Coughs/Flu and Phelgem

[DerpiesFreud]

HerpDerp woke up coughing pretty badly,no fever,no sore throat,drank a medlemon,and now I`m watching documentaries

since I didn`t do proper biology in highschool,I was told that the immune system can only fight off viruses and not bacteria,is this true?

which brings me to my second question,antibiotics
antibiotics are anti to biotics(whatever they are)
So basically they kill off bacteria and viruses.

So a bacterial infection would kill you if you dont get antibiotics?
But a viral infection could be fought off?

uuh meningitis is kinda like a really bad virus/bacteria,
bad enough that even though your immune system can fight it off,you might damage your organs if untreated with antibiotics?

and Phelgem is uuh mucus with dead cells and bacteria and stuff,some people spit...others swallow
but Swallowing re-introduces whatever was in your lungs into your digestive system,
safe to assume that stomach acid kills all?

 

[tiaanels]

As far as I know, your body can fight bactaria but not A Virus.

 

[ChilliGirl]

Antibiotics don not fight viruses they fight bacteria.

Antivirul meds make you feel awful, hench used as a last resort.

There was a killer flu virus a few years ago. It killed the very young/old(genl speaking). AVs were given out for that.

 

[DerpiesFreud]

Antibiotics don not fight viruses they fight bacteria.

Antivirul meds make you feel awful, hench used as a last resort.

There was a killer flu virus a few years ago. It killed the very young/old(genl speaking). AVs were given out for that.

ah so thats like ARVs(jk)
something like swine flu and that H5N1,H1N1 type thing?

but there is a specified virus killer,its just really expensive to the infected host,so use of them is highly controlled?

 

[ChilliGirl]

ah so thats like ARVs(jk)
something like swine flu and that H5N1,H1N1 type thing?

but there is a specified virus killer,its just really expensive to the infected host,so use of them is highly controlled?

Yes. ARVs, is what I was refering to...
Just like antibiotics there are a few different brands, targeting different viruses...

 

[Lycanthrope]

So a bacterial infection would kill you if you dont get antibiotics?
But a viral infection could be fought off?

No. Your body fights both bacterial and viral infections. Antibiotics just helps your body fight bacterial infections significantly more easily. However, antibiotics also kill all the healthy flora (bacteria) in your intestines and around your skin. Overdo it, and you'll end up with yeast/fungal infections.

and Phelgem is uuh mucus with dead cells and bacteria and stuff,some people spit...others swallow
but Swallowing re-introduces whatever was in your lungs into your digestive system,
safe to assume that stomach acid kills all?

Spit your phlegm out into tissues or whatever. Keep it off the streets >.>

Swallowing your phlegm is generally not "bad" since yes, stomach acid and enzymes kill whatever hasn't already been killed but yeah, I'd say just spit it out...

 

[noxibox]

There was a killer flu virus a few years ago. It killed the very young/old(genl speaking). AVs were given out for that.

There's killer influenza every year, with young and old being amongst those more likely to die. Novel varieties of the virus make headlines not because they necessarily pose any additional threat or have higher mortality, but merely because they're new/novel and make good scaremongering headlines.

 

[Picard]

No. Your body fights both bacterial and viral infections. Antibiotics just helps your body fight bacterial infections significantly more easily. However, antibiotics also kill all the healthy flora (bacteria) in your intestines and around your skin. Overdo it, and you'll end up with yeast/fungal infections.



Spit your phlegm out into tissues or whatever. Keep it off the streets >.>

Swallowing your phlegm is generally not "bad" since yes, stomach acid and enzymes kill whatever hasn't already been killed but yeah, I'd say just spit it out...

So you are a spit rather swallow guy.

 

[Lycanthrope]

So you are a spit rather swallow guy.

lol... You could say that.

 

[RiaX]

The immune system can fight off all types of infections viral, bacterial, protozoal etc.

Antibiotics is a form of chemotherapy that targets bacteria specifically. They aid the immune system to prevent the immune system being overwhelmed. Some antibiotics are bacteriocidal meaning they kill the bacteria where as others are bacteriostatic which stop bacteria from reproducing allowing the immune system to kill the organisms

Other forms of chemotherapy are cytotoxics (cancer) anti-helmethics (worms) antiviral and anti-fungal.

There are no drugs that actively attack viruses. The drugs simply block the virus from doing things that are important for its life cycle. For example osaltamivir the drug used to treat swine flu does not interact with the virus what it does is prevent the virus from fusing itself with cells. The immune system does the rest.

The reason you don't use antivirals (well you can't) for the common influenza is due to the fact that these drugs must be started at a low viral load. In others words you won't know you are sick as the virus is incubating in your body. So by the time you realise you have flu its too late. Since its a self-limiting infection there is no point to administering drug therapy.

The most effective way in treating a virus is by vaccine