Bacterial Infection

Bacterial Infection

A bacterial infection can be minor or life-threatening; the severity has to do with the strain of bacteria doing the infecting and the strength of the person who is being infected, as do most of the details. That's why a staph or e coli infection can be anything from "nothing much" to a death sentence; depends on just how just how strong the bug is (does it produce toxins?, can it push through tissues? how well does it evade the immune system? how well can it fight back?) and just how weak the person is (who is infected? a newborn whose immune system hasn't yet been jump started? An old person who has limited reserves? An anorexic with poor nutrition? A person known to have an acquired or inborn snag in the immune system?)

All those cards count for any infection, and that's why this article can be helpful only in imparting the basics in the interplay of the human body and the hordes of bacteria that can do it harm.

It's tremendously worthwhile to understand the nature of that interplay, because then the words like: "culture results", "seropostive" and "antibiotic resistant" and such have as much meaning as: "steering wheel" and "front door" - and a person (you!) can actually get a hold of the diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases caused by bacteria as well, or better, than many health professionals.
That doesn't mean understanding puts you in a position to treat yourself or others, that means that - if you are willing to do some hard work, you can check and question and interact in ways that can improve health care for yourself and your family.

There are ways that the body reacts to bacteria that are characteristic and different than other kinds of infections.

Here are the essential elements of a bacterial infection:

a micro-organism has invaded the body's defenses and is multiplying in tissues. That's what makes for an infection.
this invader is a single-celled being of a very primitive and ancient cell-line, the bacteria. That's what makes the infection bacterial.

You may think that this explanation is so self-evident that it is a waste of your time to sit there while the meaning is spelled out, in that case - you would be absolutely wrong.

At the most sophisticated levels of medicine, determining whether or not a microorganism found in the body is an agent of a disease (a pathogen) or an innocent bystander is crucial - and frequently very difficult.
Much of that determination has to do with settling the question of whether the organism has pushed past body defenses or is simply living in some portion of the body without interfering with the health of the surrounding human cells.
- This difference is best explained by looking more closely at such bacterial infections as staph aureus and some other examples presented below.

The type of bacteria and the area of the body that it has invaded are two incredibly important factors in assessing what any specific bacterial infection involves. The other tremendously important aspect is the

None the less, whether a brain abscess or a tiny pimple on the skin- all bacterial infections have these things in common:

So, can a person be sick from having bacteria living on their body surfaces even if there is no invasion? The truth is : yes. This is true of those bacteria that make toxins, Escherichia coli (E.coli) is one. Even if one of the bad strains does not go any further than living in the gut, still a terrible diarrhea can happen. That's because some of these bad strains produce chemical wastes. Basically, the person is being poisoned by the bacteria rather than being weakened by the invasion of the living troops of this organism. An extreme example of this is Clostridium poisoning. Most of us know, (all of us should know), that we should never eat the contents of a can of food if the can is distorted in shape- especially bulging. Why's that?

A Holistic View by Dr. Sculerati

Here's a new age take on an age-old problem: assessing a bacterial infection.

When it comes to making the diagnosis, and following the response to treatment - it's like reading a natal chart or doing a full tarot card reading. All the factors have to be considered all the time.

References and Further Reading

Journal Articles

Van Belkum A: Staphylococcal colonization and infection: Homeostasis versus disbalance of human (innate) immunity and bacterial virulence. Curr Opin Infect Dis 2006; 19:339-344

Books

W. Michael Scheld:Goldman: Chapter 300 – INTRODUCTION TO MICROBIAL DISEASE: HOST-PATHOGEN INTERACTIONSCecil Medicine, 23rd ed.

External Links