Unit 12: Diseases and Infection
Learning Aim C: Understand how infectious diseases can be treated and managed
Describe the method available to treat a type of infectious disease.
Tuberculosis:
Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection spread by inhaling tiny droplets from the coughs or
sneezes of an infected person. The lungs are the most usually afflicted organ, however the stomach
(abdomen), glands, bones, and neurological system can also be damaged. Despite the fact that tuberculosis
is a potentially lethal condition, it may be treated and cured with the right medications. The bacteria that
causes tuberculosis is Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB). The illness is spread when a person with active
tuberculosis in their lungs coughs or sneezes and the TB bacteria-laden droplets are inhaled by another
person.
The symptoms of tuberculosis (TB) vary depending on which part of the body is affected. TB sickness takes a
long time to develop, and you may not notice you're sick for weeks. It's conceivable that you won't notice
any symptoms for months or even years after you've been sick. Tb symptoms include a lack of appetite and
weight loss, as well as a high temperature, nocturnal sweats, and excessive tiredness or lethargy. The
majority of tuberculosis infections affect the lungs, resulting in a chronic cough lasting more than three
weeks and generally accompanied by bloody phlegm, as well as dyspnoea that gets worse over time.
Treatment of tuberculosis:
To cure tuberculosis, antibiotics are usually used for several
months (TB). While tuberculosis is a serious infection that can be fatal if left untreated, fatalities are rare
when the disease is treated effectively. The majority of patients do not need to be hospitalized during
treatment. If you have active pulmonary tuberculosis that damages the lungs and causes symptoms,
administer antibiotics for at least 6 months. A two-month intensive course of isoniazid (INH), rifampin (RIF),
pyrazinamide (PZA), and ethambutol (EMB), followed by a four-month maintenance course of INH and RIF,
is the most effective therapy for TB in adults.
Rifampicin is provided in the form of capsules that need to be swallowed. A glass of water should be taken
with a glass of water on an empty stomach 1 hour or 2 hours after a meal. Take isoniazid by mouth on an
empty stomach as directed by your doctor (1 hour or 2 hours before meals). If you're taking this medicine
as a liquid, make sure you measure the amount precisely with a specific measuring instrument or spoon. It
might take a few weeks for you to feel better. The length of treatment is determined by your overall health
and the severity of your TB. Follow your doctor's instructions and take pyrazinamide once or twice a week
, with or without food. Dosage depends on age, weight, medical condition, and response to treatment.
Ethambutol should be taken once daily with or without food or as directed by your doctor.
After taking antibiotics for two weeks, most people are no longer contagious and feel better. It's crucial,
though, to follow your doctor's advice and finish the entire antibiotic course. Taking the medicine for six
months is the best way to ensure that the TB bacteria is destroyed. Your TB infection may become resistant
to your medicines if you stop taking them before the term is out or if you skip a dose. This might be harmful
since it is difficult to treat and will need a lengthy course of therapy involving a range of potentially risky
drugs and procedures.
Analyse different treatment methods to combat disease process.
Antiviral:
Antiviral drugs are a type of prescription medication used to treat viral infections. Antiviral
medications are taken orally to treat viral infections. Antiviral drug development techniques focus on two
basic approaches: direct virus targeting or host cellular component targeting. The mechanism of action is
the switch from antiviral drugs to triphosphates after inhibition of viral DNA synthesis. Antiviral drugs can
increase the resistance of cells to the virus, reduce the intracellular adsorption or spread of the virus and the
intracellular deproteinization process, and reduce the metabolites that block nucleic acid production.
Antiviral medications can help you feel better and spend less time unwell when you have a viral infection
like the flu. The causative agent of influenza is influenza. Antiviral medicine adverse effects vary depending
on the drug's kind and dose. Following are the symptoms that can occur : Skin rash, Cough, thirst.
Diarrhoea, dizzy. Malaise, headache, insomnia, Myalgia or joint pain, Nausea and vomiting are common
side effects.
Anti-Retroviral:
Instead of eliminating the virus, antiretroviral drugs prevent the virus from completing its
life cycle. This prevents the virus from replicating and spreading. If treatment is continued uninterrupted,
the virus count drops to undetectable levels (that is, not zero, but below the detection levels of current test
techniques). Despite the fact that antiretroviral medications can completely suppress the virus, it can
nevertheless exist in latent reservoirs throughout the body and resurface if treatment is stopped.
If medications are used rarely or not as intended, drug-resistant mutations can arise. Resistance mutations
will accumulate and treatment failure will result if adherence is not improved. HIV is treated with
antiretroviral medications. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) causes acquired immunodeficiency
syndrome (AIDS) (HIV). Antiretroviral HIV medications can induce a variety of side effects, including appetite
