What is acute?

Acute illness refers to illnesses that have a sudden onset, occur over a limited period of time, and are often severe.
An illness described as acute indicates that it is of short duration, as a consequence of recent onset. The quantification of what is “short” and “recent” can vary from disease to disease and vary with context. But the essence of "acute" is always the opposite of chronic disease - indicating long-term disease.
The word “acute” also implies two other meanings: sudden onset and severity. As in acute myocardial infarction (AMI), there are both sudden and severe elements of an acute illness.
Acute often refers to conditions that are as urgent as in acute myocardial infarction, but it is not always so serious. For example, acute rhinitis is often synonymous with the common cold, which is an acute but not serious illness.

Acute myocardial infarction and acute rhinitis are not equal in severity, but they do have in common that they are short-lived, sudden, not chronic diseases. The disease can occur one or more times, as in recurrent pneumonia, that is, with multiple episodes of acute pneumonia, but they do not go on for months or years.
And not all acute illnesses are serious, and vice versa. For example, a mild sore toe caused by an acute injury, or an acute upper respiratory infection, acute gastroenteritis is usually mild and resolves within a few days or weeks.
However, the word “acute” is also sometimes used to refer to a stage of an illness. Sometimes "acute" is also used in the definition of certain diseases such as acute leukemia, acute respiratory syndrome, acute myocardial infarction, acute hepatitis,... to distinguish it from chronic forms of the disease, or to highlight its sudden onset.

Acute illness is usually caused by a virus, bacteria, or another infection. It can also be caused by trauma such as a fall, car accident, or drug abuse. However, the disease can also be caused by other causes from within the patient's body such as in acute myocardial infarction, which is caused by a blood clot that has formed in the body before, moving to and blocking a branch. of the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart.

Acute diseases can be divided into two categories:
Mild acute illness Severe acute illness Some common mild acute diseases include:
Musculoskeletal diseases: trauma, acute back pain, gout, ... Respiratory disease: upper respiratory tract infection, patients have symptoms such as cough and cold, pain in the throat, sore throat, dizziness,... Digestive disease: indigestion, diarrhea, nausea , vomiting, acute abdominal pain, constipation,.... Neurological diseases: dizziness, headache, sharp pain,... Dermatological diseases: rash, allergic urticaria, itching,... Cardiovascular disease: irregular heartbeat (palpitations), cold extremities, swollen ankles,... Severe acute illness can be divided into the following forms:
Alarm symptoms: the patient has signs signal of a potentially serious problem that must be checked and monitored. Acute Serious Illness: An acute illness in which the illness poses a serious threat to the patient's physical or mental health, well-being, or survival. Patients self-recognize their health problems as acute serious conditions such as: acute myocardial infarction, hemiplegia due to stroke,... Common acute serious diseases include: such as:
Heart attack Stroke

Cancer: colorectal cancer, stomach cancer, lung cancer, brain tumor,... Severe depression Acute pneumonia Stomach ulcer Acute inflammatory bowel disease .... Acute exacerbation of the existing chronic condition: the patient has a chronic illness, which may have acute flares that are dangerous to the patient. Some chronic diseases can have an acute episode such as: Acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Acute exacerbation of asthma .. Acute exacerbation of rheumatoid arthritis . Acute exacerbation of viral hepatitis. Thus, acute illness is defined as illness that occurs suddenly, usually for a short period of time, and is usually severe. But there are still mild acute conditions, not too dangerous. The word “acute” can also be used to refer to an episode of illness, an outbreak of a chronic illness.
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Articles refer to the source: webmd.com