- Smoking
- As a direct result of smoking and individual increases their chance of lung disease, lung cancer, cancer of the mouth, poor dental hygiene gum infections this is due to the body’s intake of nicotine and tar that are present in tobacco. Smokers will have smelly clothes and their fingers, hair and breath will all smell too. Nicotine reduces fertility in men and women and is harmful to the unborn child. Passive smoking is as dangerous as being a smoker. A person who already has existing respiratory conditions and also smokes will find themselves more breathless that that of a non smoker, for example a non smoker who has asthma requires less management and drugs that that of a smoker with asthma as the non smoker will have fewer toxins that aggravate the lungs and can cause further respiratory diseases such as chronic bronchitis.
- It is illegal to smoke in a public place, and whilst smokers have designated smoking areas it can lead to feeling excluded from your friendship group. Smoking in the home will make the house smelly and could put off visitors from coming round, as they too will smell when leaving or may not what to be exposed to passive smoking.
A smoker will have a lower lung capacity to that of a non-smoker; this means their body has to work harder to pump the oxygen around the body. A smoker inhales more toxic fumes than that of a non-smoker, which leads to tar in the lungs, and the in halation of smoke that then causes cancers in the body. Nicotine causes staining to teeth gums nails and fingers, a non-smoker will not have these issues.
- Poor Housing
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Can increase the chances of living in a home with inadequate heating leading to a damp atmosphere, this in turn can lead to chest infections coughs and colds. Vulnerable people like children and the elderly and those with asthma are particularly at risk from fighting bronchial disorders. Overcrowding is common in poor housing and can lead to more accidents within the home due to more people sharing the living spaces. RoSPA says that in 2002 there were 13 % more accidents in over crowded homes compared to the average sized family home. If lots of people are sharing bedrooms it can lead to sleep deprivation, which in turn can bring on stress and headaches. This can cause problems at work as lack of sleep reduces the brains ability to concentrate. With more people comes more clothes washing and if this is not done promptly bacteria can grow and spread between the clothes, whilst washing at 40° makes it more economical for those on a budget it does not kill off the bacteria that lives in underclothes, if this is then left for days without washing this can spread between family members, leading to cross infection.
- Poor heating can make it difficult to keep a house warm and well ventilated it would make drying clothes a problem especially in winter, having a window open to vent a tumble dryer would not be a viable option as these are costly to run, which would have a further impact on a small financial budget, leaving less money for food, and a healthy diet.
- Safety would be an issue living in a dangerous or over populated area can affect your mental health, making an individual more anxious leading to further health problems like, high blood pressure, panic attacks and stomach ulcers. Affecting your mental health could also lead to depression, making an individual feel worthless and have a negative outlook on life. It would limit your ability to go out and cut you off from social activities.
An individual that is in poor housing will have a higher risk of chest infections due to living in a damp environment. Dust mites thrive in damp environments and these can cause lung allergies in people that are not fit including the elderly and children. A person with asthma compared to a non asthmatic find living in a damp environment would have a huge impact on their health, they would have more asthma attacks would be prone to more chest infections because dampness causes mould which causes mould spores to be inhaled this would aggravate existing lung conditions exaggerating those symptoms and increasing medications required to manage the condition, in comparison to an individual living in a clean, dry and healthy environment will not have the mould spores or the dust particles so an asthmatic in these conditions would have a higher quality of air and would require less medication and suffer from fewer effects from the condition. Individuals on a poor income are also at risk due to lack of a good diet to boost the immune system.
- Accessibility to services
- Can increase the chances of poor diet choices due to a lack of variety of shops. Poor quality of foods will limit the amount of vitamins and minerals required to sustain a healthy diet An individual that has poor transport links may loose out in better healthcare having to register with who ever is closer rather than a bigger health clinic that may be further away. This can also cause further problems for an individual requiring a doctor in the middle of the night and will have to rely on public transport or paying for a taxi to get there. Having poor access to health services means an individual can be ill informed of up to date health care services.
- Family contact and socialising with friends can be limited for an individual with poor transport links it can make them feel cut off trapped and this can lead to mental health issues like depression and anxiety. It can also have impacts on what job an individual can get too and that limits salary opportunities, this in turn can lead to a small budget for daily living, poor housing, lack of good diet and a minimal if any disposable income for hobbies.
- Individuals with particular dietary needs may find accessibility a problem for example someone who is Jewish eats Kosher food, and will have to access a specialist shop to purchase it, this will make them feel stressed as it is linked to their religion and culture, stress can make them feel unwell and can lead to high blood pressure and stomach cramps, if someone is unable to follow their choice of religion it can make them feel cut off from family and friends which would make the depression even worse. If the dietary needs are because of a medical condition this can make accessibility to good food choices really hard. For example someone who a diabetic, needs a gluten free diet, or has crones disease will have to travel further to find a better variety of food shops, if they cant they may miss out on a varied balanced diet, or be tempted to eat the only foods that are available and this could make their condition worse if they do not meet their particular dietary needs.
Local shops offer a smaller selection of food and do not have the buying power of larger supermarkets. They have a smaller selection of fresh vegetables and often have more convenience foods. Special offers may be given but are not necessary linked to good diet choices this can then make an individual have an unbalanced diet that can weaken the immune system. A person that does not eat a balanced diet can develop the following conditions;
- Eating too much salt can cause high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes.
- Sugar in the blood that is too much for the body to use completely is stored as fat. Too much fat in the body can lead to obesity, and obesity is known to trigger diabetes and heart disease.
- “If you don’t eat your five-a-day then you are more at risk of heart disease, strokes and some cancers.” (www.5aday.nsh.co.uk)
A person that has limited contact with others can feel cut off and isolated, this can lead them to feel unwanted and give them a low self esteem, people with low self esteem spend little time on themselves which can lead to not eating, and a low amount of personal hygiene and depression. An individuals accessibly to services can be simple a time constraint, for example not all doctors surgery’s are open in the evening, or at the weekend this would make people who work have to take time off to see a GP, if they cant do this because of loosing pay or feeling that they may loose their job as they are asking for time off, this may make them delay in seeing a GP which could make their condition worse, this would be very different for someone who lives in walking distance of a surgery that is open at weekends that amount of stress would immediately be reduced as that person would see a doctor out of work hours and any further medical conditions be stopped. Some NHS trusts do not offer all services free (fertility treatment, some cancer drugs etc) this is something that the media call the ‘postcode lottery’ which simply means that you can only access the health services that are offered in your area and if they are not there then you miss out on this service being available to you, unless you have the finances to pay for it privately and this can cost a lot of money putting more stress on family members to find the money to help pay for treatment, if a spouse cant help pay for treatment they may feel they have let their partner down and that despair can lead to break down in communications and eventually the marriage.
To conclude, I have looked at four factors that can affect the health and social needs of an individual in society, by taking each one further it can be seen that these can have health implications on an individual. People working in a care setting need to be able to understand that lifestyle can have a huge impact on an individuals health and social care needs.
