Treatment of Infectious Diseases

Treatment of Infectious Diseases: We have so far learnt quite a bit about infectious diseases. Now let us see how these diseases can be treated. When we get an infectious disease, our doctor may prescribe different medicines. Some of them reduce the symptoms of the disease, while others kill the disease-causing organisms.

Treatment for Reducing Symptoms: In many diseases, doctors prescribe medicines to reduce symptoms like pain, nausea, etc. This kind of treatment does not cure the disease itself. It is done only for the comfort of the patient. For example, in some diseases, a patient suffering from pain can be given a painkiller. The medicine prescribed as a painkiller will reduce the pain, but it will not cure the disease. Similarly, a cough syrup helps to clear the respiratory tract, but it does not cure the infection that is causing the cough. In some diseases, the only option is to reduce the symptoms. Influenza, for example, does not have a cure. But a doctor may prescribe medicines to reduce the aches and fever that an influenza patient has.

Treatment using Antibiotics:

Antibiotics are usually reserved for bacterial infections, because these type of drugs have no effect on illness caused by viruses.But sometimes it's difficult to tell which type of germ is at work.For example: Pneumonia can be caused by a bacterium,a virus,a fungus or a parasite.

The overuse of antibiotics has resulted in several types of bacteria developing resistance to one or more varities of antibiotics. This makes these bacetria much more difficult to treat.

Antivirals: Drugs has been developed to treat some, but not all viral diseases. Some of the viral diseases that can be treated by antiviral drugs are HIV/AIDS,

Herpes, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis C, Influenza etc.

Antifungals: Topical antifungal medications can be used to treat skin or nail infections caused by fungi. Some fungi infections, such as those affecting the lungs or the mucous membrane, can be treated with an oral antifungal. People with more severe fungal infections, especially in people with weekened immunity, may require intravenous antifungal medication.

Antiparasitics: Some diseases, including malaria are caused by tiny parasites. While there are drugs to treat these diseases, some varieties of parasites have developed immunity against theses drugs.

Sample Questions

(More Questions for each concept available in Login)

Question : 1

A man was infected with germs and was taken to the hospital. On pathological tests it was found that he had: A low number of RBC B High number of WBC and low number of RBC C low number of WBC D high number of platelets Which of the following alternative is correct?
A. A and B	B. A and D	C. C alone	D. D alone
Right Option : A
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Question : 2

DPT vaccines used to immunise infants against _______________________.
A. Diphtheria,whooping cough and tetanus		B. Cholera and Typhoid
C. Influenza		D. Pneumonia
Right Option : A
View Explanation