What Is an Infectious Disease?
An infectious disease is an illness 原因如下:
- 细菌
- 真菌
- 寄生虫
- 病毒
You can get infectious diseases from coming into contact with the following:
- An 被感染的人
- A海洋动物
- Insect咬
- 环境
Are 传染病 Contagious?
People often mistakenly believe that "infectious” means the same thing as “contagious”. 然而, they are not the same. Some infectious diseases are spread person-to-person (contagious) and others are not. Contagious diseases are also not all the same. For instance, chickenpox is highly contagious and spreads easily from person-to-person. 然而, other infectious diseases, such as 艾滋病毒/艾滋病, are not as contagious and require significant exposure to blood or bodily 流感ids to spread.
Why Choose University of Utah Health?
University of Utah Health offers an 传染病门诊 to diagnose and treat common infectious diseases. We have a team of physicians with specialized knowledge in several different areas of infectious diseases:
- 艾滋病毒/艾滋病
- 骨科感染
- Travel and tropical medicine
- Infectious diseases in patients with a compromised immune system
另外, as an academic medical center, we participate in extensive research into the best ways to identify and treat infectious diseases.
Common Types of 传染病
Many of these conditions—such as a common cold, 流感, 肺炎, or UTI—do not require treatment from an infectious disease specialist. A 初级保健大发娱乐提供者 or 急救人员 usually treats these infections. 然而, for severe cases that require 住院治疗, then 你的 hospital provider will treat the infection with the assistance of an infectious disease specialist at times.
的 most common types of common infectious diseases fall into three categories, but is not limited to the following:
Infections not usually transmitted person-to-person
- Infections after organ transplant
- 一些类型的 肺炎
- 术后感染
- Urinary tract infections (UTI)
- Valley fever (coccidioidomycosis)
- 酵母菌感染
Infections from insects or a海洋动物
- 登革热
- 莱姆病
- 疟疾
- 问发烧
- 狂犬病
- Rocky Mountain spotted fever
- 兔热病
- 西尼罗病毒
What Does an Infectious Disease Doctor Do?
Infectious disease doctors help diagnose and treat infectious diseases. 的y also help manage long-term infections for people who need additional care that a primary care doctor cannot provide. Infectious disease doctors often work in collaboration with other specialists. 例如, an infectious disease doctor may collaborate with a surgeon to care for a patient with a surgery-related infection.
Our infectious disease experts see patients who meet the following criteria:
- Get referred by a 初级保健大发娱乐提供者 or another specialist who needs help treating an illness
- Have recurrent or unusual infections
- Develop an infection with 细菌 resistant to antibiotics, so the usual treatments do not work
- Have an infectious disease that is severely affecting their quality of life
- Have 艾滋病毒/艾滋病 and need a specialist to help manage their disease
- May be a carrier of certain illnesses
Find an Infectious Disease Doctor
Stages of Infectious Disease
的 specific stages of infectious disease vary depending on the infection:
- Pre-symptomatic -的 time between when a person is exposed to a virus, 细菌, 真菌, or parasite and when they first have symptoms. This can last anywhere from a few hours to several days, weeks, or even years. Another name for this period is the incubation stage.
- 症状,的 time when a person is showing symptoms. Symptoms are usually a sign that 你的 body recognizes the infection and is trying to fight it. 的 length of the symptomatic stage varies for different infections.
- 复苏- - - - - -的 period of time following active symptoms when 你的 body is recovering from the infection. You may still be contagious during this phase, depending on the illness. This can last for several weeks after you have active or noticeable symptoms.
Treatment of 传染病
Most of the time, 你的 body will be able to clear a viral infection without treatment. 的re are effective vaccines that can reduce 你的 risk for certain viral infections.
Doctors treat fungal infections with antifungal medications. For fungal infections of the skin or other external parts of 你的 body, you may apply creams or ointments to 你的 skin. Some are only available by prescription and others are available at pharmacies, 便利店, 杂货店.
抗生素治疗
Antibiotics are the most common treatment for 细菌l infections. Antibiotics prevent 细菌 from growing and multiplying. This helps the infection from spreading in 你的 body. Most antibiotics are only available with a prescription from 你的 doctor. Antibiotics come in many different forms:
- 药片或片剂
- 液体
- Intravenous solutions (given through 你的 vein)
- Intramuscular injections (given through 你的 muscle)
- 面霜
- 药膏
Antibiotic-Resistant 细菌
One significant concern with the use of antibiotics is the rise of antibiotic-resistant 细菌. 随着时间的推移, some 细菌 have adapted to the point that certain antibiotics will not kill or control them. 的 more antibiotics we use to treat infections, the more chances 细菌 have to adapt and learn how to resist these medications.
的 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 估计, 约28% of antibiotic prescriptions for outpatients (people outside a hospital) are unnecessary. Overprescribing and incorrect use of antibiotics can worsen 细菌l resistance. Antibiotic resistance can lead to very serious infections and leave doctors with few or no treatment options for infected patients.
How to Protect Against 传染病
的se are the best ways to protect 你的 body and others from infectious diseases:
- W经常擦手灰, especially after using the bathroom and touching surfaces in public, 在吃之前, and after sneezing or coughing.
- Stay home when you feel 生病的 or have symptoms.
- U做爱时戴避孕套.
- G等所有 你的 推荐的疫苗.
How Does Immunization Protect the Body Against Infection?
Your body has an adaptive immune system. That means that when it first sees a pathogen (such as a virus or harmful 细菌), it has to figure out how to fight it off. After it successfully defeats the pathogen, 你的 body stores that information to use again if you are exposed to the same pathogen later.
When you get a vaccine (immunization), 你的 body gets one of the following:
- A small dose or pieces of a pathogen
- An inactivated version of a pathogen that will not make you 生病的
- Genetic material similar to the genetic material of a pathogen
Your immune system recognizes these foreign things and starts to build up a defense against it.
疫苗副作用
You may experience a few side effects after a vaccine, such as a sore arm or fatigue. Most of the time these side effects are mild and only last for a short time. Other side effects may show up a few days or a few weeks later. Side effects are usually less severe than the symptoms you would have if you contracted the disease without getting a vaccine.
Some people do have an adverse reaction to a vaccine, such as an allergic reaction. Most adverse reactions occur soon after getting the vaccine. An allergic reaction will usually happen within minutes of getting a vaccine, which is why 你的 doctor will have you wait in the office or clinic for about 15 minutes after the vaccine. If you have a reaction, the medical team can provide immediate treatment.
Talk to 你的 doctor about any of the following to decide which vaccine is safest for you:
- You have unexplained side effects after a vaccine.
- You are at higher risk of side effects.
- You had an adverse reaction to a vaccine in the past.
Make an Appointment at the 传染病门诊
Most patients with an infectious disease can get treatment from their 初级保健大发娱乐提供者, an 紧急护理设施，或其他专家. 你的医生会 请参阅大发娱乐的 传染病门诊 if they cannot provide the treatment you need.
呼叫 801-585-2670 with questions, and our team can help you figure out whether an appointment with an infectious disease provider at U of U Health is right for you.
