In order to treat infections properly, we should distinguish viruses from bacteria.
Viruses
Antibiotics have NO effect at all on viruses. Viruses are very small and do not have a metabolism of their own. That is why they are incapable of proliferating on their own. They make use of the cells they penetrate by forcing them, as it were, to produce new viruses. Afterwards, the host cell will be destroyed and the virus will further proliferate in the patient’s body.
Viruses cause, among other things:
- colds,
- acute bronchitis,
- influenza,
- most forms of laryngitis and otitis,
- measles,
- rubella,
- viral hepatitis,
- AIDS.
Bacteria
Bacteria CAN be treated with antibiotics. A bacterium is a tiny living organism that consists of one single cell and that can survive by itself in any environment: in the human body, in the air, in water, in the soil, … Bacteria can proliferate very quickly. Antibiotics prevent bacteria from proliferating any further and can save lives by doing so.
Bacteria cause, among other things:
- pneumonia,
- bacterial meningitis,
- wound infections,
- some forms of laryngitis and otitis.