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Chronic Illness: People
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When doctors diagnose a chronic illness, they ... recommend treatments that can relieve symptoms or keep the body functioning at its healthiest. Sometimes treatments involve medications the doctor will prescribe. Sometimes managing the illness also will depend on things the ill person can do to remain as healthy as possible, such as making changes in diet, quitting smoking, or exercising more. People with chronic illness seem to do best when they work as partners with their doctors to take an active role in caring for their health.
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"Holidays act like a lightning rod where all the physical and social concerns around chronic illness get really highlighted," says Patricia Fennell, MSW, LCSW-R. She explains that the demands and expectations around holidays can "out" people whose conditions were hardly noticeable. During the year, they spend so much of their energy working and handling the daily chores of living that they have little time left for socializing. Come the holidays, they're expected to show up and contribute.
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Chronic hepatitis C is estimated to affect more than 10 million people in major world markets, including in Canada, Europe and the United States. It is a leading cause of chronic liver disease and one of the most common reasons for liver transplant.
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As the incidence of chronic illness rises, organizations with responsibility for future health benefit needs are counting the cost. If trends remain steady, the number of Americans with chronic conditions is projected to increase by more than 1 percent each year through 2030 -- an increase of 46 million people.(2)
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Some people with chronic illnesses have symptoms that appear only under certain conditions. For example, some people with asthma (AZ-ma), a chronic illness that affects the lungs, may experience difficulty breathing only when they exercise, breathe in pollutants, or are under stress. Others with asthma may need to take medications or use inhalers daily to prevent wheezing. When the symptoms of a chronic illness are not present or are minimal, the illness is said to be in remission (ree-MI-shun). Having an illness that is in remission is not the same as being cured, because the disease that causes the illness is still present.
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Bipolar disorder, a serious, chronic illness marked by disabling mood swings from high (manic) to low (depressed) states,(1) is one of the most common mental illnesses in the United States. Recent research suggests bipolar symptoms may affect three times as many people -- nearly eight million American adults (or one in 30 people) -- as previously believed.(2) A recent study in patients with bipolar disorder showed that the total time spent depressed exceeded time spent manic by a factor of three, indicating that the depressive phases of bipolar illness were more problematic and treatment-resistant.(3) Most attempted and completed suicides occur during the depressive or mixed phases.
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