List of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases
Viral Fever Vs Bacterial Infection: Expert Explains Difference, Causes, Signs And More
The feeling of fever is often accompanied by infection and is mainly caused by two infections: viral and bacterial. Both infections can lead to the patient experiencing similar symptoms but understanding the difference between the two is critical towards providing the correct medication. Knowing the differences ensures that the individual receives the needed medical attention and does not suffer from any further complications.
Viral Fever: According to Dr Meenakshi Jain, Senior Director, Internal Medicine, Max Super Speciality Hospital Patparganj, a wide range of viruses like Dengue, influenza, COVID-19, etc. Can cause viral fever. When people are infected with any kind of virus, their immune system raises the body's temperature to eliminate the virus, and this is a sign that the immune system is working properly.
Signs of Viral Fever:Fever Onset: Typically, viral fever develops gradually, starting at a mild temperature ranging from 100F to 103F. This leads to an increase in body temperature over several days.
Other Symptoms: Apart from fever, viral infection can cause patients to have body aches, fatigue, sore throat, coughing, runny nose, constant headaches, and even leads to diarrhoea. Cough and sore throat can affect respiratory viruses, whilst gastrointestinal even nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea.
Duration: When viral fevers set in, it usually lasts from 3 to 7 days because the immune system is gradually defeating the virus.
Antibiotic Effectiveness: Antibiotics can only treat bacterial infections. Antibiotics are ineffective for viral infections.
Bacterial Infection: Bacterial infections stem from harmful bacteria entering the body, which causes inflammation that eventually presents itself as a fever. Bacteria are single-celled organisms that can reproduce independently. The most common bacterial pathogens are Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, and Escherichia coli. They are usually the cause of pneumonia, urinary tract infections (UTIs), and bacterial meningitis.
Bacterial Infection Signs:Fever Onset: The onset of fever from a bacterial infection develops rapidly and is more intense than from viral fevers. It is not unusual for temperatures to increase sharply above 103 degrees Fahrenheit.
Other Symptoms: In addition to localized fever, bacteria infections have been known to cause localized pain, increased swelling, or even purulent infections in the region. For instance, UTIs result in Dysuria, while skin infections may present with Erythema, Edema, or Abscess.
Duration: Not-treated bacterial infections can cause severe life-threatening conditions like object failure or sepsis. This particular type of infection can only be cured with antibiotics.
Antibiotic Response: Bacterial infections, unlike viral infections, do respond well to antibiotics. Antipyretics can be used to treat fevers associated with these infections.
The main differences between viral and bacterial infections:Onset and Severity: Viral fevers tend to start slowly and have a moderately severe nature; bacterial infections usually result in sudden and intense fever.
Symptoms: Bacterial infections may include localised pain, swelling, or pus while viral infections usually present with more non-local symptoms such as a sore throat, body aches, or cough.Duration and Treatment: Viral infections generally resolve spontaneously within a week; bacterial infections require antibiotics to resolve the infection and avoid complications.When to Seek Medical Attention: You need to see a doctor in case a fever lasts more than 3 days; it gets too high; there are signs of difficulty breathing or chest pain, confusion, repeated vomiting, etc. A doctor might do a physical exam, lab tests (blood cultures, viral tests), and sometimes imaging studies to find the exact cause of the infection.
ALSO READ: Does season change make you sick? Know how to take care of yourself during weather transition
Mum's Hay Fever Symptoms Lead To Rare Diagnosis
A mum who thought she was suffering from hay fever was "shocked" to discover she has a rare cancer which affects fewer than one in a million people.
Melanie Wellings, from Gloucestershire, was told by doctors in 2021 that she was the only person in the UK living with sinonasal mucosal melanoma (SNMM).
The aggressive tumours had attached to her eye and it took surgeons 11 hours to remove them, leaving Ms Wellings with a permanent hole in her face the "size of a small orange".
The 63-year-old has said she is "giving herself to science" so people diagnosed with SNMM in the future will have a better chance at treatment options.
Ms Wellings symptoms first appeared during the Covid-19 pandemic but she initially dismissed it as allergies, despite never having suffered from hay fever.
"I'd had no pain, just runny eyes, runny nose, sneezing and eventually a nosebleed," she said.
"It came as such a shock to be told I had cancer, let alone one so rare."
Ms Wellings underwent several surgeries to remove the tumours but they soon returned, fusing her eyeball to the surrounding bone.
"The only way we could eradicate and control my disease was to lose my eye, but I was willing to do that just to live," she said.
Surgeons took several skin grafts and veins from her arm to rebuild her face. But the grafts did not take, meaning she was left with a permanent hole where her eye socket is.
However, her latest scans show the cancer is stable.
Ms Wellings is now backing a call from Cancer Research UK for people to leave a gift to the charity in their will.
The Gifts in Wills scheme funds a third of the charity's work, which has helped double cancer survival in the UK by investing in pioneering trials and research.
"Advances in research mean people are being diagnosed earlier, have access to kinder and more effective treatments, and some cancers are prevented completely," Ms Wellings said.
"People could help give the gift of hope to many more people like me."
Norovirus Symptoms Warning: Five Key Signs Of Winter Vomiting Bug - And How It's Different To Flu
Norovirus - dubbed the 'winter vomiting bug' - causes a host of unpleasant symptoms, including vomiting and diarrhoea as well as others that differentiate it from the flu Families are being warned of the symptoms to look out for (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
As cases of norovirus continue to rise across the UK this winter, it's important to know if you've been struck down with the contagious illness.
Dubbed the "winter vomiting bug", norovirus causes a host of unpleasant symptoms, including vomiting and diarrhoea, and according to GOV.UK, Brits are currently seeing the highest number of cases since the government's reporting on the illness first started. It comes amid panic in hospitals, with one boss warning norovirus "can rip through wards like wildfire".
The major London hospital was forced to close three wards due to the sickness bug - just a day after NHS England said hospitals are "almost full" amid a surge in norovirus and other winter viruses - including RSV, coronavirus and the flu. Norovirus symptoms usually start suddenly, within 1 to 2 days of being infected, and you can usually treat yourself or your child at home.
Nausea and vomitting are some of the key symptoms of norovirus (Image:
Getty Images) Five key symptoms of norovirusThe main symptoms of norovirus are:
According to the NHS, the best thing to do if you fall ill with norovirus is to rest and have lots of fluids to avoid dehydration, and you will usually start to feel better in 2 to 3 days.
Vulnerable groups, including the very young, elderly or immunocompromised people, are more at risk of severe or prolonged illness and may need to seek medical treatment. It's vital to stay off school or work until at least two days have passed where you have not been sick or had diarrhoea.
Those struck down with norovirus should also not prepare food for others during that time, as this is when you're most infectious. The illness varies to the flu, which is a seperate viral infection affecting the nose, throat, and lungs. It is far worse than an ordinary cold, which usually causes a runny nose, sneezing, watery eyes and throat irritation. Symptoms of a cold usually occur gradually without causing a fever or body aches, which usually occur with flu.
Flu on the other hand can lead to serious illness, especially in children, with more than 8,000 hospitalisations last winter. Older people, those with a weakened immune system, and people with long-term health conditions are also at higher risk.
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