Principles of Treatment

Whenever we get sick, there are certain steps taken by us to treat the ailment. There are primarily two ways to treat a disease:

1. Reduce the effect of the disease: Medicines are provided to reduce the pain or bring down the fever. In other words, symptomatical treatment may help to reduce the impact of a disease, but it might not outright cure it. Illness like the common cold does not have a cure, hence, treating symptoms will alleviate the discomfort or illness to an extent.

Bed rest is advised so that the body gets some rest. Maintaining personal hygiene also reduces the effect of the disease. However, even this does not completely kill the pathogen but only subsides the effect of the disease. Using sterilized products and eating healthy food also prevents the spread of the ailment.

2. Kill the cause of the disease: Use medicines that can kill the pathogens. Each microbe undergoes some specific biochemical life process which helps them to survive. The intake of certain drugs that block these biochemical processes can help in killing the microorganism causing the disease. Antibiotics serve the purpose.

Production of anti-viral drugs is more difficult than producing anti-bacterial drugs. This is because the virus enters the body of the host and survives on its cellular machinery. Despite this, The researchers have succeeded in manufacturing the anti-viral drugs that have subsided the effects of HIV infection.

Treatment prevents the progression and recurrence of the disease. It also reduces the mortality rate and improves the quality of life.

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