Feeling Bad can sometimes be good

Key understandings and questions Responses of organisms are caused by internal stimuli. How is fever and vomiting beneficial to the human body? What some internal/external stimuli for vomiting, fever, hunger, or thirst?

Key Terms External stimulus Fever Homeostasis Hunger Internal stimulus Response Stimulus (stimuli – plural) Thirst Vomit

Cause and effect scenarios Cause: Julie doesn’t pay her phone bill. Cause: Peter is driving 60 mph in a 30 mph zone. A police officer stops Peter. Cause: Sam eats a lot of junk food and never exercises. Effect: Julie’s phone gets disconnected. Effect: Peter gets a speeding ticket. Effect: Sam will probably gain weight.

Cause and Effect scenarios cont. Cause: Sandra leaves her shoe laces untied and someone steps on her shoe lace. Cause: Amber’s car runs out of gas Cause: John didn’t study for his science test. Effect: Sandra trips and falls Effect: Amber’s car no longer runs. Effect: John failed his science test.

Reasons for vomiting and fever notes At one time or another, everyone has experienced a fever or has vomited. These two occurrences are not pleasant, but they so serve their purpose. Even though they make you feel miserable, this is actually your body’s way of keeping you healthy and safe. Vomit What is vomit? You have many names for vomit, such as throw-up, barf, upchuck, hurl, or puke. The actual term for vomit is emesis, which is a Greek word for “to vomit”. Whatever you call it, it’s all the same thing: vomit is soggy, half-digested food along with stomach mucus, saliva, stomach acids, and other chemicals that quickly exit up your throat and out of your mouth.

Reasons for vomiting and fever notes cont. Vomit cont. Why do we vomit? There are several reasons why we vomit. Food poisoning, illness, feeling nervous or scared, eating too much, pregnancy, and motion sickness are some reasons. For whatever reason you vomit, whenever something is upsetting your stomach, warning signals are sent to your brain to an area called the emetic center. This center tells your body to quickly get rid of whatever is upsetting you, and this is done by vomiting. How does vomit happen? Your digestive system carries food down your throat, into your stomach, and through your intestines which leads to the rectum. If you have a virus or other germs in your body, if you feel dizzy or nervous, or if you are pregnant or overeat, the muscles in your stomach push food up back to your mouth. Vomit is forcefully exerted out of your mouth so your body can feel better.

Reasons for vomiting and fever notes cont. Vomit cont. After we vomit Even though vomiting can feel pretty disgusting and smell really gross, you will feel a lot better after you vomit. Remember, whatever made you feel bad is now gone, so it’s back to normal for your system. Fever What is fever? The definition for fever is when the body temp. rises. To truly understand what a fever is, you first need to understand what the hypothalamus is. The hypothalamus is in the center of the brain and acts as the body’s thermostat. The hypothalamus tries to keep your body at its average temp. of 98.6oF. Anytime that temp. rises a fever will occur.

Reasons for vomiting and fever notes cont. Fever cont. Why do we get a fever? A person’s temp. might rise for many reasons. Fever occurs when the body’s immune response is triggered by pyrogens (fever-producing substances). Pyrogens usually come from a source outside the body such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, drugs, and toxins. Examples of pyrogens are colds, the flu, tonsillitis, ear infections, bronchitis, and tetanus.

Reasons for vomiting and fever notes cont. Fever cont. How does a fever happen? When the body senses fever-producing substances (pyrogens), the hypothalamus then raises the body temp. Your body rises in temp. to make the conditions hotter. Shivering may occur, which will help increase the hear in your body. Most pyrogens cannot handle the temp. that a fever brings, so the pyrogens greatly weaken or be destroyed. Temp. up to 100.8oF are considered low-grade, a temp. between 101oF-102oF is considered a mild fever, and a fever between 102oF-103oF is considered a moderate fever, and anything above 104oF is considered a high fever. High fever, for a prolonged time can damage the body.

Reasons for vomiting and fever notes cont. Fever cont. After a fever Once the fever-producing substance (pyrogen) disappears, the hypothalamus will set the body temp. back to normal. At this time, you might start to feel warm and you may sweat. Don’t worry, these are signs that you’re getting back to your old self. Overview Even though you might feel lousy when you vomit of have a fever, your body is actually trying to help you get better. Different reasons like food poisoning, to overeating, or pyrogens such as the cold and the flu, are stimuli. Stimuli are things that cause an organism to perform an activity or start a reaction. The reactions are what occur in response to the stimuli like vomiting or having a fever.

What could have caused these symptoms? What caused this? Effect Cause A student went to a foreign country and drank a fruit drink and ate two meat pies from a street vendor. A few hours later, the student was experiencing nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and fever. After a couple of days, all of these symptoms were gone and the student felt as good as new. What could have caused these symptoms? Cause: Clues: Symptoms: Response to: Food poisoning Vomiting, fever Cramps, diarrhea, fever, nausea, vomiting Drinking untreated water or contaminated food

What infection could Bobby possibly have? What caused this? Effect Cause A 5th grade boy felt like he was coming down with a cold. He showed cold-like symptoms such as a runny nose and a sore throat. After a couple of days, the boy was feeling worse. His new symptoms were a high fever, a headache, fatigue, weakness, and exhaustion. He went to the doctor who told him that he didn’t have a cold, but had a viral (virus) infection involving his respiratory tract. What infection could Bobby possibly have? Cause: Clues: Symptoms: Response to: Influenza (flu) Felt like he was coming down with a cold but it got worse Runny nose, sore throat, high fever, fatigue, weakness Virus infection

What could have been Harley’s possible condition? What caused this? Effect Cause Harley was riding his motorcycle and got into a bad accident. He was not wearing a helmet and had serious head injuries. Harley was unconscious for 20 mins. When Harley regained consciousness, he experienced confusion, dizziness, headaches, and vomiting. What could have been Harley’s possible condition? Cause: Clues: Symptoms: Response to: Concussion Serious head injuries Unconscious, confusion, dizziness, headaches, vomiting Serious blow to the head

What might have caused Mrs. Neat’s condition? What caused this? Effect Cause It’s Saturday and Mrs. Neat is cleaning house. She has worked all morning without stopping for food or a drink. She goes outside to get the mail around noon and smells the aroma of grilling meat. Her mouth starts to water and her stomach growls. What might have caused Mrs. Neat’s condition? Cause: Clues: Symptoms: Response to: Going without food Worked all morning without food and water, smells meat Mouth waters, stomach growls Drop in sugar and water levels in blood

Conditions List Vomiting Fever The following are lists of conditions that cause vomiting and fever. Notice that some conditions are listed on both columns. Common cold Viruses Chest infection Ear infection Meningitis Tuberculosis Pneumonia Chicken pox Measles Mumps Viral infection Heat exposure Food poisoning Dehydration Dengue fever Flu Overeating Cholera Mountain sickness Migraine Motion sickness Infections Flu Upset stomach Stomach virus Appendicitis Food poisoning Food allergy Brain tumor Balance disorders Brain infection Vomiting Fever