Thicker than Water

In our generation, plastics are widely used to produce packaging and even in producing car machinery. Most stores use plastic bags for your groceries, some of these plastics are soft while the others are not. But have you noticed the greatest changes in the environment?

Aren’t you concerned about what will happen to the plastics 100 years from now? Will they decompose? For instance, imagine digging a piece of land and noticing tiny specks of plastics called microplastics. At first, you may be shocked by the disturbing discovery, but as time passes by, you learn that you’re not the only person who has discovered it because, in fact, all of us have been noticing it without knowing the dangers that surround us. As plastic waste proliferates around the world, an essential question remains unanswered: what harm does it cause to humans and living things?

TINY PIECES AFTERMATH

A few years ago, microplast Microplastics are small plastic particles that are less than 0.2 inches (5 mm) long. Nowadays, microplastic particles have been ubiquitously detected in a broad range of shapes, polymers, and sizes. They can be as thin as small veils and be carried away by the wind from miles away, or they can be hard and compact like rocks.

In the last 70 years, we have aided an increasing growth in worldwide plastics production, which has consequently spread into the environment. We can say we live in a plastic world, and these microplastics are thicker than water. These synthetic polymers are environmental pollutants themselves and act as vectors of transport for various kinds of chemicals.

“GO GREEN; PLASTICS ARE OBSCENE”

Scientists aren’t entirely fumbling around in the dark. There is extensive research on toxins found on plastics, as well as on lung diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which kill millions of people every year and have been linked to exposure to other pollutants. Over time, those particles could cause irritation that leads to a cascading range from inflammation to in fection to cancer. According to Kari Nadeau, a physician and director of allergy and asthma research at Stanford University, particles identified in the lung study are made of plastics that are known to be toxic to humans and have caused lung irritation, dizziness, headaches, asthma, and cancer. This information was based on the list of fibers published in the studies. Whether such particles directly caused asthma for someone’s life would be hard to prove.

THE ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION

According to Alberto Mizzo, the science is too unclear to don’t know that yet. In the meantime, can we make plastics safer?”

“SESAME SEEDS”

When plastics break down, they don’t biodegrade; rather, they break into increasingly smaller pieces. As was sitting in my chair, a conclusion built up in my mind. I can think of a sesame seed as a graphical representation of millions of pieces of microplastics. The fact that also hate sesame seeds makes me

The Aedes aegypti mosquito is considered as the primary vector of DENV. It could breed in natural containers such as tree holes and bromeliads, but nowadays it has well adapted to urban habitats and breeds mostly in man-made containers including buckets, mud pots, discarded containers and used tyres, storm water drains.

The World Health Organization classifies dengue into 2 major categories: dengue with/without warning signs and severe dengue. While majority of dengue cases are asymptomatic or shows a mild symptoms, it can manifest as a severe, flu for infants, young children or even adults, but this seldom causes death. Mild symptoms of dengue can be confused with other illnesses that cause fever, aches and pains, or a rash.

“SMALL BITE, BIG THREAT”

The virus is transmitted to humans when bitten by an infected female mosquitoes mainly called Aedys Aegypti. The virus enters the mosquito first, then it replicates in the mosquitos midgut until it spreads unto the secondary tissues including salivary glands. Once infected, the mosquito is able to transmit the virus for the rest of its life.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there is evidence that the DENV can also be transmitted from mother to child. For instance, a pregnant woman accidentally caught the virus, meaning there’s a higher risk of death

Severe dengue is a leading cause of serious illness and death in some Asian and Latin American countries. This virus only requires management by medical professionals, but there is no specific treatment for dengue. Early detection of the progression of severe dengue and provision of appropriate medical care can reduce the death rate from the disease to below 1% and sometimes, the successful prevention and treatment of the virus only depends on the effectiveness of vector control measures.

“FOOD

FOR THE BODY”

When was a kid my tita was once a patient from dengue. They used to serve her some foods that can help her regain her consciousness and energy like tawa-tawa. They will sometimes boil the tawa-tawa leaves, and this will serve as her drink, and for the snacks they give her some quail eggs and pineapples. They said it is a good source of digestive enzymes that helps your body to break down food and aid digestion. You could also eat fruits which are rich in vitamin c to provide anti-viral and anti oxidative properties. Recovering from any disease requires a lot of patience and energy. Our body needs time, rest and the right food to regain its lost strength.

TO THE RESCUE”

“MOMMAS

At times, we don’t need to step outside of our homes just to have fun because at some point we might not actually know what unexpected dangers await us. truly can’t blame my mom for not allowing me to step outside our doors, especially when she saw how my tita suffered from it. just know she’s trying her best to keep us, her family protected from the things that surround them. Whenever you’re in a fever just yelp for “Mom”— I’m sure she’ll give you comfort and the next time you knew, she’d give you tawa-tawa.

MOSQUITOES CAUSE AN AVERAGE OF 725,000 DEATHS PER YEAR