Immunity has become a hot topic because of Covid-19. There are billions of bacteria and viruses around us. They are found everywhere and anywhere. Our body prevent us from getting infected by immunity, which is the ability of the body to resist infection.
There are 2 TYPES of IMMUNITY.
TYPE 1 – INNATE IMMUNITY
Non-specific and it fight against a wide variety of germs. During :
- Food poisoning, intestine flushes out the bacteria and viruses. Diarrhoea might happen if you ate raw or under-cooked food.
- Another example of innate immunity is fever. During fever, your body temperature raises with the aim to kill the germs and viruses that are infecting your body.
TYPE 2 – ACQUIRED IMMUNITY
Acquired immunity is specific, it works against a particular type of germ. Depends on the formation of antibodies by immune cells. Immune cells are like the “army” of the body. Antibodies are like “bullets” to fight a specific bacteria or virus.
- Eg : When you have chicken pox, your “army” produces antibodies to fight the chicken pox virus. After the sickness, your body develops memory and will recognize the “invaders” faster on the second exposure. The production of antibodies will be quicker than before and the “invaders” are killed more efficiently.
Vaccination triggers the immune system to produce antibodies for the disease, where weakened or inactive “invaders” are injected into the body to create memory. This makes our immune system to be on standby mode and react faster to produce antibodies when a real infection happens.
• PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR SERIES 2 😊 •
Brought to you by : Your Health Advisor, Lee Wei Han.
