| Medical Dictionary |
A Medical Dictionary of Medical Terminology
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Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a virus found around the world. It is related to the viruses that cause chickenpox and infectious mononucleosis (mono). Between 50% and 80% of adults in the United States have had a CMV infection by age 40. Once CMV is in a person's body, it stays there for life.
CMV is spread through close contact with body fluids. Most people with CMV don't get sick and don't know that they've been infected. But infection with the virus can be serious in babies and people with weak immune systems. If a woman gets CMV when she is pregnant, she can pass it on to her baby. Usually the babies do not have health problems. But some babies can develop lifelong disabilities.
A blood test can tell whether a person has ever been infected with CMV. Most people with CMV don't need treatment. If you have a weakened immune system, your doctor may prescribe antiviral medicine. Good hygiene, including proper hand washing, may help prevent infections.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
During pregnancy, some common infections like the common cold or a skin infection do not usually cause serious problems. But other infections can be dangerous to you, your baby, or both. Some infections may lead to preterm birth and low birth weight babies. Others can cause serious illness, birth defects, and lifelong disabilities, such as hearing loss or learning problems.
Some of the infections that can be dangerous during pregnancy include:
To try to prevent infections:
If you do get an infection during pregnancy, contact your health care provider about how best to protect you and your baby. Only some medicines are safe during pregnancy.
Your eyes can get infections from bacteria, fungi, or viruses. Eye infections can occur in different parts of the eye and can affect just one eye or both. Two common eye infections are:
Symptoms of eye infections may include redness, itching, swelling, discharge, pain, or problems with vision. Treatment depends on the cause of the infection and may include compresses, eye drops, creams, or antibiotics.
Gastroenteritis is an inflammation of the lining of the stomach and intestines. The main symptoms include vomiting and diarrhea. It is usually not serious in healthy people, but it can sometimes lead to dehydration or cause severe symptoms.
What causes gastroenteritis?There can be many different causes of gastroenteritis:
Viral gastroenteritis is the most common type. It can be caused by many different viruses, including noroviruses and rotaviruses. Some people call viral gastroenteritis the "stomach flu." But this name is not medically correct. It is not caused by flu viruses. The flu is a respiratory infection that affects your nose, throat and lungs.
When gastroenteritis is caused by consuming foods or drinks contaminated with viruses, bacteria, parasites, or chemicals, this is called food poisoning.
The viruses, bacteria, and parasites that cause gastroenteritis can also spread from person to person. You could be infected when you touch something that has the germs on it and then touch your eyes, mouth, or nose.
What are the symptoms of gastroenteritis?The symptoms of gastroenteritis include:
Gastroenteritis is usually not serious. But it can sometimes cause lead to dehydration or cause severe symptoms. Certain people are at higher risk for these problems. They include:
If you or a family member are at higher risk and have symptoms of gastroenteritis, contact a health care provider right away. Even if you are not at high risk, it is possible to become dehydrated or have more serious symptoms. There are some warning signs to watch for. It's important to contact a provider right away if you or your child have any of them:
To find out if you have gastroenteritis, your provider:
Usually, people with gastroenteritis get better on their own, with rest and plenty of fluids and electrolytes. Your provider may suggest that you take a probiotic. Studies suggest that some probiotics may help shorten a case of diarrhea.
People with more severe symptoms may need medicines to control nausea or vomiting. Providers may also give other medicines for certain types of gastroenteritis, such as antibiotics for some bacterial types and antiparasitic medicines for some parasitic types.
Can gastroenteritis be prevented?Gastroenteritis cannot always be prevented. But proper hand washing, cleaning surfaces that may be infected with germs, and safe food preparation may help prevent some of the infections that can cause gastroenteritis. There are vaccines for infants to protect against rotavirus infections.
NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Having HIV/AIDS weakens your body's immune system. It destroys the white blood cells that fight infection. This puts you at risk for opportunistic infections (OIs). OIs are serious infections that take advantage of your weak immune system. These infections are less common and less severe in healthy people.
There are many types of OIs:
Having HIV/AIDS can make infections harder to treat. People with HIV/AIDS are also more likely to have complications from common illnesses such as the flu.
You can help prevent infections by taking your HIV/AIDS medicines. Other things that can help include practicing safe sex, washing your hands well and often, and cooking your food thoroughly.
Pneumonia is an infection in one or both of the lungs. It causes the air sacs of the lungs to fill up with fluid or pus. It can range from mild to severe, depending on the type of germ causing the infection, your age, and your overall health.
What causes pneumonia?Bacterial, viral, and fungal infections can cause pneumonia.
Bacteria are the most common cause. Bacterial pneumonia can occur on its own. It can also develop after you've had certain viral infections such as a cold or the flu. Several different types of bacteria can cause pneumonia, including:
Viruses that infect the respiratory tract may cause pneumonia. Viral pneumonia is often mild and goes away on its own within a few weeks. But sometimes it is serious enough that you need to get treatment in a hospital. If you have viral pneumonia, you are at risk of also getting bacterial pneumonia. The different viruses that can cause pneumonia include:
Fungal pneumonia is more common in people who have chronic health problems or weakened immune systems. Some of the types include:
Anyone can get pneumonia, but certain factors can increase your risk:
The symptoms of pneumonia can range from mild to severe and include:
The symptoms can vary for different groups. Newborns and infants may not show any signs of the infection. Others may vomit and have a fever and cough. They might seem sick, with no energy, or be restless.
Older adults and people who have serious illnesses or weak immune systems may have fewer and milder symptoms. They may even have a lower than normal temperature. Older adults who have pneumonia sometimes have sudden changes in mental awareness.
What other problems can pneumonia cause?Sometimes pneumonia can cause serious complications such as:
Sometimes pneumonia can be hard to diagnose. This is because it can cause some of the same symptoms as a cold or the flu. It may take time for you to realize that you have a more serious condition.
Your health care provider may use many tools to make a diagnosis:
If you are in the hospital, have serious symptoms, are older, or have other health problems, you may also have more tests, such as:
Treatment for pneumonia depends on the type of pneumonia, which germ is causing it, and how severe it is:
You may need to be treated in a hospital if your symptoms are severe or if you are at risk for complications. While there, you may get additional treatments. For example, if your blood oxygen level is low, you may receive oxygen therapy.
It may take time to recover from pneumonia. Some people feel better within a week. For other people, it can take a month or more.
Can pneumonia be prevented?Vaccines can help prevent pneumonia caused by pneumococcal bacteria or the flu virus. Having good hygiene, not smoking, and having a healthy lifestyle may also help prevent pneumonia.
NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Viruses are very tiny germs. They are made of genetic material (either DNA or RNA) inside of a protein coating. There are a huge number of viruses on earth. Only a small number of them can infect humans. Those viruses can infect our cells, which may cause disease. Some of the diseases that viruses can cause include the common cold, the flu, COVID-19, and HIV.
How are viruses spread?Viruses can be spread in different ways:
Viruses are like hijackers. They invade living, normal cells. They then use those cells to multiply (make copies of themselves). This process is also called replication. The process can kill, damage, or change the infected cells. Sometimes this can make you sick. The symptoms can range from mild to very severe. Other times, your immune system may be able to fight it off and you may not have any symptoms.
Each different virus usually only infects one type of cell in your body. For example, hepatitis viruses affect the cells in the liver. HIV infects a certain type of immune system cell.
What are the treatments for viral infections?For most viral infections, treatments can only help with symptoms while you wait for your immune system to fight off the virus. There are antiviral medicines to treat some viral infections. Antibiotics do not work for viral infections.
Can viral infections be prevented?Vaccines can help prevent you from getting many viral diseases. You may be able to prevent some viral infections by: