Classification of diseases helps us to diagnose the diseases at the earliest and take proper treatment by consulting your doctor.

Diseases are always attacking human beings as recently attacked by #covid19. 

The major ammunition against any disease is the knowledge of the disease and precautionary measures to avoid disease.

On this page, I will just classify the diseases to understand your problem well. 

A) Classification of diseases according to age/sex/environments

Paediatric diseases:

Diseases that are related to children or mainly occur in children below 15 years of age, it is further specified as neonatal diseases if it occurs in newborn babies.

Geriatric Diseases:

Diseases that are more common in older adults over 65 years old, and sometimes even up to 80 years, are classified as geriatric diseases.

Gynaecological Disorders:

Disorders in a female reproductive system are considered as gynaecological problems.

Tropical Diseases:

For any diseases that mainly occur in the tropical or subtropical areas of the world ( areas near the equator), the climate is normally warm to hot or moist year-round. 

Occupational Diseases:

A disease or a disorder caused by the work or working conditions at the workplace for example airway disease, or respiratory disease such as Asthma.

B) Classification of diseases according to systems/organs

Cardiovascular Diseases: 

As the name indicate the disease related to the heart and blood vessels such as heart disease, heart attack, stroke, heart failure, heart valve problems due to high blood pressure, anxiety, high cholesterol, more smoking, irregular diet, unhealthy diets, junk food, fast foods, lack of exercise such as yoga…

Gastrointestinal Diseases: 

Diseases related to the digestive system such as diarrhoea and dysentery mainly caused due to infections caused by viruses or bacteria. Diseases caused due to overeating, eating junk food or fasting such as acidity. Ulceration, digestive problems and a few other diseases caused in the gastrointestinal tract are considered gastrointestinal diseases.

Musculoskeletal Disorders:

The musculoskeletal system of your body consists of bones, joints, muscles, tendons, cartilage, spinal discs, ligaments and soft tissues. 

Injuries or diseases that occur in this system due to accidents, old age, exercises, wrong posture and work culture are said to be musculoskeletal disorders. 

Pain and inflammation in a particular area of your body are the symptoms you may notice due to stiffness, strain, spasms, sprains, fractures and dislocation… 

Low back pain, numbness tingling in hands and arms (carpal tunnel syndrome), Inflammation in a tendon (Tendonitis) due to exercise, joint pain in age-old,  tension neck syndrome are some of the common musculoskeletal disorders.

Hepatic Diseases:

The disease that occurs due to the disturbance of liver function is called hepatic disease. 

An active liver is responsible for many critical functions of your body and it continues doing it responsibly by repairing itself if it is damaged due to unhealthy eating, excessive drugs, alcohol, intake of toxic products…

Liver cancer, Liver failure, the disease caused by a viral infection like Hepatitis A, B and C, or due to genetic reasons are some of the hepatic diseases.

Vomiting, fatigue, weakness, and weight loss are some of the symptoms you may notice. Although a damaged liver can continue working for 9-12 years without showing you any symptoms take care of your liver.

Renal Diseases:

A disease associated with a Kidney is called Renal disease. 

Symptoms of renal disease are tiredness, lack of sleep, frequent urination, blood in urine, dry or itchy skin, swelling of ankles and feet, puffiness around eyes… 

Urinary tract infection, kidney stones and gradual loss of kidney function (chronic kidney disease or CKD) are some renal diseases.

Use of a lot of water, healthy eating and healthy living will take care of your kidneys.

C)  Classification of diseases according to cause 

Communicable diseases:

Mainly infectious or transmissible diseases come under this category. Such as Corona, AIDS, Flu, Hepatitis…

Prevention is better than cure idioms and fits very well in these types of diseases.

Nutritional Deficiency Diseases:

It’s caused by malnutrition and unhealthy eating habits hence take a healthy diet to keep away from this disease.

Allergic Disorders:

Almost everything can trigger an allergic reaction. Mainly it is dust, pollen, insect stings, certain food and latex…

The immune system of your body reacts to certain things that are not suitable for your body and show you in the form of itching, rashes on the skin, redness…

Rhinitis is a common allergic disorder. 

Hereditary Diseases:

The disease that an offspring receives from his/her parents or grandparents due to the genes in DNA is hereditary. 

Anaemia is a common single-gene disorder, missing or changed chromosomes cause chromosomal disorder and mutation of two or more genes causes the complex disorder. 

Diseases caused by Accidents/ Trauma:

Physical or mental unexpected incidents may cause damage to the body or brain. The diseases associated with these types of conditions come in this category. 

Iatrogenic diseases:

This disease is the aftereffect of a medical or surgical procedure or due to the intake of the drugs prescribed by a physician. 

If you take some medicine without consulting a doctor and get a side effect then it is not counted as an Iatrogenic disease.

The best example of this disease is hair loss after chemotherapy.

Nosocomial diseases:

Hospital-acquired diseases or diseases that occur during healthcare treatment come under this category.

D)  Classification of diseases according to symptoms

Acute diseases:

Suddenly you notice certain symptoms and the disease remains for a short duration like fever, cough, strep throat and appendicitis, which fall under the category of acute diseases.

Although acute diseases may be severe to moderate. 

Many times you don’t need hospitalization and can be treated by taking treatment for a shorter period. 

Acute myocardial infarction or pneumonia requires medical attention and extended treatment.

Chronic Diseases:

The diseases that last for more than a year or life long are chronic. It may lead to restricted mobility, diet and functioning of the body.

Heart diseases, diabetes, arthritis, asthma, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease are a few chronic diseases.

Precautions, maintaining healthy habits and regular treatment by periodically consulting a physician can improve the quality of life.

My father maintained it for four decades despite diabetes and heart blockage.

Degenerative Diseases:

The process by which tissues or cells of the central nervous system lose their functional ability due to age-related, injuries or damage is called the degenerative process and the diseases that occur due to the degenerative process are called degenerative diseases.

Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease are a few examples of degenerative diseases. Memory loss is also due to the degenerative process.

Psychosomatic diseases:

Physical diseases due to mental health, frustration, and depression are psychosomatic diseases.

Pseudo-diseases:

When the patient complains about some or another disease or pretends to be ill is called pseudo disease.

It may be due to some mental disorder hence medical attention is needed to verify that it’s a mental disorder or simply malingering.

SUM UP

To diagnose a patient or yourself you must know the classification of diseases. This will help you in finding your disease. You can take appropriate steps at the earliest.

This classification of diseases is only for your knowledge about you or a patient’s disease and without investigating a patient exact diagnosis should not be made.