Virus or bacteria?

Last week we looked at ways we can help determine if someone is coming down with strep throat or a common cold. We talked about how the common cold is caused by a virus, while strep throat is caused by a bacterial infection.

The term “infection” doesn’t specify if your sickness was caused by a virus or bacteria, as this term simply means all or a portion of your body has been infected by one or the other. With the weather changing, I think it’s good to look at the differences between a bacterial infection and a viral infection so in case you or your family becomes ill, you’ll have some inside information.

While some sicknesses caused by bacteria and viruses present some of the same symptoms, there is a world of difference between a virus and bacteria. One of those differences is on a microscopic level. Bacteria are living cells that can reproduce on their own and survive in nature, both in very hot and very cold conditions.

Viruses on the other hand, can’t live outside of a host. They depend on a living host to be able to survive and reproduce by invading the genetic makeup of the cells they infect, causing them to reproduce the virus.

Perhaps the most important difference between a viral and bacterial infection are the ways they are treated. When someone goes to the doctor and is diagnosed with a bacterial infection such as strep throat, they are treated with an antibiotic. The most common medication prescribed for strep throat is some form of penicillin. If they are allergic to penicillin, azithromycin or another antibiotic may be prescribed.

Antibiotics aid your immune system in fighting off bacteria in the body, thus relieving all the symptoms associated with the illness. However, when someone is diagnosed with a viral infection, antibiotics are of no use. In some instances, antiviral medications can be prescribed, but more commonly, the symptoms the patient is experiencing are treated, and proper nutrition and hydration are maintained until the virus has had time to run its course.

With the over prescribing of antibiotics becoming more evident, it is extremely important that doctors are very careful while determining whether or not a patient has a viral or bacterial infection. When I was a kid, if you went to the doctor because you were sick, you were almost always prescribed a pink bottle of amoxicillin whether you truly had a bacterial infection or not.

Because of this, many people my age and older have built up resistance to these antibiotics because our body has come in contact with them far too many times. It is best to only use antibiotics when absolutely necessary, so that if later in life you catch a really bad illness, you’ll be able to fight it off with any type of antibiotic.