Which one is more serious, bacterial or viral, and how to treat it

Diseases caused by bacteria and viruses are relatively common in our lives. For example, colds are often caused by these two situations. Generally speaking, fever is often caused by bacterial infection, which requires antibiotic treatment. For viral causes, antiviral treatment is required. Let us learn about this aspect.

Which is more serious, bacterial or viral? How to treat it?

Fever is generally caused by bacterial infection. The principle is that when the human immune system detects a large number of bacteria, it initiates an immune response. A large number of antibodies and white blood cells are transported through body fluids to the site of infection to eliminate the invading bacteria, which causes the body's metabolism to accelerate significantly and cause abnormal fever symptoms. This is the reason why people who are often injured on TV do not have their wounds disinfected and then develop a high fever. Generally, people with poor health will also have fever symptoms when they have a systemic allergic reaction. The commonly used method to treat bacterial colds is to use antibiotics to kill bacteria and anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce inflammation. Those with good physical fitness or who want to exercise their body's immune system can choose self-healing (those with poor physical fitness should not consider it as it is easy to get into trouble).

In comparison, viral colds are more serious. Viruses do not have a cell structure and mostly parasitize inside cells. White blood cells, the most powerful indiscriminate processors in the human immune system, cannot act on them. The body can only rely on the production of corresponding antibodies through immune response or external injection of antiviral drugs.

The core of recurrent fever caused by bacterial infection is that the body is always invaded by external bacteria. Pay attention to daily diet or the treatment of wounds on the body surface to reduce the invasion of external bacteria. At the same time, improve physical fitness so that the body's immune system does not have to fight against invading bacteria every time, and naturally you will not have a fever.

What is the difference between bacterial colds and viral colds?

1. Pathogens

As the name suggests, the two colds have different pathogens. Viruses are much smaller than bacteria, have no cell structure, are cold-resistant but not heat-resistant, and need to parasitize inside cells to reproduce. Bacteria, on the other hand, have cell structures and can divide and reproduce on their own.

2. Speed ​​of onset

Viral colds often develop rapidly. You may not even hear your child complaining about feeling unwell before they suddenly catch a cold. The symptoms may be mild or severe. Bacterial colds develop at an irregular rate, and the systemic symptoms of the infected person may be more severe.

3. Scale of the outbreak

Viral colds tend to break out in groups, with several people in a family catching a cold at the same time; bacterial colds break out on a smaller scale, with few or no one around the person catching a cold at the same time.

4. Symptoms

In the early stages of a viral cold, runny nose is an obvious symptom; with a bacterial cold, the infected person often directly develops sore throat and throat discomfort, or the symptoms are more severe than those of the nose.

5. Different secretions

Simple viral colds rarely have purulent secretions; however, bacterial colds can cause the respiratory tract to secrete a large amount of sputum or even purulent sputum.

6. White blood cell count

The most direct way to distinguish between viral and bacterial colds is to do a routine blood test. The total white blood cell count of bacterial colds is significantly higher, while the total white blood cell count of viral colds is within the normal range.

7. Medication

Viral colds are generally treated with antiviral drugs. Some doctors also recommend not taking any drugs and waiting for the body to heal on its own. Simple viral colds can generally heal on their own within a week, but for young children, whether to use drugs should also be determined based on their resistance. Bacterial colds are mostly treated symptomatically with antibiotics.