Agent Orange
By: Bryan St.Jean
What is Agent Orange?
Agent orange is a chemical or a herbicide used during the Vietnam War. It was sprayed over the forests and woodlands of Vietnam to strip the Vietnamese of there cover. But little did the U.S. know that this chemical could lead to 14 different diseases that were found in veterans of this war.
Onset
- these conditions arise from exposure of Agent Orange
- the chemical enters the body through the eyes, mouth, nose, ears
- open cuts as well
Signs and symptoms of exposure to Agent Orange
If you have come down with:
- Ischemic Heart Disease
- AL Amyloidosis
- Chronic B-Cell
- Chloracne
How the Body Systems work with this condition
I'm going to use an example. This is one of the diseases that come along with exposure. Its Ischemic Heart Disease. This disease causes build in up the hearts arteries and doesn't allow the normal amount of blood flow to the heart. Normally blood flows to the heart and distributed throughout the body.
Target Population
- the veterans and children of the vets
- Male members of the armed forces
- theres no ethnicity that the diseases specifically target
- mostly happens to men between the age range of the 40's, 50's and the early 60's
Signs and Symptoms
Doctors check for a few things:
- signs of ongoing sickness
- signs that you may have a cancer
- if you've served in a foreign war
Ischemic Heart Disease
Treatment for this disease or condition
Throughout this project I've used Ischemic Heart disease as an example
- for this condition you can get bypass surgery to unclog clogged arteries
- it's encouraged to drink lots of milk
- also to eat lots of fruit and vegetables
- there's a few medications that are supplied to help
Diagnosis
Exposure to the chemical could look like anything the deals with 14 related diseases that have been recorded by doctors and the VA (Veterans Affairs) or the DAV (Disabled American Veterans)
- for instance some diseases lead to internal bleeding, cancers to the brain, lungs, heart
- and other systems of the body
Prognosis
- life expectancy of someone who has been exposed to this chemical is very thin due to the disease that come along with it
- for instance men with AL Amyloidosis
- 40-60% die within a few years of having this disease