Viral Infections

Recently Answered

• QWhen should I call my doctor if I have warts and plantar warts?

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  A RealAge answered

  If you have warts and plantar warts you should call your doctor for the following reasons.

  • Your plantar warts do not improve with treatment. In some cases, your doctor may want to perform a biopsy to rule out other possible causes of the warts.
  • Your warts do not respond to self-care and you would like your doctor to remove them.
  • You have signs of infection, including redness, pus, discharge, red streaking, fever and bleeding, especially bleeding that doesn't stop when you apply pressure.
  • Your wart causes pain.
  • Your warts are spreading.
  • You have anal and/or genital warts.
  • You have diabetes or a weakened immune system and you develop warts.
  • The wart starts to look or feel different or changes color.
• QWhy is it a bad idea to treat a virus with an antibiotic?

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  A Univ. of Nev. School of Medicine, Family Medicine answered

  Antibiotics kill bacteria, not viruses. If you give someone an antibiotic for a virus, it will not work. It would just kill the beneficial (“good”) bacteria in the person's body, which can cause some bad side effects. In addition, an antibiotic can turn some bacteria in your body into super bugs. That means, in the future, an antibiotic you need may not work.

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• QWhat is a rubella test?

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  A RealAge answered

  A rubella test helps doctors detect the rubella virus, also called German measles or 3-day measles. It is a blood test that finds antibodies to the virus, which can confirm whether or not a person has the infection. The test can also tell doctors if a person has been vaccinated to the virus, or that they've never been exposed to rubella at all. This test is often ordered for pregnant women, to be sure they have enough rubella antibodies to protect their baby from the virus. Other people may need the test if they have symptoms of the virus. Sometimes, the test is ordered for newborns, if their doctor suspects they've been exposed. The blood test results may be confirmed with tests of urine, or nose or throat swabs, or a nasal wash.
• QWhen should I call my doctor if I have mononucleosis (MONO)?

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  A RealAge answered

  Mononucleosis, also called mono or the kissing disease, is a virus that is spread from person to person through saliva. Its symptoms can last for several weeks, and include fever, lasting fatigue, a sore throat and swollen glands. It usually affects teens and young adults, and is not usually serious. But call your doctor when you first notice signs of mono, to get the correct diagnosis and treatment. Even if you've already seen your doctor for mono, you should get medical care right away if you have any pain or feelings of fullness in the upper left side of your stomach area (abdomen). This can be a sign of a swollen spleen, a rare but serious complication of mono. Signs of liver problems, like jaundice, are more rare, but should also be examined by a doctor.
• QWhat is foot-and-mouth disease?

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  A RealAge answered

  Foot-and-mouth disease, also called hoof-and-mouth disease, is a viral infection that affects animals with cloven (divided) hooves, such as cows, goats, sheep and deer (but not dogs, horses, or cats). It is caused by the FMD virus, part of the Picornaviridae virus family. Because of its name, it's often confused with another disease that affects people, called hand-foot-mouth (or hand, foot and mouth) disease. People can't contract the animal disease, and animals can't contract the human disease. In animals, symptoms of hoof-and-mouth disease include blisters in the mouth and on the feet. It is possible for people to spread the disease to other animals through contaminated clothing, shoes or other objects. Contaminated food, water, vehicles, and buildings can also spread the disease. It can cause the animal pain and even be fatal.
• QWhat is encephalitis?

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  A Univ. of Nev. School of Medicine, Family Medicine answered

  Encephalitis is a general term for inflammation of the brain. This inflammation can be due to many things, but perhaps the most common cause of encephalitis is an infection, often caused by a virus.

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• QWhat is a virus?

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  A RealAge answered

  Viruses are tiny organisms that cause infection by getting into a person's or animal's cells and multiplying (or reproducing). There are many types of viruses, including the flu (influenza), rhinoviruses (the common cold virus), West Nile virus (spread by mosquitos), HIV, and Ebola (an often fatal virus). Depending on the type of virus, symptoms may be mild, very serious or even deadly. Unlike bacteria, viruses can't be treated with antibiotics. So they're often hard to treat. Unlike bacteria, which generally attack the body's cells from the outside, viruses (which are much, much smaller) invade the body's cells and take control of them to replicate themselves. Sometimes, an antiviral drug can be given, and mild viruses, like a cold or flu, usually get better on their own. Vaccinations can help prevent many viral infections, including the flu, pneumonia, shingles, mumps, measles and chickenpox.
• QWhat is West Nile virus?

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  A Peter DeLucia , Health Education, answered

  

  West Nile virus is an arbovirus that is carried by mosquitos; it can be very serious, but generally its asymptomatic and those infected don't even realize they have it. Watch public health specialist Peter DeLucia, MPA, discuss West Nile virus.

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• QHow can I protect my children from viruses?

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  A Dr. Howard I. Baron, MD , Pediatric Gastroenterology, answered on behalf of Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center

  

  You can protect your children from viruses by teaching good hand washing, says Howard Baron, MD, a pediatric gastroenterologist at Sunrise Hospital. In this video, he describes a variety of virus-protecting strategies for parents. 

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• QAre certain viruses seasonal?

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  A Univ. of Nev. School of Medicine, Family Medicine answered

  Some viruses are more common during certain seasons. This is often due to seasonal factors affecting how the virus spreads. The flu, for example, is caused by a virus that tends to occur -- and is more easily spread -- during the wintertime. One reason for this may be that people are more often crowded together indoors during the winter, so the virus can spread more easily. Other viruses, like the Zika virus, are spread by mosquitoes. So you’ll see infections more often during mosquito season.

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