Other respiratory infections this winter

The Six Degrees of Separation theory states that no one on earth is connected to anyone else through a chain of acquaintanceship of no more than five intermediaries. Six links are enough to connect you to another person anywhere in the world.

If respiratory viruses were a chain, one or two links would be enough to connect us to anyone else anywhere in Spain this winter, and these weeks the virus is acting like never before. While it seems like we only think of the flu and COVID-19 when we talk about infections and respiratory illnesses, there are actually many more viruses out there that are not exactly second-rate and can also harm our health.

Are there level one and level two viruses?

Not entirely, some viruses have special virulence and Highly pathogenic. This means they have the ability to cause significant damage to our bodies and can easily infect people once exposed to them. Viruses with these characteristics are more harmful and dangerous, especially if infected by someone with a compromised immune system or multiple chronic medical conditions that may decompensate from this infection.

Not everything is the flu or coronavirus

We tend to think that if we have a respiratory infection right now, it must be the flu or COVID-19, or even both, but that’s not the case.There are also many activities in these weeks, others such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and adenovirus. The latter is a large family of highly contagious viruses that are responsible for the typical colds and pharyngitis that are common in winter.

What if I take a pharmacy test?

Depending on which virus is with you and causing these annoying symptoms, it may or may not show up.There are other respiratory viruses that don’t show up in tests and are responsible for this four-a-side We live in Spain.

In the antigen tests sold in pharmacies, we can check whether we have influenza A, influenza B, or COVID-19; but if it is adenovirus or RSV, the result will be negative even if we have symptoms and feel sick.

If I test negative, am I no longer contagious?

That is not the case, if we have respiratory infection symptoms such as a cough, congestion, fever or sneezing and we take an antigen test to find out if we have the flu or COVID-19 and the test comes back negative, that does not mean we Nothing, which means we have another virus that the test can’t locate. And if, We infect those around us.

Is it possible for multiple respiratory infections to be linked?

Yes. We often encounter patients who complain because when they finally get over their respiratory infection, another infection comes back. I regret to say that it is entirely possible, for example, first we can get a cold, then the flu, then another cold…

exist Four influenza viruses (types A, B, C and D, although types A and B are the most common), several different strains of Covid (although the most active strain at the moment is Pyrovirus), and about 200 different types of Cold virus. If you’re unlucky, you might spend a lot of time following one link after another.

Are all respiratory infections caused by viruses?

almost all, especially 70% of respiratory infections arenoun but they may also be caused by bacteria, e.g. Streptococcus pneumoniaeresponsible for a large proportion of pneumonia, or fungi, e.g. Aspergillus or Zygomycetes.

Do treatments change depending on the virus?

At first, no.Regardless of which virus you have, initial treatment is the same and is designed to Relieve symptoms While we wait for the body’s defense system to do its job and call it a day. It is only when the infection becomes complicated, worsens other preexisting conditions or leads to the emergence of other opportunistic infections that we are forced to adopt a more specific treatment approach.