The social implication of viewing aging as a disease could be profound, though this classification is not yet widespread. Lepers were people who were historically shunned because they had an infectious disease, and the term "leper" still evokes social stigma. Fear of disease can still be a widespread social phenomenon, though not all diseases evoke extreme social stigma. Social standing and economic status affect health. Diseases of poverty are diseases that are associated with poverty and low social status; diseases of affluence are diseases that are associated with high social and economic status. Which diseases are associated with which states vary according to time, place, and technology. Some diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, may be associated with both poverty (poor food choices) and affluence (long lifespans and sedentary lifestyles), through different mechanisms. The term lifestyle diseases describes diseases associated with longevity and that are more common among older people. For example, cancer is far more common in societies in which most members live until they reach the age of 80 than in societies in which most members die before they reach the age of 50. Language of disease
An illness narrative is a way of organizing a medical experience into a coherent story that illustrates the sick individuals personal experience. People use metaphors to make sense of their experiences with disease. The metaphors move disease from an objective thing that exists to an affective experience. The most popular metaphors draw on military concepts: Disease is an enemy that must be feared, fought, battled, and routed.
On land in our daily lives, the pressure in our air spaces is usually exactly the same as the pressure outside, because our air spaces are connected to the outside world. If there was a pressure difference between the outside world and one of our air spaces, then we experience painful pressure on the walls of that air space, as air pushes from the higher-pressure side to the lower-pressure side. This is why we sometimes get painful ears on air trips. Dissolved gas
A percentage of the gas we breathe (air) is always dissolved in our blood, like the gas dissolved in a carbonated drink bottle with the lid on. If a person moves to a higher ambient pressure, then the gas inhaled is at a higher pressure, so more of it dissolves in the blood and diffuses into body tissues (Henrys and Ficks gas laws). If they slowly move back to a lower pressure, then the extra gas comes out slowly until they are back to their normal amount of dissolved gas. But if they move quickly to a lower ambient pressure, then the gas comes out of our blood and tissues violently, in large bubbles, in the same way that quickly removing the cap from a bottle of soft drink produces far more bubbles than slowly opening the bottle.