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Infections
are caused by viruses, bacteria, and fungi.
For
most people the only FUNGAL infections they will ever
have are such things as athlete's foot, yeast infections,
and ringworm.
The
vast majority of infections are either VIRAL or BACTERIAL.
Antibiotics
kill BACTERIA but not VIRUSES.
Most
infections that aren't severe enough to send one to
the hospital are due to viruses.
As
a general rule, viral infections tend to affect several
parts of the body at once, and bacterial infections
tend to affect only one or two body parts. For example,
a cold virus often causes headache, sore throat,
and cough. A bacterial pneumonia will
commonly cause only coughing.
On
the other hand, a viral infection may weaken the immune
system to the point that bacteria may also invade the
body. At this time, an antibiotic is appropriate. One
classic example is (bacterial) sinusitis, which is often
"the cold that didn't go away." This is why
we want to know when you aren't even beginning
to recover from what seems to only be a cold.
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