Treatments for Viral diseases
Treatments for Viral diseases
The list of treatments mentioned in various sources
for Viral diseases
includes the following list.
Always seek professional medical advice about any treatment
or change in treatment plans.
Medical news summaries about treatments for Viral diseases:
The following medical news items
are relevant to treatment of Viral diseases:
Discussion of treatments for Viral diseases:
Viral diseases can be very difficult to
treat because viruses live inside the body's cells where they are
protected from medicines in the blood stream. Researchers developed the
first antiviral drug in the late 20th century. The drug, acyclovir, was
first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat herpes
simplex virus infections. Only a few other antiviral medicines are
available to prevent and treat viral infections and diseases.
Health care professionals treat HIV infection with a group of powerful
medicines which can keep the virus in check. Known as highly active
antiretroviral therapy, or HAART, the new treatment has improved the lives
of many suffering from this deadly infection.
Viral diseases should never be treated with antibiotics.
Sometimes a person with a viral disease will develop a bacterial disease
as a complication of the initial viral disease. For example, children with
chickenpox often scratch the skin sores caused by the viral infection.
Bacteria such as staph can enter those lesions and cause a bacterial
infection. The doctor may then prescribe an antibiotic to destroy the
bacteria. The antibiotic, however, will not work on the chickenpox virus.
It will work only against staph.
Unfortunately, safe and effective treatments and cures for most viral
diseases have eluded researchers, but there are safe vaccines to protect
you from viral infections and diseases. (Source: excerpt from Microbes in Sickness and in Health - Publications, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases: NIAID)
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Respiratory syncytial virus infection:
Treatment
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
Treatment aims to support respiratory function, maintain fluid balance, and relieve symptoms. Ribavirin in aerosol form may be administered to severely ill patients or those at high risk for complications.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Ebola virus infection:
Treatment
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
No cure exists for Ebola virus infection; treatment consists mainly of intensive supportive care. Administration of I.V. fluids helps offset the effects of severe dehydration. The patient may receive replacement of plasma heparin before the onset of clinical shock.
Experimental treatments include the administration of plasma that contains Ebola virus-specific antibodies. Although this treatment has resulted in diminished levels of Ebola virus in the body, further evaluation is needed.
Throughout treatment, the patient should remain on contact precautions. If diagnostic tests indicate that the patient is free from the virus — which typically occurs 21 days after onset in those few who survive — the patient can be released.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Viral hepatitis:
Treatment
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
No specific drug therapy has been developed for hepatitis, with the exception of hepatitis C, which has been treated somewhat successfully with interferon alpha. Instead, patients are advised to rest in the early stages of the illness and to combat anorexia by eating small, high-calorie, high-protein meals. (Protein intake should be reduced if signs or symptoms of pre-coma — lethargy, confusion, and mental changes — develop.) Large meals are usually better tolerated in the morning because many patients experience nausea late in the day.
In acute viral hepatitis, hospitalization usually is required only for the patient with severe symptoms or complications. Parenteral nutrition may be required if the patient experiences persistent vomiting and is unable to maintain oral intake.
Antiemetics may be given 30 minutes before meals to relieve nausea and prevent vomiting; phenothiazines have a cholestatic effect and should be avoided. For severe pruritus, the resin cholestyramine may be given.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Respiratory syncytial virus infection:
Treatment
(Handbook of Diseases)
Among the goals of treatment are support of respiratory function, maintenance of fluid balance, and relief of symptoms. Mild cases resolve without treatment. Severe infections require hospitalization to provide supplemental oxygen, humidified air, and hydration by I.V. fluids. Respiratory support using mechanical ventilation may be needed. Ribavirin aerosol may be used in those who have severe RSV or are immunocompromised.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
Ebola virus infection:
Treatment
(Handbook of Diseases)
No cure exists for Ebola virus disease; treatment consists mainly of intensive supportive care. The administration of I.V. fluids helps offset the effects of severe dehydration. Treatment of associated disseminated intravascular coagulation is controversial.
Experimental treatments include administration of plasma that contains Ebola virus–specific antibodies. Although this treatment has reduced levels of Ebola virus in the body, further evaluation is needed.
Throughout treatment, the patient should remain in isolation. If diagnostic tests indicate that the patient is free from the virus, which typically occurs 21 days after onset in those few who survive, the patient can be released.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
Human immunodeficiency virus infection:
Treatment
(Handbook of Diseases)
No cure has yet been found for the disorder; however, primary therapy for HIV infection includes three different types of antiretroviral agents:
❑ protease inhibitors (PIs), such as ritonavir, indinavir, nelfinavir, and saquinavir
❑ nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), such as zidovudine, didanosine, zalcitabine, lamivudine, and stavudine
❑ nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs), such as nevirapine and delavirdine.
These agents, used in various combinations, are designed to inhibit HIV viral replication. Other potential therapies include immunomodulatory agents designed to boost the weakened immune system and anti-infective and antineoplastic agents to combat opportunistic infections and associated cancers; some are used prophylactically to help patients resist opportunistic infections.
Current treatment protocols combine three agents in an effort to gain the maximum benefit with the fewest adverse reactions. Such regimens include one PI and are considered the most effective treatment. Many variations and drug interactions are under study. Combination therapy helps inhibit the production of resistant, mutant strains. Supportive treatments help maintain nutritional status and relieve pain and other distressing physical and psychological symptoms.
Many pathogens respond to anti-infective drugs but tend to recur after treatment ends. For this reason, most patients need continuous anti-infective treatment, presumably for life or until the drug is no longer tolerated or effective.
UNDER STUDY: Once-daily dosing with antiretroviral drugs, such as didanosine, efavirenz, lamivudine, and tenofovir, to increase treatment adherence to drug-resistant variants of HIV is under investigation. A combination of amprenavir, a protease inhibitor, boosted with ritonavir has been approved, and other new antiretroviral drugs are currently in development for new dosing schedules.
Zidovudine
Treatment with zidovudine has proven effective in slowing the progression of HIV infection, decreasing opportunistic infections, and prolonging survival. However, it commonly produces serious adverse reactions and toxicities. The drug is typically combined with other agents (such as lamivudine) but has also been used as a single agent for pregnant HIV-positive women.
The current recommendation is to take 100 mg every 4 hours for a total daily dose of 600 mg, or 500 mg if the patient doesn’t want to interrupt sleep. Other NRTIs, such as didanosine and zalcitabine, may also be used in combination regimens for patients who can’t tolerate or no longer respond to zidovudine.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
Hepatitis, viral:
Treatment
(Handbook of Diseases)
No specific drug therapy has been developed for hepatitis, with the exception of hepatitis C, which has been treated somewhat successfully with interferon alfa-2b and the more recently FDA-approved peginterferon alfa-2a. Instead, the patient is advised to rest in the early stages of the illness and to combat anorexia by eating small, high-protein meals.
Clinical tip The largest meal should be eaten in the morning because nausea tends to intensify as the day progresses.
Protein intake should be reduced if signs of precoma — lethargy, confusion, and mental changes — develop.
In acute viral hepatitis, hospitalization is usually required only for patients with severe symptoms (severe nausea, vomiting, change in mental status, and PT greater than 3 seconds above normal) or complications. Parenteral nutrition may be required if the patient experiences persistent vomiting and can’t maintain oral intake.
Antiemetics (diphenhydramine or prochlorperazine) may be given 30 minutes before meals to relieve nausea and prevent vomiting; phenothiazines have a cholestatic effect and should be avoided. For severe pruritus, the resin cholestyramine may be given.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
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