Viruses And Diseases

Viruses And Diseases
A virus is a tiny infectious agent that can only replicate when inside another organism's cells. Viruses will infect any type of organisms, animals, plants, human beings all included. Some of the common diseases caused by viruses include influenza, cold sores, chicken pox, and the common cold, while more serious and life threatening cases include the more prevalent AIDS, ebola, avian flu, SARS, swine flu to name but a few. The ability of a virus to cause disease is depicted in terms of its virulence.

There are some diseases however which are still under research to determine whether they are caused by viruses or not, a perfect example being the likely connection between neurological diseases like chronic fatigue syndrome and multiple sclerosis and the human herpes virus 6 (HHV6). Still on point, alarming debate is going on whether the borna virus, which was previously suspected to be the causative agent of neurological diseases in horses, could be the culprit behind psychiatric conditions in humans.

Generally, viruses have diverse mechanisms in which they cause a disease in a living organism, which basically depends on the viral species in question. At the cellular level, mechanisms simply include cell lysis i.e. breaking open and ensuing death of the cell. When dealing with multicelluar organisms, effect can only be felt when all cells die in the entire organism. While a virus will typically disrupt the normal functioning of the body to cause diseases, some can still exist fairly harmless in an organism.

A perfect example of this is the herpes simplex virus, known to cause sores. It is able to remain in a dormant state in the human body. While they can eventually cause diseases, there presence can sometimes be beneficial as the mere presence of it can increase the body's immunity against pathogenic infections like Yersinia Pestis. Note however that some viruses are known to cause chronic or life-long infections, in cases where the virus continues to replicate inside the body regardless of the body's defense mechanism.

This is evident in hepatitis B and C virus infections. In such cases, individuals who are chronically infected are known as carriers as they act as stores of infectious viruses. In a society where many people are carriers, the disease will be termed as endemic. Virologists, the people who study viruses and their behaviors, are however always trying to identify the different viruses so that vaccination and treatment against them can be discovered.

BHT Cures

BHT Cures
BHT is an initialism for butylated hydroxytoluene, a lab-created antioxidant that is often added to foods for use as a preservative, but it also is used as a home remedy for cold sores and herpes in general. The chemical is a fat-soluble organic compound closely related to vitamin E and is considered generally safe as a food additive; however, medicinal doses are much higher than that found in foods, and some have reported links between BHT and both hyperactivity in children and cancer development.As a complementary therapy, BHT is regarded as a strong antiviral and antioxidant, especially when used in tandem with Vitamin C and L-lysine.Home Remedies: Applied directly to a cold sore, BHT is said to speed healing by attacking the herpes virus. It is also sometimes used internally (capsule form) for treatment of AIDS symptoms or the various herpes conditions.

Useful Information On The Common Cold, Influenza

Useful Information On The Common Cold, Influenza
A viral upper respiratory tract infection. A contagious illness
caused by a number of different types of viruses. Because of the great
number of viruses that can cause a cold, the body never builds up
resistance (immune) against all of them. For this reason, colds are a
frequent and recurring problem. In fact, preschool children average 9
colds a year; those in kindergarten, 12 colds a year; and adolescents
and adults, 7 colds per year. Going out into the cold weather has no
effect on the spread of a cold. Antibiotics do not help the common cold.

More than 200 different viruses are known to cause the symptoms of
the common cold. Some, such as the rhinoviruses, seldom produce serious
illnesses. Others, such as parainfluenza and respiratory syncytial
virus, produce mild infections in adults but can precipitate severe
lower respiratory infections in young children.

Approximately 10 to 15 percent of adult colds are caused by viruses
also responsible for other, more severe illnesses: adenoviruses,
coxsackieviruses, echoviruses, orthomyxoviruses (including influenza A
and B viruses), paramyxoviruses (including several parainfluenza
viruses), respiratory syncytial virus and enteroviruses.

The causes of 30 to 50 percent of adult colds, presumed to be viral,
remain unidentified. The same viruses that produce colds in adults
appear to cause colds in children. The relative importance of various
viruses in pediatric colds, however, is unclear because of the
difficulty in isolating the precise cause of symptoms in studies of
children with colds.

Although many people are convinced that a cold results from exposure
to cold weather, or from getting chilled or overheated, NIAID (National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) grantees have found that
these conditions have little or no effect on the development or
severity of a cold. Nor is susceptibility apparently related to factors
such as exercise, diet, or enlarged tonsils or adenoids. On the other
hand, research suggests that psychological stress, allergic disorders
affecting the nasal passages or pharynx (throat), and menstrual cycles
may have an impact on a person's susceptibility to colds.

Seasonal changes in relative humidity also may affect the prevalence
of colds. The most common cold-causing viruses survive better when
humidity is low the colder months of the year. Cold weather also may
make the nasal passages' lining drier and more vulnerable to viral
infection.

Multi nutrient deficiencies, single nutrient deficiencies and
imbalances amongst individual nutrients have all been demonstrated to
impair immunocompetence and therefore resistance to infection. The
major nutrients found closely linked with the proper functioning of the
immune system include vitamins A, B5, B6, E, C, folic acid, iron,
copper, zinc, germanium, magnesium, the amino acid lysine and Co Enzyme
Q10.

The
nutrients mentioned above reflect the major nutritional supplements
that may help the condition. Please do remember however that
nutritional supplementation is an adjunct to medical treatment and in
no way replaces medical treatment.