Immune Systems - Your Health

Human immune system 

What is the Immune System?

The immune system is what protects an organism, in this case our human body, from invasion by viruses, bacteria, parasites, germs, toxins and all kind of pathogen microorganisms. Our immune system helps us to stay healthy by preventing infection to spread in our body. Put simply, our immune system keeps us alive. The minute the immune system is overloaded or stop working properly, we get sick and can even die.

When we refer to immune systems we have to realize that it is really a network, a very well organized system in fact which is composed of cells, tissues, organs and processes that work together to defend our body against attacks by foreign invaders. These tiny germs or microbes such as bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi are the organisms that cause infection. Infection is the first response of the immune system. This is the signal that means something is wrong. 

The human body is an ideal ground for many germs and they sure would like to break in and invade the body. It is the immune system job to keep them out. But If they do manage to get in, it is also the immune system duty to seek and destroy the invaders.

The first barrier these invaders encounter is the skin, which offers a great protection for the body. The skin is hard to penetrate and produces an array of substances that are dangerous to the invaders. Of course there are openings like the eyes, the mouth and the nose, which seem easier to invade. Lucky for us they have some defense too. They are protected by fluids that can capture sneaky invaders.

The respiratory tract secretes antimicrobial peptides and also has mechanical defenses in the form of cilia, tiny hairs that remove particles. Invaders that would make it as far as the stomach are up against stomach acid that will kill most of them instantly.

Role of the Immune System in your body

As you can see, immune systems are always busy and on the lookout for pathogens that are trying to harm our body. It is not an easy task because first of all the immune system has to recognize and remember millions of different enemies. Secondly, it has to produce the proper defense such as secretions and cells to match up with and wipe out each one of them. This is done with the help of an elaborate communication network. Millions of organized cells meet and exchange information back and forth. Once the immune cells receive the alarm, they begin producing powerful chemicals. It's like awakening an army and sending the soldiers to the trouble spots.

But the key to a healthy immune system is the fantastic ability to distinguish the body' s own cells and the foreign cells. This is critical because without this ability the immunesystem would have no clue of which organisms to attack or not. This is done with the help of "marker molecules". When the immunesystem defenders encounter organisms carying markers that say "foreign", they immediately launch an attack. The faster the response the better they can get rid of the invaders.

This is the reason we should take care of our immune system. The healthier and stronger our immune system is, the better and healthier we will also be.

This website was built with the intention to provide information that could help the reader to get at least a glimpse of the complexity and the extraordinary system working non stop for us, and that most of the time we are not even aware of. By learning about our immune systems it will help you to be healthier and live longer.

This is my wish.

Regards

Paul

Video About Your Immune System