Word: bacterias
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That doesn't mean that there aren't risks in taking antibiotics. The drugs are real lifesavers, but they have been dangerously overused for decades, creating strains of bacteria that are resistant to first-line antibiotics and forcing doctors to use stronger and stronger drugs. Antibiotics should be prescribed only for bacterial infections and not for colds or the flu, which are caused by viruses. Once you start taking an antibiotic, you should always take the full course, even if you start feeling better before finishing the regimen; otherwise you are just adding to the resistance problem. And please...
SALMONELLOSIS AND CAMPYLOBACTERIOSIS These illnesses, caused by bacteria shed in the feces of infected dogs, cats, birds, farm animals and reptiles, can cause diarrhea, nausea and abdominal cramping...
Most of the time, inflammation is a lifesaver that enables our bodies to fend off various disease-causing bacteria, viruses and parasites. (Yes, even in the industrialized world, we are constantly bombarded by pathogens.) The instant any of these potentially deadly microbes slips into the body, inflammation marshals a defensive attack that lays waste to both invader and any tissue it may have infected. Then just as quickly, the process subsides and healing begins...
...know a little about the basic immunological response, a cascade of events triggered whenever the body is subjected to trauma or injury. As soon as that splinter slices into your finger, for example, specialized sentinel cells prestationed throughout the body alert the immune system to the presence of any bacteria that might have come along for the ride. Some of those cells, called mast cells, release a chemical called histamine that makes nearby capillaries leaky. This allows small amounts of plasma to pour out, slowing down invading bacteria, and prepares the way for other faraway immune defenders to easily enter...
...kind of attack innate immunity. Even the bodies of animals as primitive as starfish defend themselves this way. But higher organisms have also developed a more precision-guided defense system that helps direct and intensify the innate response and creates specialized antibodies, custom-made to target specific kinds of bacteria or viruses. This so-called learned immunity is what enables drug companies to develop vaccines against diseases like smallpox and the flu. Working in tandem, the innate and learned immunological defenses fight pitched battles until all the invading germs are annihilated. In a final flurry of activity, a last wave...