Inflammation is your body's response to infection or injury. When tissues are damaged, the body triggers an inflammatory response to begin the healing process. This involves increased blood flow to the area and specialized cells working to remove pathogens, cell debris, and damaged matrix while initiating tissue repair.
There are five main signs of inflammation:
Inflammation can be acute or chronic.
Acute inflammation starts rapidly and becomes severe rather quickly over hours or days. Its main signs are redness, swelling, heat, and loss of function. This type of inflammation is usually short-lived and part of the normal healing process.
Meanwhile, chronic inflammation persists over longer periods of time - weeks, months, or even years. It can result from failure to eliminate whatever is causing an acute inflammatory response, such as autoimmune disorders, persistent infections, or irritants. This type of sustained inflammation can lead to tissue damage and disease.
If you're struggling with chronic inflammation or inflammatory conditions, the caring professionals at Vitality Health Center can help get to the root cause with comprehensive lab testing and personalized treatment plans involving nutrition, supplements, and bioidentical hormone therapy. Contact us today to learn more!
Some key facts about inflammation:
To sum up, inflammation is an immune response that protects and heals damaged tissues. It serves an important role, but too much inflammation for too long increases the risk of various inflammatory diseases. Controlling known triggers and utilizing appropriate medical therapies can help manage unwanted inflammation.
I hope this gives you a good overview explaining what inflammation is! Let me know if you have any other questions.