Fighting Inflammation
- Harvard Health Online Course
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Inflammation is a key sign your body is fighting off infection or healing from an injury. But chronic inflammation may cause serious problems. Three out of every five people around the world die from a disease linked to inflammation.
- Online; Self-Paced
$29.95
Certificate
Two Weeks, 2-6 Hours/Week
On This Page
Overview
Pain. Redness. Heat. Swelling. At some point, you’ve experienced these symptoms of inflammation, thanks to a sprained ankle, paper cut, or insect bite. Despite the discomfort it brings, inflammation is an essential survival mechanism. It helps your body fight off hostile microbes and repairs tissues damaged by injury. But inflammation also has a harmful side involved in a number of diseases.
Harvard Medical School experts simplify this complex topic in our self-paced interactive course. You'll discover the good and bad of the inflammatory reaction—and more important, you'll discover strategies to lower your risk of potentially harmful chronic inflammation.
Each section is followed by a quiz designed to help you review important material.
Learning Objectives
- When Good Inflammation Goes Bad: Learn how and when inflammation becomes problematical—in sometimes serious ways.
- Inflammation and Allergic Responses: Find out how eczema, asthma, and other allergic responses cause inflammation.
- Getting Started: Discover the basics of inflammation and how your immune system comes into play. Featured slideshow: "Inflammation: Friend or Foe—or Both?"
- Inflammation and Autoimmune Disease: Key lessons include an explanation of how your body fights itself when inflammation is triggered.
