Treating bacterial infections vs. viral infections

1. What's the difference?

2. Virial Infections

3. Treatment Viral Infection

4. Viruses are smaller than bacteria. Are diverse and have many shapes and characteristics Require living cells or tissues to grow and survive. Invade the body and use parts of host cells to replicate.

5. Antiviral agents are hard to find, virus genomes mutate fast, new agents with new targets must be found to destroy. treatment usually consists of relieving symptoms while body works against infection.

6. To combat symptoms of viral infection: drinking fluids, sleep, use of over-the-counter pain medication such as Tylenol or Motrin, taking OTC decongestants for runny or stuffy nose.

7. Antiviral medication may be use in some cases to interfere with life cycle of virus. example: Tamiflu, Valtrex

8. Vaccinations against viral infections:

9. vaccinations developed against polio, chickenpox, HPV, hepatitis A and B

10. Treatment of viral infections, such as HIV, have developed into medications to target certain life cycle points or parts of the virus to attach and destroy.

11. Use of antibiotics for viral infection is not recommended as antibiotics do not work and taking them may lead to resistance.

12. To determine if viral or bacterial infection, medical provider will run blood or urine test, culture test or biopsy.

13. Examples of viral infections: influenza, common cold, measles, HIV, chickenpox

14. Transmitted by direct transmission (coming in contact with infected person) by touch, coming in contact with body fluids, vertical transmission or touching infected surfaces. May be contracted from infected insect bite or eating contaminated food or water.

15. Bacterial Infections

16. Treatment Bacterial Infection

17. Examples: Strep Throat, urinary tract infections (UIT), bacterial food poisoning, Gonorrhea, Lyme disease

18. Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections. Antibiotics target bacteria from growing and dividing.

19. Transmitted by direct contact with infected person (touch), body fluids of a infected person, vertical transmission (mother to child), eating contaminated food or being bitten by infected insect. Indirect transmission from surface contaminated with bacteria.

20. Important to take entire course of antibiotics. Skipping or forgoing doses may allow pathogenic bacteria to grow

21. Antibiotic Resistance:

22. Overuse of antibiotics have lead some bacteria to become resistance to medications.

23. Bacteria are tiny, one celled microorganisms. Diverse and have large variety of shapes and features. Found everywhere in soil, water, surface of the human body.