daily for several weeks)
(Most children and adults who get leukemia today
usually survive.)
Hemophilia
A Circulatory System disease that
causes your blood to be unable to
clot.
This disease can be deadly.
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Hemophilia
Symptoms: A minor cut will cause major
bleeding at an early age, causing parents
and doctors to suspect hemophilia.
Diagnosis: The doctor will run blood
tests for blood counts.
Treatment: The doctor will give your
blood a clotting factor replacement
regularly.
Hemophilia
Causes: This disease is genetic. A
woman with a hemophilia gene does not
have the symptoms of Hemophilia, but is a
“carrier”. This means she can pass the
gene down to her children. Her sons may
get Hemophilia. Her daughters may
become “carriers” of this disease.
Sickle Cell Anemia
A Circulatory System Disease that
mostly affects African Americans.
Sickle-shaped, sticky blood cells
clog the arteries, veins, and
capillaries.
Can you see
the
microscopic
sickle-shaped
red blood cells
that should be
round?
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Sickle Cell Anemia
Symptoms: Extreme bruising, pain in
different body parts, tiredness, weakness,
pale appearance, yellowing of the skin
Diagnosis: The doctor runs a blood test
to look for sickle-shaped red blood cells.
Treatments: The doctor gives the
patient medication to prevent infection, to
break up clotting, and to ease the pain.
Cause: Genetic (passed down through
your family through your genes in your
DNA.)
Anemia
A Circulatory System Disease that
is usually caused by having low
iron content in your blood, making
you tired all the time.
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Anemia
Symptoms: Pale skin, extreme
tiredness, dizziness
Diagnosis: The doctor gives a blood test
to check the amount of iron in the blood.
Treatment: Iron (vitamin) supplements
and sometimes a blood transfusion.
Causes: There are many, many causes.
One is a lack of eating enough foods that
are high in iron, like red meats and certain
vegetables.
Stroke
A Circulatory System Illness--A
heart disease problem that usually
effects one side of the body and
several functions of the brain.
X-ray of the
brain after
a large
stroke.
This disease can be deadly.
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Stroke
Symptoms: Weakness on one side of
the body in the face, arm, and leg—trouble
seeing and doing everyday things. Since
strokes affect different centers of the brain,
things like speech, motor functions (like
walking, writing, using your hand), and
thinking can be effected.
Stroke
Diagnosis: The doctor runs a CT scan
on the brain to check for stroke.
Treatment: Rehabilitation (reteaching
the person to do certain things or use
certain parts of their body). Sometimes
surgery is needed. They take medications
for stroke.
Causes: Alcohol, smoking, heart
disease, an artery leakage, high
cholesterol (which means clogged
arteries).
Heart Disease
Circulatory System diseases that
affect the heart and its function.
Stroke and
heart
attack are
caused by
heart
disease.
This is a deadly
disease.
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Heart Disease
Symptoms: High blood pressure (which
is Hypertension), high cholesterol (which is
too much fatty goop in your blood vessels)
Causes: obesity (being at least twenty
pounds overweight), eating fatty foods,
genetics (remember your genes???),
getting very little exercise
Treatment: medication, exercise,
following a proper diet plan, and
sometimes open heart surgery is needed
followed by rehabilitation (exercise plans)
Hypertension
A Circulatory
System Disease
Hypertension is
usually called “High
Blood Pressure”, the
cause of many other
heart-related
problems.
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Hypertension
Symptoms: Frequent Headaches
Diagnosis: The doctor can take your
blood pressure with an arm cuff. A normal
blood pressure is around 130 over 80.
Causes: Obesity (overweight by at least
20 pounds), high stress, genetics
(remember your genes???), poor eating
habits (including high salt intake), little
exercise.
Treatment: High blood pressure
medicine, low salt diet, exercise
DISEASES
OF THE
RESPIRATORY
SYSTEM
Common Cold
Around two-hundred Respiratory
System diseases that have most of
the same symptoms.
The common cold is not
deadly. However, it can
lead to secondary
infections that may be
deadly.
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Common
Cold
Symptoms:
runny nose, cough, aches,
sneezing, sometimes fever and sore throat.
Sometimes burning skin.
Diagnosis:
One usually does not go to the
doctor for a cold virus UNLESS it turns into a
secondary infection.
Treatment:
drink lots of warm and cold fluids
every hour; take Tylenol for pain.
Causes:
Colds are very contagious. Touching
anything that has cold germs, then touching your
eyes, nose, or mouth can cause you to catch this
illness. Not washing hands regularly during cold
season can cause you to catch a cold.
Influenza
A Respiratory System Disease
This is similar to a cold, but is
about thirty times worse! (opinion)
1918 Influenza
Epidemic
Can be deadly for
people under the age
of four and over the
age of 65 or people
with health problems
like diabetes. (You
can get it at any age.)
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Influenza
Symptoms:
Extreme cold symptoms but also
including extreme joint pain and extreme skin
sensitivity to touch. A person with the flu does not
feel like lifting his head off of the pillow.
Diagnosis:
Treatment:
Flu test
Flu medicines, bed rest, plenty of
fluids, pain medication.
Causes: Highly contagious
Prevention: Take a flu shot if you are in a
high-risk group. Wash hands regularly during flu
season. Make sure people do not come to work or
school with the flu since it is so highly contagious.
Bronchitis
A Respiratory System infection of
the bronchial tubes and sometimes
the lungs.
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Bronchitis
Symptoms:
Sometimes fever, sore chest, chills,
trouble breathing, greenish-rusty mucous coming up
through the throat from the bronchial tubes
Diagnosis:
The doctor listens to your chest and
may take a chest x-ray. He does a sputum (mucous)
culture with a Q-Tip to test for bacteria (which would
mean a bacterial infection).
Treatment:
If it is bacterial, the doctor will give
antibiotic drugs, a bronchial dilator, and/or breathing
treatments. WARNING: A doctor will NOT give
antibiotics for viruses!!! (This could cause your body to
resist antibiotics when you really need them to work.)
Causes:
This is caused by environmental
pollution like smoking. It can also be caused as a
secondary infection from the common cold.
Pneumonia
A Respiratory System disease
An infection in the lungs that can
be viral or bacterial.
This
pneumonia
was caused
by a bad case
of chicken
pox.
Can be deadly, especially to
children under 4 and adults
over 65.
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Pneumonia
Symptoms:
possible back or chest pain,
tiredness, weakness
Diagnosis:
The doctor listens to your chest.
He might give you a chest x-ray.
Treatment:
If it is viral--bed rest. If it is
bacterial—antibiotics, medicines, and bed rest.
Prevention:
People who get pneumonia
regularly should take a pneumonia vaccination.
People who have surgery or a bad illness should
walk around some several times a day to keep
fluids from building up in the lungs.
Allergies
A Respiratory System Disease
Allergies are the body’s reactions
to something a person comes in
contact with.
Microscopic View of
a Dust Mite that
lives in dust
Can be deadly, especially if
the throat swells, causing
breathing to be cut off.
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Allergies
Symptoms: Sneezing, runny nose, itchy
eyes, coughing. Food allergies can
sometimes cause headaches or swelling.
Bug allergies can cause extreme swelling.
Diagnosis: The doctor will give allergy
tests to see what you are allergic to.
Treatment: Medicines and shots.
Prevention: Stay away from the things
you are allergic to.
Asthma
A Respiratory System Disease that
affects a person’s ability to
breathe.
People with
asthma use
inhalers to
get the
medicine to
their lungs
quickly.
Can be deadly for
children under age 18.
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Asthma
Symptoms: Wheezing, difficulty
breathing, some coughing, chest pain
Diagnosis: The doctor listens to your
chest. He notices if you have a lot of
breathing attacks over a few months. You
take the lung function test and additional
tests.
Treatment: Breathing treatments,
medications in an inhaler
Lung Cancer
A Respiratory System
Disease
Cancer of the lungs
Usually caused by
smoking or exposure
to environmental
chemicals
A lung with
cancer.
This is a deadly disease.
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Lung Cancer
Symptoms: Difficulty breathing,
coughing up blood
Causes: a history of smoking or working
near air-borne chemicals that damage the
lungs
Diagnosis: Chest X-Rays and tests
Treatment: Chemotherapy (special
chemicals given through an IV to work on
cancer cells), radiation, partial removal of
the diseased lung
Emphysema
A Respiratory System disease
An environmental disease caused by
smoking
or working
in a chemical
environment
that damages
the lungs.
A deadly disease
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Emphysema
Symptoms: Difficulty breathing,
wheezing, tiredness, weakness
Diagnosis: The doctor takes a chest xray and other tests.
Treatment: Breathing treatments
including an oxygen tank and mask
Causes: A long-time exposure to
environmental airborne chemicals, several
years of smoking, second-hand smoke
Tuberculosis
A Respiratory System Disease
In the 1800s, Tuberculosis was
called Consumption and killed
whole families and communities.
Today, it is a disease of the lungs
that we cure with antibiotics.
Can be deadly
without a full nine
months of
antibiotics
Microscopic
View of
Tuberculosis
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Tuberculosis
Symptoms:
a severe cough, in later cases
coughing up blood, extreme liquid in the lungs
Diagnosis:
Chest X-Ray, Tuberculin Test (a
small shot in lower arm—a raised bump within
three days indicates possible Tuberculosis.)
Treatment:
Nine months of antibiotic drugs
that HAVE to be finished to cure you.
Prevention:
This is a highly contagious
disease, but there are not many cases in the US.
If you go out of the country, you’ll need to be
watched for the disease.
Asbestosis
A Respiratory System Disease
This disease of the lungs is caused
by particles of asbestos reaching
the lungs.
Asbestosis
scarring of
the lungs
Normal
lungs
This is a deadly disease.
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Asbestosis
Symptoms: Lung problems
Diagnosis: Lung X-Ray and other
tests
Cause: A lot of time spent around
asbestos fibers floating in the air.
Treatment:
CREDITS
We would like to thank Mrs. C.
Bennett’s 5th grade academically
Gifted / Talented students as well as a
regular science class for their
research and editing of this disease
information.
Excelsior Middle School
Union, South Carolina