Immune System
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The Spleen and Tonsils
5.11 Spleen is a large mass of lymphatic tissue between the fundus (base) of the stomach and the diaphragm. The spleen performs the same function for the blood that the lymph nodes do for the lymph. Here white blood cells rid the blood of foreign matter. The spleen contains more lymphatic tissue than any other part of the body. The tonsils are large lymph nodes found in the walls of the mouth. At birth the tonsils are quite small. They increase in size until about age 6 or 7, when they begin to shrink. The lymph nodes in the tonsils are not always able to disable invading organisms, and the tonsils frequently get infected if your immunity is low. At one time, it was standard practice to remove the tonsils if repeated infections occurred. Now they are viewed as a line of defence against invading bacteria, and are usually left in place.
Stress and the Immune System
5.12 Researchers now know that the central nervous system can communicate with the immune system and that the immune system produces chemicals that can reply to the nervous system. They have found that stressful events can actually suppress the immune system, causing the person under stress to be more susceptible to illness.
What is Fever?
5.13 The symptoms, like fever, cough, diarrhoea, headache, we perceive as diseases are actually the very processes the body’s immune system uses to restore balance, protect and heal itself. Recent research has shown that fevers represent an effort of the body organism in healing itself. Fever usually accompanies bacterial or viral infection. The body prepares itself to resist infection by developing fever; it is then more able to produce an “interferon” (an anti-viral substance). Fever also increases white blood cell mobility and activity, which are instrumental factors in fighting infection. If fevers are now becoming recognized as adaptive defences of the body, it is understandable why suppressing them with painkillers like paracetamol is now being discouraged.
What is Pus?
5.14 Pus is a mixture of white blood cells, dead pathogens, debris from broken down body cells, and plasma. It is a sign that the body’s immune system is at work. When pus collects in an infected region of the body, an abscess occurs. No abscess, no matter how small, should ever be squeezed. This can cause the bacteria to enter the bloodstream and spread to another part of the body.
Santokh Singh Parmar
Naturo-Food Therapist & Lifestyle Consultant
Mobile: +91(0) 9815922330
Websites: www.naturofoodtherapy.org & www.foodtherapy.org
Note: The above information and advice and indicative remedies are not a substitute for the advice, your doctor or naturo-food therapist may give you based on his/her knowledge of yourself.
