Acquired Immunity – Description And Characteristics
The immune system (both innate and acquired) is essential for optimal health. But what is acquired immunity? How does this consolidate over time? Solving these dilemmas is essential to enjoying a long, disease-free life. Read on to find out useful information about acquired and innate immunity!
Ongoing colds, recurrent fever and repeated bacterial infections may indicate a weakened immune system. According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, more than three episodes of bacterial sinusitis or more than two antibiotic treatments a year indicate the existence of immune problems.
About biological barriers
What is acquired immunity?
Its function is to recognize germs in a specific way so that you can fight them faster and more efficiently. Although it may seem surprising, it can be said that this biological barrier has a memory, as the response to the same pathogen becomes stronger and stronger.
The acquired immune system cannot be understood without defining the innate one. As various sources point out, the cells of the innate system are the ones that process antigens (substances produced by viruses and bacteria) and serve them to the lymphocytes so that they act accordingly.
In order not to complicate matters, we will limit the importance of lymphocytes to the following:
- Each type of lymphocyte has a receptor for each antigen of the pathogen.
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Symptoms of a weakened immune system
- Over four ear infections annually
- Three or more episodes of chronic sinusitis annually
- Development of serious infections following common pathologies
How to get acquired immunity
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), vaccines are prepared from weak or dead forms of harmful microorganisms, which stimulate the production of antibodies (receptors for the aforementioned lymphocytes) when introduced into the human body.
The acquired immune system responds to these stimuli as they destroy and retain potential threats in vaccines. But vaccines do not cause real harm to the patient. Thus, when the pathogen itself is present, the lymphocytes will recognize it immediately before the onset of infection.
