What is the difference between Orz and Orvi? How to distinguish acute respiratory infections from acute respiratory viral infections in a child by symptoms. The main difference in the treatment of acute respiratory infections and acute respiratory viral infections

The transition to the autumn-winter period for many is accompanied by diseases such as acute respiratory infections and acute respiratory viral infections. Nasal congestion, cough, painful sensations in the throat - the main symptoms for which the doctor makes one of these diagnoses. Despite the similarity of the names of acute respiratory infections and acute respiratory viral infections, there is still a difference between them. What are these diseases and how do they differ? To answer this question, their nature should be studied in detail.

The concept of colds

Acute respiratory infections, acute respiratory viral infections, and influenza are combined into one general concept- colds. What does each one represent? Acute respiratory disease (ARI) is an illness caused by pathogenic viruses or bacteria that spread and begin to actively function in the respiratory tract. The disease is easily transmitted through close contact with an affected person, as well as through household contact. Most often, acute respiratory infections develop as an independent disease, but there are situations when it is a complication common cold. In this case, a person requires more potent drugs. The disease lasts longer.

As for ARVI (acute respiratory viral infection), this is essentially an acute respiratory infection, but the cause of its occurrence in humans is exclusively harmful viruses.

Influenza is the most serious disease of the ailments under consideration. Very often leads to serious complications, especially if treated incorrectly or insufficiently.

It is important to know! Acute respiratory infections, acute respiratory viral infections and influenza are accompanied by relatively identical symptoms!

Difference between ARVI and ARI

What is the difference between acute respiratory infections and acute respiratory viral infections? On early stage In the development of a cold, these diseases are almost impossible to distinguish, because they are accompanied by the same symptoms, such as:

runny nose, nasal congestion;
dry or wet cough;
increased body temperature;
body aches;
general weakness body;
fever, chills.

It is for this reason that patients are often diagnosed with acute respiratory infections. In fact, ARVI is a type of acute respiratory disease, only its causative agent is a virus. Also, the diagnosis of ARVI is established in cases where the cold is of an epidemic nature, as well as with more pronounced symptoms.

ARVI and influenza: differences

What is the difference between influenza and ARVI? Influenza, unlike ARVI, develops quite sharply, the symptoms are more pronounced. It also occurs in a more severe form and can lead to serious, even fatal consequences.

As for the symptoms, the temperature during ARVI increases slightly and gradually - up to 38ْC. With the flu, the patient experiences fever and severe chills. Body temperature can reach 40ْC, it is very difficult to break down and persists for 4-5 days.

Nasal congestion - main feature ARVI. The flu is more characterized by a dry cough, which is very difficult to stop. As the disease progresses, the patient experiences severe pain in the area chest.

Flu is characterized by severe redness of the eyes, with ARVI this sign not visible. General malaise, rapid fatigue, weakness, migraines, and sleep disturbances accompany a person with the flu even after recovery for some time. With ARVI, these ailments go away along with the disease itself.

Important to remember! At the first alarming symptoms You need to contact a specialist! It is better not to wait for the severity of signs of the disease. This will help you get rid of it as quickly as possible.

Differences in children - how to distinguish diseases

In order to distinguish between these diseases in a child, one should observe his behavior, well-being and complaints. ARI develops rapidly, in contrast to ARVI, in which incubation period lasts about 5 days. At this time, the child experiences atypical weakness even with minor exertion, loss of appetite, and sleep disturbances.

ARI in a child is treated with medications that relieve symptoms and also provide local treatment. As for ARVI, its treatment requires a detailed examination of the baby and laboratory research blood and urine. Based on their results, the doctor prescribes the most effective treatment in each individual case.

Important to remember! Required to pay preventive measures special attention to colds in children! This is especially true for the cold season.

Treatment of children with acute respiratory infections and acute respiratory viral infections

How to treat children with colds? Dr. Evgeniy Komarovsky, who has gained popularity among modern parents, advises carrying out such comprehensive activities for effective treatment diseases:

Maintain bed rest throughout the treatment period and dress the child warmly. But the air temperature in the room should be low. You should also pay attention Special attention air humidification and daily cleaning of the room. Don’t forget to regularly ventilate your child’s room.
If your baby has no appetite, you should not force him to eat food. It is much more important to pay attention to drinking plenty of fluids. Give your child various teas or decoctions as often as possible medicinal plants. The temperature of the liquid should not be too hot or cold.
Rinse your nose saline solution. Especially if it is observed severe runny nose.
It is necessary to relieve elevated body temperature with medications such as Ibuprofen or Paracetamol.
If a child has a cough, then the use of expectorants for acute respiratory infections or acute respiratory viral infections is strictly not recommended. This can cause even more coughing attacks, because these drugs are intended to treat the lower respiratory tract.

Treatment of children with antibiotics, according to Dr. Komarovsky, is inappropriate. Because they can increase the risk of complications.

During therapy, it is necessary to monitor the development of the disease. You should immediately contact a specialist in the following cases:

the appearance of seizures at high temperatures;
difficulty breathing, lack of air;
pain in the nasopharynx that is not accompanied by rhinitis. This may indicate the appearance of a sore throat, and it should be treated in other ways;
nausea leading to vomiting;
swelling in the neck area.

Important to remember! If the child’s fever is not controlled by antipyretic drugs, it is necessary to call ambulance!

Treatment of colds with folk remedies

Besides pharmaceutical drugs, can be used folk remedies in the treatment of acute respiratory infections and acute respiratory viral infections. There are many recipes for preparing medicines based on natural ingredients that do not have side effects. The most effective are:

chamomile;
calendula;
Melissa;
mint;
thyme;
sage.

Decoctions should be prepared from the listed plants. It will be useful to add lemon and honey to them. If you have a painful sensation in your throat, you can gargle with these decoctions. This procedure must be carried out 5 times a day.

An important point in acute respiratory infections and acute respiratory viral infections is their prevention. You should regularly take complex vitamins, especially in the autumn-winter period, and spend time outdoors every day. You should also remember to follow a daily routine, because poor nutrition and excessive activity without proper rest lead to a significant decrease in immunity.

Colds are constant companions of cold and rainy autumn. But first, let's be clear. A cold is a household synonym for ARVI - acute respiratory viral infection or ARI - acute respiratory disease. Everyone gets colds, but some get them less often and others more often. On average, a person catches three colds per year, and the cold ranks fourth among other acute diseases. The symptoms of the disease in all patients are very similar - a runny nose, a sore throat, a loss of voice and a cough.

In fact, a cold is not a disease itself, but a sudden cooling of the body, which leads to illness and the proliferation of pathogenic bacteria. This is not an acute respiratory viral infection or even an acute respiratory infection, but one of the reasons for the occurrence of both. Hypothermia, drafts and even excessive physical activity can undermine the body's defenses. Then the bacteria multiply intensively and cause acute respiratory diseases. Also with ARVI. A virus that has entered the body does not always cause a runny nose or cough, but only if the weakened immune system is unable to resist it.

Autumn visitors to clinics are mostly accustomed to being diagnosed with ARVI. But ARVI is not one disease, but a large group of diseases, the culprits of which can be a huge number of viruses. Symptoms of all respiratory viral infections very similar: most often patients complain of a runny nose, cough, sore throat and fever. Therefore, the doctor often confines himself to diagnosing ARVI, but does not specify which virus causes the disease. In addition, all ARVIs are treated almost the same. Medicines prescribed to the patient are aimed at strengthening the immune system, as well as suppressing painful symptoms.

Viruses that cause ARVI die fairly quickly in the external environment. But they are easily transmitted from a sick person to a healthy one. Mainly by airborne droplets. Only a few hours or no more than four days pass before the first signs of illness appear in an infected person. The danger is that outwardly healthy man may already be able to spread the viral infection to others. There are a lot of viruses that cause ARVI - more than two hundred varieties, and they are quite variable. So during the “cold season” each of us has a good chance of getting ARVI more than once or twice. Having been ill, a person does not receive lifelong immunity to this type of disease, so in the same season you can become infected with the same infection again.

The doctor makes the diagnosis of “acute respiratory disease” when it is not entirely clear to him what caused the runny nose, cough or other colds. Essentially, a group of acute respiratory diseases combines both viral infections and exacerbation chronic infections nasopharynx, and bacterial complications of ARVI. So acute respiratory infection is not a disease or even a diagnosis, but a special medical term.

The most serious of the “colds” is influenza. It is caused by a virus entering from outside, and the disease should belong to the ARVI group. However, the flu stands apart from the “cold series” and only because its course is more complex and more often produces a variety of unpleasant and dangerous complications.

It is not advisable to suffer from the flu on your feet. This disease significantly weakens the body and reduces its resistance to other diseases. By the way, the symptoms of influenza are similar to the course of other acute respiratory viral infections and acute respiratory infections. The difference is that the patient does not complain about specific symptoms - runny nose or nasal congestion - but about general poor health. How can you tell if you have the flu or a bad cold? If you have a particularly heat, then most likely it is the flu. A cold is rarely accompanied by a high fever.

How to prevent a cold?

When the first symptoms of the disease appear, go to bed, stay warm, and avoid being in a draft. Drink plenty of water and other liquids. No known medicine can cure the flu. Recovery without any complications depends on how favorable conditions are created for the body fighting the infection.
During the epidemic, avoid crowded places, such as cinemas and discos.

At school or work, keep your distance from people who do not cover their coughs or sneezes with a handkerchief or gauze. No one is immune from colds. Moreover, there is no vaccine against them. Vaccination is carried out only against the influenza virus, and it does not provide any guarantee that ARVI or influenza will bypass you. But people vaccinated against influenza are less likely to get ARVI. And the course of influenza and acute respiratory viral infections after vaccination is always milder, and influenza gives fewer complications.
The only sure way to prevent a cold is to avoid contact with sick people and less often to visit the places where they were. Quarantine yourself and you will protect your body from the virus.

Doctors have put forward two versions of the spread of the cold.

According to one, the virus enters the body through mechanical contact with the eyes or nose.
According to another, the cold virus is inhaled along with the air. For better insurance, take both versions.

For people with chronic heart or lung disease, a cold can have serious consequences. They should take special care. For everyone else, including pregnant women, the cold is not as dangerous, so quarantine is not necessary.

To prevent the spread of infection with your hands, avoid touching your nose and eyes unless your hands have just been washed. It is enough to wash your hands with just water: it does not kill viruses, but washes them away. Spraying disinfectants counters, counters, door handles, etc. are useful, but not very effective. It is almost impossible to destroy all viruses spread by carriers of infection, especially children.

Avoid being near people who are sneezing or coughing to reduce the risk of airborne transmission of viruses. True, dust particles with viruses can float in the air for hours, but still the lack of contact with the patient serves as a known protection against influenza and other viral infections.

It is controversial to suggest that breathing through your mouth near someone with a cold can protect you from rhinoviruses that multiply in your nose. No one has yet addressed this issue. It is known, however, that nasal membranes have means of protection against external invasions.

The spread of infection can also be limited by using disposable paper handkerchiefs when you have a cold. Cloth scarves trap viruses for a long time, and walking around with such a scarf means spreading infection everywhere.

There is no immunity from colds. Typically, a viral infection provides temporary immunity from recurrent disease. But immunity against one cold-causing virus does not protect against others.

Are kisses dangerous? Kissing does not play a big role in the transmission of infection. To transmit an infection through the mouth, it takes a thousand times more rhinoviruses than through the nose. Even if several million rhinoviruses enter the oral cavity, they will most likely be swallowed and end up in the stomach. However, other viruses that cause colds can be transmitted this way. Adenoviruses, which also cause colds, can be spread orally, but there is no precise data yet on exactly how or how often people become infected with them.

Children suffer from colds much more often than adults. This fact is known to many. With the beginning of the cold season, most parents are faced with a problem - the child does not feel well, has a fever, runny nose, cough... The cause of these symptoms can be a cold, acute respiratory infection, acute respiratory viral infection or flu, but how do these diseases differ? How to find out what exactly your child is sick with? How to protect it from viral infections? For clarification, we turned to a pediatrician with 33 years of experience, a specialist in the treatment infectious diseases in children, Valentina Ivanovna Rolina.

Differences between colds, acute respiratory infections, ARVI and influenza.

One of the first and main differences is that these diseases are caused by different viruses (influenza virus, parainfluenza virus, adenovirus infections, rhinovirus infections, etc.). There are more than two hundred types of different viruses. It is very important to understand in time what exactly your child is sick with. Incorrectly treated flu can cause serious complications. There are mild complications: bronchitis, otitis, pneumonia, lesions urinary tract, peunephritis, and more severe: neuritis, encephalitis, serous meningitis.

Scientists distinguish three main types of influenza virus – A, B and C. The most fundamental difference between them is the ability to change. Thus, the influenza C virus is practically stable. Having been ill once, a person has immunity for almost his entire life, that is, you can get sick with influenza C only at the first meeting with it. This influenza virus is widespread and only affects children. The influenza B virus changes, but only moderately. If influenza C is a disease exclusively of children, then influenza B is primarily a disease of children. Influenza A is the most insidious; it is the one that, constantly changing, causes epidemics.

The next difference is different course diseases. The flu begins suddenly and is accompanied by a sharp rise in temperature. Severe intoxication of the body appears, which has the following symptoms: chills, adynamia, muscle and headaches, aches throughout the body, dry cough with pain in the chest. Catarrhal symptoms are mild. For any other viral infection (ARI, adenovirus infection or simply a viral infection), catarrhal symptoms usually predominate, that is, the child develops a runny nose, a sore throat, catarrh of the upper respiratory tract, then lower, and bronchitis. And only then, against the background of these catarrhal phenomena, does the temperature appear.

The main difference between acute respiratory infections and influenza is that with them the temperature is least manifested, it rarely rises above 38°C, and catarrhal symptoms come to the fore: a profuse runny nose, sore throat, and wet cough.

The term ARVI (acute respiratory viral infection) refers to those acute respiratory infections (acute respiratory disease) in which the etiological role of respiratory viruses has been proven or, more often, assumed. Typically, influenza is excluded from this group, which is diagnosed only if there is characteristic symptoms(especially during an epidemic) or laboratory confirmation.

Colds in children and adults are most often a consequence of hypothermia, and have similar symptoms to viral infections. In general, ARI is a general designation for a cold. But a cold can affect different organs. Due to this differentiate the following types Acute respiratory infections: laryngitis, rhinitis, tonsillitis, pharyngitis, bronchitis, bronchiolitis, nasopharyngitis.

Of all the diseases that children suffer from, influenza and ARVI account for 94%. Most often, children become infected with influenza from adults, since a feature of influenza is its rapid spread. This is especially true for children who are in organized groups, for example, in kindergartens and schools.

Features of treatment and prevention.

To prevent viral infections, the pediatrician advises staying less in crowded places. If this cannot be avoided, try to always use special protective masks. During periods of epidemics, limit your child’s visits to sports clubs, shops and any other public places. At the slightest sign of illness, it is better not to send your child to school or kindergarten.

It is necessary to pay special attention in advance to strengthening the child’s immunity. Infants and very young children need to be provided with proper feeding, nutrition and care. Older children are prescribed vitamin therapy.

The basis of treatment for all acute respiratory viral infections is the use of symptomatic therapy. It includes proper drinking regimen, taking antipyretic and antihistamine medications, vitamin C. You must drink at least 2 liters of fluid per day. This helps the body cope with fluid loss due to heavy sweating at high temperatures, and also helps to liquefy mucus and remove it when coughing. During illness, the body loses not only water, but also useful substances, so for drinking you should use drinks containing vitamins and microelements. Best to drink mineral water, juices, berry fruit drinks.

In acute respiratory viral infections, antipyretic drugs are used to reduce fever, as well as to reduce inflammation and as a pain reliever. Paracetamol is most suitable for children. It is well tolerated, practically does not irritate the gastric mucosa, and does not cause severe allergic reactions and Reye's syndrome in children. Paracetamol is even used to treat children under 3 months of age.

Very often, acute respiratory viral infections are accompanied by nasal congestion, copious mucus discharge from the nasal passages, etc. In such cases it is usually recommended to use antihistamines. They relieve swelling well and help children tolerate the disease more easily.

How to treat colds in children, because they don’t like taking medications so much? In this case, a complex drug is best suited for their treatment. But it is a mistake to believe that the more components included in the composition medicinal product, the more effective it will be. The composition of the classic complex medicine is paracetamol, an antihistamine and vitamin C. Among such drugs, we can note "AntiGrippin for children" (Natur Produkt), which has a special "baby formula". It contains the same components as in drugs for adults, but in a lower dosage. Its advantage over other drugs is that it has a water-soluble form, in the form effervescent tablets with a pleasant taste. It does not damage the gastric mucosa and also ensures faster delivery active ingredients, and the effect occurs immediately after administration. In addition, it is much easier to persuade a child to drink tasty medicine.

Note!

It is very important to pay attention to several points when purchasing a drug.

Firstly, this is the quality of medicines. European manufacturers working according to the GMP standard guarantee quality and safety medicines. GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) Internship) is a standard applied to the production of medicines. Guarantees high product quality, which is achieved through careful control over production process at all stages from the production of components to packaging of the finished product.

Secondly, it is necessary to carefully study the composition of the complex product. There are medications that contain a huge number of components, but this does not guarantee quick and best treatment. Some components may be incompatible with each other or should not be taken by children. For example, due to the toxicity of rimantadine (found in some flu medications), the benefits of taking it are much less than the possible negative consequences. You should also remember that children should not be given aspirin, as it weakens the walls of blood vessels.

Another important rule that you need to know is that you should not try to treat the flu with antibiotics and antiviral drugs without a doctor’s prescription. Remember that antibiotics only kill bacteria and are not effective against viral infections. Sometimes the doctor prescribes antibiotics for the flu, but only if complications caused by bacteria arise during the illness (pneumonia, middle ear or paranasal sinuses nose). And it's important to remember that cold and flu treatment must always be correct!

Every person has encountered a cold at least once. Statistics say that these are the most common diseases. During the off-season, the risk of a cold increases, especially often doctors diagnose acute respiratory infections or acute respiratory viral infections. Many people think that these are the same thing. But although these diseases are similar in many ways, there is still a difference between acute respiratory infections and acute respiratory viral infections.

Colds can occur in a person at any time of the year. But most often this happens in the autumn or spring, as well as at the end of winter, when the body experiences a shortage nutrients, and the immune system is weakened. In summer, colds are prevented by a fairly high immunity, and in winter - low temperature environment, which does not allow many infectious agents to survive. There is a difference between acute respiratory infections and acute respiratory viral infections in the preferred time of year. Viral infection most often causes outbreaks of epidemics in January-February, and the period of acute respiratory diseases is mid-autumn and spring.

To understand how acute respiratory infections differ from acute respiratory viral infections, you need to understand what kind of diseases they are. ARI is the general name for a number of pathologies that affect Airways. “Respiratory” means related to breathing. The etiology of acute respiratory diseases can be very different. The causative agents of the disease can be bacteria, fungi, and other pathogens. When the type of pathogen is unknown, and the symptoms of a cold are pronounced, the therapist makes a largely vague diagnosis of acute respiratory infections. This is explained by lab tests It can take quite a long time to identify the type of microorganisms that caused a cold. The disease is curable quite easily, so the patient can recover before the test results are known. Because of this, they are most often not made.

ARVI is a more specific diagnosis. This disease is a special case of acute respiratory disease. When a virus becomes the causative agent of the disease, an acute respiratory viral infection is diagnosed. With some experience, the doctor knows how to distinguish from the symptoms that the infection is viral in nature. In addition, a viral infection is transmitted parenterally, but an acute respiratory disease is not. Therefore, viral infections often cause epidemics. For doctors, an increase in the number of patients with similar symptoms is a signal that an epidemic of acute respiratory viral infection is beginning in a certain area.

ARI and ARVI: symptoms

Acute respiratory infections, as a rule, begin with a significant increase in temperature. The patient suffers from a dry cough; on about the third day, sputum begins to come out when coughing. If the disease is accompanied by the development of sore throat, then a change in the color of the laryngeal mucosa, the appearance of white plaque in the throat and swelling of the tonsils. In this case, there is no runny nose or inflammation of the eyes. A disease of bacterial origin is characterized by long-term persistence of symptoms without worsening.

The difference between ARVI and ARI is that initial stage a viral infection occurs in the absence of pronounced symptoms. The patient feels lethargic, weak, overwhelmed, and headaches may be present. One of the most obvious signs of a viral infection is nasal congestion. Two days after the onset of infection, symptoms become varied and acute: fever, runny nose, cough. As a rule, the cough is dry and hacking. It is quite difficult to calm him down; he constantly torments the patient. Due to continuous coughing, pain appears in the sternum. The disease lasts no more than a week unless complications develop in the form of a secondary infection.

Important! At the first manifestations of a cold, you should consult a therapist and do not self-medicate.

Vaccination does not always guarantee that the infection will pass you by. There are more than three hundred causative agents of the common cold, and the vaccine is not capable of providing immunity to all existing strains.

Acute respiratory infections and acute respiratory viral infections in children

In order to understand whether a child has a disease, you need to carefully monitor his behavior and listen to complaints. In viruses that cause acute infection, the incubation period can reach five days. During this time, children may have no appetite. It is also worth paying attention if the child is lethargic and does not sleep well. A respiratory infection of bacterial origin is characterized by a rapid, acute onset. The pediatrician will advise how to treat the child. Most often, medications are prescribed to relieve symptoms, as well as topical agents.

It's important to remember preventive measures for children, especially during the off-season and when epidemics of colds are raging. It is necessary to dress your child warmly before going outside and give him vitamins to strengthen his immune system. Hardening and sufficient exercise stress will help the child's body overcome the attack of pathogenic microbes.

A reason to apply for medical consultation The following manifestations in a child are:

temperature increase;
difficulty breathing, wheezing, lack of air;
sore throat, redness or white coating;
swelling of the throat, enlarged lymph nodes behind the ears.

Unlike ARVI, acute respiratory infections are sometimes treated in a child with antibiotics, but only if they are prescribed by a doctor. In order for the healing to take place as quickly as possible and for the baby to experience as little suffering as possible, doctors recommend creating certain conditions for the child. The package of treatment measures includes:

ensuring bed rest in a well-ventilated room with moist, cool air;
plenty of warm drinks;
You should not stuff your child with food if he has no appetite;
It is recommended to rinse the nasopharynx with a weak saline solution;
use gentle antipyretic drugs to reduce fever;
Coughs should not be treated with expectorants, as they may worsen attacks.

Treatment for adults

It is necessary to treat acute respiratory diseases. Taking medications will not only help cope with the infection, but will also significantly alleviate the symptoms of the disease and also avoid complications. Determining the etiology of the disease is very important point when choosing a treatment strategy.

If the causative agent of the disease is bacteria, then taking antibiotics is mandatory. If the disease is provoked by a fungal infection or caused by protozoan microorganisms, drugs are prescribed to destroy these pathogens. In addition to treating the cause of the infection, the therapist will prescribe medications to relieve symptoms. These are antipyretic, analgesic drugs, as well as remedies for runny nose and cough.

When treating ARVI, taking antibiotics is usually not indicated. These drugs do not destroy viruses. To suppress these microorganisms, special agents are used, developed taking into account the type of virus. The most common causative agents of acute respiratory viral infections are influenza viruses, designated A, B and C.

The doctor prescribes bed rest to the patient and advises him to avoid crowds. Staying a sick person in public places is fraught not only with infecting strangers. This can cause a secondary infection in the patient, usually of a bacterial nature. An increase in body temperature indicates that the body is fighting the disease, so it is not recommended to reduce the fever with the help of drugs unless the thermometer shows critical values (up to 38°). The patient should consume a large number of warm liquid. It is recommended to stay in a well-ventilated room, the air temperature should be no more than 23-24°C, and the humidity should be about 80-85%.

Consequences of the disease

If the disease is similar in its manifestations to a viral infection, but the patient has a high temperature for a long time, this is a reason to suspect inflammatory process. In such cases, it is prescribed additional research, most often - chest x-ray. The most common complications of viral infections are diseases such as tonsillitis, otitis media, and bronchitis.

Acute respiratory diseases can provoke the development of pneumonia. This is especially true for patients older than average or those whose protective functions are weakened. In exceptional cases, acute respiratory viral infections and acute respiratory infections can lead to the development of diseases such as diabetes or kidney inflammation.

To determine how an acute respiratory infection differs from an acute respiratory viral infection, you should familiarize yourself with the principle of diagnosis and the nuances medical work. The first ailment is present in most cases, because further diagnostics are required to identify the specific pathogen.

Inconsistencies that appear among the average person

Based on the principle of diagnosis, it is possible to determine how an acute respiratory infection differs from an acute respiratory viral infection. The first group includes people with unspecified data. To further search for the source of the disease, patients are prescribed a series of studies conducted laboratory methods. These processes take a decent amount of time, during which the inflammation often goes away.

Knowing the difference between acute respiratory infections and acute respiratory viral infections is required to improve your own horizons and understand the principle of prescribing medications. In case of acute respiratory infection, the pathogen is identified by symptoms and a targeted drug is immediately prescribed. With this type of complication, questions about the source of the ailment do not arise. Doctors are confident in the accuracy of the examination, and no additional tests are required.

However, sometimes it is difficult to determine on your own how an acute respiratory infection differs from an acute respiratory viral infection by looking at the diagnosis written on the sick leave sheet. After all, the cause of illness in both cases can be the same viruses. And the symptoms are often difficult to distinguish at first glance.

Similar symptoms

To understand the question of how influenza differs from acute respiratory viral infections and acute respiratory infections, you should know not only the differences in diagnoses, but also understand how they are similar. Signs of inflammation in both cases are all the symptoms of colds and flu. This is how the patient develops a cough, runny nose, and fever. Chills and painful sensations- frequent companions of respiratory diseases.

The main difference between influenza and ARVI and acute respiratory infections is the severity of the course and the presence of complications in advanced stage. If a cold goes away after standard treatment, then the flu can cause pathologies internal organs asymptomatic.

Doctors need the classification of ailments to follow instructions for treating a patient. After all, future health depends on the written line on the sick leave sheet, and acting on the instructions developed is easier and faster.

Sources of acute respiratory diseases

Let's look at pathogens that help determine how ARVI differs from acute respiratory infections. Based on the symptoms, you can make a diagnosis even without having any tests on hand. Obvious signs of acute respiratory diseases include:

Reddish throat.
Slight increase in temperature.
Difficulty swallowing saliva and food.
Body aches.
Runny nose.
Sore throat and cough.

ARI seems to the average person to be a vague concept; the specific type of disease is not indicated in the diagnosis until acute symptoms appear or tests are obtained. Microbes enter the human body every day. The severity of the complication depends on their active quantity. In most cases, the diagnosis of acute respiratory infections describes pathogens that make no sense to identify. They already live around humans in millions of quantities.

Inflammation in the body occurs as a result of its weakening or a massive attack of microbes during the off-season. Common pathogens do not pose a threat to human health with adequate treatment. Sometimes regular tea with lemon or hot milk with honey helps. The diagnosis of acute respiratory infections was invented just for such cases.

What is the difference between an acute respiratory viral infection?

Considering the question of how ARVI differs from acute respiratory infections, Komarovsky identifies a number of criteria for a deeper understanding of diagnoses:

More specifics during the examination process. Symptoms of viral origin are expressed.
ARVI is spread by airborne droplets. Based on mass infection, this diagnosis is made immediately.
Symptoms of the disease are more pronounced and develop over 1-2 days. When ARVI is observed coughing, long-term increase temperature, all respiratory passages become inflamed, and acute runny nose occurs.
With ARVI, patients often cannot immediately extinguish the developed inflammation. Treatment is carried out with potent drugs.

It should be indicated how acute respiratory infections differ from acute respiratory viral infections in children. ARVI often results in complications: bacterial infections, edema, weakened immunity, and digestive disorders. In this case, a high concentration of leukocytes and monocytes in the blood is observed. The temperature may persist after symptoms disappear. In most cases, everything goes away within a week.

Principles of treatment of acute respiratory viral diseases

If obvious signs of ARVI are detected, the patient is prescribed sick leave and treatment is prescribed before testing. If improvement is observed after a few days, then the therapy does not require adjustments. If the situation remains unchanged or worsens, they try to change medications and prescribe additional examination. To check the condition of the body, blood is first taken, urine parameters are examined, and fluorography can also be used.

There are examples in medical practice when ARVI ended in pneumonia. Young children, elderly people and those with chronic diseases. At acute symptoms are used antiviral drugs. Complications bacterial infection are treated with antibiotics.

Consequences of inadequate treatment

If you start an acute respiratory viral infection, you can develop severe complications that will have to be treated for a long time. These include pneumonia, otitis media, sore throat, which develops into deep inflammation of the larynx. Tonsillitis and meningitis are the result of bacterial overgrowth. Complications of one type provoke the progression of existing chronic diseases.

Inflammation may worsen vocal cords, and the patient will lose his voice for a whole week. Also, bacteria can remain in the nasopharynx and periodically become active when immunity decreases. Such diseases include rhinitis, sinusitis, tracheitis.

Therefore, you should not hope that the treatment regimen prescribed last winter will help with any cold. At the first symptoms, you must contact a medical facility for a correct diagnosis.