Why do we get sick?

On November 10, for the last time this year, the children’s university answered a question posted to IUB scientists by school children. This time microbiologist Matthias Ullrich and psychologist Britta Renner explained to their curious audience the matters that cause illness. The successful lecture series will be continued in spring 2006.

[ Nov 11, 2005]  Measles, chickenpox, mumps – these are just a sample of the illnesses the children attending the lecture could name. Matthias Ullrich explained that most often bacteria and viruses are behind these and other diseases. Since they are, compared to the size of the human body, as small as a match in a skyscraper, one cannot see them with the naked eye, only with a microscope. Being so small is also the reason why they easily enter our body: by food, drink and even air. Once inside, if unchecked, they multiply enormously and thereby produce poisons that make us sick. Microbiologist Ullrich also told the doubtful audience that not all bacteria are harmful; some are even important and support the body and its functions. Agar plates with harmless but yucky looking bacterial colonies isolated from the human skin did not quite help to stress that particular point. But how does our body get rid of bacteria that are harmful? A body police is aiding us – our immune system, consisting different “police officers”, namely neutrophils, lymphocyts and macrophages, Ullrich closed his part of the lecture.

Psychologist Brita Renner explained that stress is one of the main reasons why the body police gets tired sometimes and does not work properly. When asked the audience proved to be well acquainted with reasons causing stress: homework, tests in class, parents fighting or being really angry about something. Stress symptoms, according to Renner, are head-ache, tummy-ache or bad emotions: feeling sad, lethargic, nervous, angry or afraid. It was good to hear therefore, that the children also knew a lot about the best medicine against stress: playing, reading, sleeping late, going for walks, having fun. Expert Renner had another recipe to add: Positive thinking! As this is sometimes not so easy, she showed them two exercises: The “I-am-proud-flash” and the “Silent Indian Howl”. For the latter all children got up, inhaled deeply and on the count of three screamed – without a single sound. With this practical introduction to successful stress busting the lecture closed.

Information about the next Kinder-Uni season in spring 2006 will be posted on
www.iu-bremen.de/kinderuni and announced in the press.