gene Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 What exactly is the immue system? I have heard people telling other ti boost their immune system. where is our immune system located? How to boost the Immune system? By eating only Vit. C stuff? ah and i think excercise too. My biology classes didn't cover immune system but they taught what are white blood cells and stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VendingMenace Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 i would try to answer this question, as i have studied it a bit, however, it is clear that glider knows much more about this stuff than i. SO rather than confusing you, i will wait and let him answer it. If he doesn't answer in a few days, i will write what i know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apollo2011 Posted December 15, 2003 Share Posted December 15, 2003 gene: All I know is that I think the Immune system is not a physical system (like the Digestive system has physical organs making it up ex. the stomach). When you boost your immune system, you help it bost its defenses and it makes you less likely to actually get sick. For instance, when you get the Flu Vaccine, you boost your immune system and you are less likely to catch the Flu. The Vaccine exposes you to a small version created in a lab. Your immune system is able to fight off this small version and learns how to fight it in the future. Thus, if you catch the full Flu, it will know how to fight it and you won't get sick. However, things can go wrong. It is possible that you can catch the Flu from the vaccine and the vaccine is not foolproof. Just because you got the Flu Vaccine, doesn't mean you won't get the Flu but that is highly unlikely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glider Posted December 16, 2003 Share Posted December 16, 2003 It's beem an odd kind of few days. A friend got smashed by a cage pilot on friday, and for some reason this have involed a lot lot of tequila on saterday and whatever days follow that until now. Anyway...immune system...ok (I do this only for the one who hates the pointless use of elipses...whoever he is...). The immune system is a system, insofar as it is capapble of independent action (even in vitro). In essence, it is a system that evolved to check for, recognise and respond to non-self thingys. It is regulated (at least partly) by the HPA axis, and will respond aggressivcely, in normal cases, to non-self substances detected in the body. Eevery cell in the body has an identification 'code'. In red blood cells for example, this is the glycocalyx (the pattern of sugers on the cell membrane). If immune cells (e.g. white cells like macrophages) encounter an object that does not have correct ID pattern, they will attack it, and release substances calling for reinforcement, i.e. things like immunoglobulins, and killer cells and so-on, It's a very violent place, the internal mileu. Anyway, in short, the immune system is a system that exists to recognise and destroy anything it detects in the body that is 'non-self'. Occasionaly, it all goes pants and fails to be able to differentiate betewen self an non-self and attack 'self' systems. Such faults is implicated in conditions such as certain forms of rhumatism and lupus and so-on. I forget the actual question now. I think I'll have to get back to you...probably..later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apollo2011 Posted December 16, 2003 Share Posted December 16, 2003 Glider: Very Interesting stuff there! All: I think you will find this article very interesting/helpful. How Stuff Works: The Immune System Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glider Posted December 16, 2003 Share Posted December 16, 2003 ...a very good article too...makes more sense than me...except for the stupid qwuestion "how do antibiotics work", to which the most recent answer must be "they don't anymore due to the fact we've been abusing them for the last 50 years" Anywya...who wants a fight? I had one already, and I'm still here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gene Posted December 16, 2003 Author Share Posted December 16, 2003 Glider said in post #4 :It's beem an odd kind of few days. A friend got smashed by a cage pilot on friday, and for some reason this have involed a lot lot of tequila on saterday and whatever days follow that until now. Anyway...immune system...ok (I do this only for the one who hates the pointless use of elipses...whoever he is...). What do you mean? Something bad happened lately? Are you ok? It sounds quite serious... Anyway, thanks for the the explanation. So, the immune system is just a term to call the white blood cells, antibodies... etc... as a whole right? Not exactly a physical system ... but an internal system right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gene Posted December 20, 2003 Author Share Posted December 20, 2003 Is it true that eating lots of Vit. C and doing lots of excercise can actually help to boost the immune system? How can you verify that... if the answer is true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skye Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 Vitamin C is an anti-oxidant and important in maintaining collagen, which on a molecular scale looks like rope, and is a major structural componant of your body that gives things like skin and bones their elasticity. A lack of vitamin C results in scurvy, where the degraded collagen causes bleeding gums and brittle bones. Anyhoo in terms of your immune system, you need a healthy supply of vitamin C (say 70mg a day), and perhaps a bit more during illness or injury, but it is water soluable and if have over ~1500mg (that is accumulated quite quickly with an intake of 50mg/day) built up in your body an excess tends to get excreted pretty efficiently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aman Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 If you want to boost your immune system spend a week at a daycare in the big city. You'll get exposed to tons of stuff and turn into a major antibody factory. I read in the newspaper that back in the 60's nearly everybody had antibodies to Hepatitis A due to exposure and now it's down to around 30% here in the states. The study theorized that the antibodies are important in preventing asthma and without them kids are more susceptable to asthma. That might explain the increase in this problem in the present. Maybe kids should get a Hepatitis A vacine just to jump start their systems. Just aman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glider Posted December 23, 2003 Share Posted December 23, 2003 gene said in post #7 : What do you mean? Something bad happened lately? Are you ok? It sounds quite serious... It's ok. It's just that a friend of mine got smashed by a car driver. The car was parked in a bus-stop, and as my mate rode past, the idiot decided to peel out and do a U-turn without looking. Just re-confirms my attitudes towards cage pilots. We thought my mate was going to lose his arm at one point, but it's ok. He fractured his scapula and will be out of action for some time, but he'll recover. Anyway, thanks for the the explanation. So, the immune system is just a term to call the white blood cells, antibodies... etc... as a whole right? Not exactly a physical system ... but an internal system right? Well, white cells, antibodies and suchlike are parts of the immune system, but the immune system is a system. It's capable of independent action, but it is also directed by the central nervous system and the psychological state of an individual. Direct communication between nerves and certain immune cells has been shown. The immune system is hugely complex and not completely understood. But it is most certainly a system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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