Virus
Bacteria
Wuz good world?!
I hope all has been good with ya’ll since the last post. Ya boy has been busy working and trying to keep some balance in this crazy medical world! I am naturally a busy body always trying to get some work done. Sometimes I get forced to sit down by getting sick…which is exactly what happened to ya boy this week. I have been taking it like a man and whining like a baby to get my wife to take care of me. LOL. But, this gives me the opportunity to put ya’ll up on some game about getting sick with colds and infections!
Here is the scoop. There are two major ways that people get sick either from a “virus” or a “bacteria”. There is two very different ways of treating each one. Let me break down for you how each one works on the body.
Virus – I have been in a few arguments, friendly of course, about if viruses can be considered alive or not, you can decide for yourself. Viruses need a host, in our case people, stay alive. A virus enters our body’s cells and uses them to make more copies of itself. It then sends those copies out into our body to continue making more copies of it self. Pretty interesting how it works but really terrible how it makes us feel! The virus keeps growing until our body recognizes there is a problem and comes up with a way to beat down the virus! Thank God we have an immune system!
I am leaving a short video below from npr.org that will help bring the topic to life for us.
Bacteria – Ahh the wonderful world of bacteria! Bacteria, in my opinion, are like roaches to the human body. One or two unsuspecting little bugs come in to your home. They find a comfortable place to unpack their bags and get settled in. Then they take over the whole house until the owner decides to bomb the place, but even then one or two super roaches stick around to try to start a new family to take over yo house with. The story is about the same when it comes to bacteria. Bacteria usually are made up of one cell that makes copies of it self and releases toxins to make us sick. Once a bacteria gets into our body it finds a comfortable place to get settled in, unpack it’s bags, then it starts to make copies of it self because our bodies give the bacteria the perfect place to grow and multiply like BeBe’s kids!
This video from www.makemegenius.com is made for kids but it helps break down the bacteria thang pretty good!
Treatment
Virus – Unfortunately there is no treatment for viral infections yo. The only things that helps deal with these viruses are things like Ibuprofen to help with pain, and Sudafed to help clear up congestion. But, I prefer natural things like caffeinated tea and hot honey lemon water. Seems to help with the symptoms of viral infections. Sorry folx, just gotta tough this one out. No medications for a common cold yo!
Bacteria – This is where yo antibiotics come into play. Antibiotics are only for bacterial infections ya’ll; never try to use antibiotics for a viral infection because it won’t work! Besides, over and improper use of antibiotics is a way to create super bugs! When your doctor tells you to take an antibiotic for this amount of days, it is because even if you feel better after taking the medication for a few days, the tough bacteria still sticks around. The ones that are left behind become used to the antibiotics and now think its like a protein shake helping to build up that muscle. So it is important to finish all the antibiotics prescribed to make sure all the bacteria is dead.
Hope this helps a little ya’ll
Peace and Blessings,
MaddHadda aka The Hood Nurse