The immune system protects the body from pathogens and other foreign substances, destroys infected and malignant cells, and removes cellular debris. It consists of a number of lymphatic organs which help create lymphocytes (infection-fighting white blood cell). The adenoids are one of the components of the immune system
What Are Adenoids?
The adenoids are two masses of lymphoid tissue located at the back of the nose in the upper part of the throat. Their main purpose is to trap irritants/allergens that waft through the air and enter your mouth/nose. They are also made up of cells that make antibodies to help your body fight infections.
How Adenoids Are Most Helpful
When children are very young, their immune systems are not fully developed yet. Adenoids can play a large roll in protecting them from illness at this young age. Adenoids are proportionately larger when we are younger. In fact, as we grow, they shrink and dramatically disappear by the time we reach our teenage years anyway. As they disappear, the body develops other aspects of the immune system to make up for the lack of that front end protection.
How Adenoids Can Be Harmful
Since adenoids are so large in young children, they can obstruct normal breathing and make speech difficult when swollen. This is especially a problem in children that snore and/or sleep with their mouth open. As the adenoids try to fight off the infections, they can become swollen since they are too soft and immature. Another problem that can occur if the adenoids are extra large is a constant runny nose. There isn’t enough room in your nasal passages for the nasal fluids to drain properly so they have to come out the front end of your nose.
Fixing Adenoid Problems
Most doctors will try to fix an adenoid problem by prescribing antibiotics to get rid of the infection that is causing swelling. If the swelling doesn’t go down, or the adenoids are just naturally too large for a child’s body, then an adenoidectomy maybe required (removal of the adenoids). Many parents do not want their children to undergo surgery on a body part that will just shrink away over time. It is important for people to weigh out the risks and benefits before making a major decision of this nature.
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The purpose of developing a strong immune system is to have a strong line of defense should your body be exposed to certain bacteria, viruses, germs, etc. Obviously we should take the necessary actions to bolster our immune systems as much as possible. However, there are also some front-line defense methods we can use that can help reduce the chances of our bodies even being exposed to these microorganisms in the first place.
Washing your hands with soap and water is one of the best ways to avoid contaminating yourself with these harmful organisms that you have come into contact with. Soap and water may not always be readily available so in those situations it is highly recommended that you use follow a practice of hand sanitizing. Simply spritz some anti-bacterial spray or gel onto your hands and rub it around on your hands until it dries.
Some people think that being too persistent with their hand washing and hand sanitizing efforts will cause their immune system to not be able to build up a resistance to these sicknesses because it is never exposed to them. My personal opinion is that you can never completely avoid interaction with germs, bacteria, and viruses since you can’t control all the people around you. If they sneeze or cough around you those organisms could become airborn and still enter your nasal passages where they can infect you with a flu or cold. By continuously washing your hands and using a good hand sanitizer you simply reduce the number of these exposures that you receive by not physically introducing the germs into your nose yourself by touching it with contaminated hands.
To summarize, you can’t go wrong by washing your hands with soap and water frequently and especially when you know you have been in a contact with an infected person or in a high risk area (school/office/etc.). If you don’t have access to soap and water it definitely won’t hurt you to use a hand sanitizing product in those situations.
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The immune system is made up of a complex network of cells and organs that protect the body from infection. The immune system’s job is to keep harmful materials such as certain bacteria, viruses, and fungi, out of the body, and to destroy any infectious items that do invade the body. The following is a diagram of all the different components of the immune system:
Diagram found on the University of Virginia Health System website
Each individual component of the immune system plays an important role in the growth, development, and release if Lymphocytes. Lymphocytes are the key component of immune system health. They are a type of infection-fighting white blood cell that scan the body for infectious microorganisms and then fight them off.
My goal with this blog is to explore all of the components of the immune system in more detail, discuss ways to improve immune system health such as with dietary adjustments, exercise, or by taking immune system vitamins/immune boosters. There are so many aspects to cover so I will be breaking it all into small pieces over time. I hope you find this information useful and relevant as you work on boosting your OWN immune system and help your body fight off colds and other illnesses.
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