www.Ups tatePhys i c i ansSC . com | www.Hea l thL i nksUps tate. com | 39 INFLAMMATION By the Numbers A high white blood cell count is an indication that the immune system is activated and working to fend off an infection or injury. A white blood count of 5,000 to 8,000 per microliter is considered an ideal range. Source: Parsley Health Inc. The FIVE SYMPTOMS of chronic inflammation are: body pain, skin rashes, excessive mucus production, low energy and poor digestion. Source: Parsley Health Inc. Inflammation occurs in almost every chronic disease, which affected approximately 133 MILLION Americans in 2018. This represents more than 40% of the total U.S. population. Source: Parsley Health Inc. Inflammatory processes are central to the development and complications of cardiovascular disease, which has been the NO.1 cause of death in the United States since 1921. Sources: Center for Disease Control and the National Center for Biotechnology Information. THE BAD: CHRONIC INFLAMMATION However, when an acute response fails to heal a bodily injury, the inflammation surrounding it can often become chronic – lasting months or years as your body works to find a solution. Dr. Gilkeson said this condition is usually due to a chronic infection or an autoimmune disease, such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis with inflammation in the joints or inflammation in the lungs and the body as a whole from a COVID infection. “The immune system is trying to get rid of the virus through inflammation, but, in doing so, causes injury to the lungs,” he said. “Drugs we use to treat rheumatoid arthritis are effective in controlling the overactive inflammation in serious COVID lung involvement, leading to improved survival.” Dr. Akoury added that chronic inflammation can also cause your body to “mistake its own healthy tissues as an invader.” “And higher levels of chronic inflammation have been linked to a variety of conditions,” she said. These conditions include heart disease, obesity, asthma, peptic ulcers, hepatitis, lupus, Crohn's disease, fibromyalgia and others. “Some people have immune deficiencies, which makes them highly susceptible to infections and cancer,” Dr. Gilkeson said. “These diseases are treated with medications that boost the control side of the immune system. And 10% of people develop an autoimmune disease where the immune system’s control mechanisms are not quite up to speed, allowing the immune system to attack self cells and tissues.” What’s the best way to deal with chronic inflammation? Both Drs. Gilkeson and Akoury said higher levels of regular medical treatment are necessary. “Talk to your medical provider for help deciding how to manage a sudden case,” Dr. Akoury said. “It could be easy to mistake inflammation for infection, but it's quite the opposite.” Dr. Gilkeson added that as inflammation of any condition increases, “our immune cells are secreting the chemicals which attract more cells and more inflammation until the infection is controlled.” “Inflammation itself is a component of the overall immune system in the body,” he concluded. “And given the incredible complexity of the system, it is amazing that for most of us, the system works as it is intended.”
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