Influenza Symptoms

Influenza is an acute virus disease that is characterized by acute toxicosis, moderate catarrhal signs with most intensive affection of trachea and bronchi.

The clinical picture of influenza and acute respiratory diseases caused by different kinds of viruses, for compatibility of common toxic symptoms, has many common features.

Usually influenza starts acutely. Incubation period as a rule lasts 1- 2 days but it can last 5 days.

Then starts period of acute clinical manifestation. Disease severity depends on many factors: general condition, age, also it is necessary to know if patient contacted with this type of virus before. Depending on all those factors patient can have one of four types of influenza: mild, moderately severe, severe, hypertoxic. Symptoms and their intensity depend on disease severity.

In case of mild influenza forms (including subclinical forms) body temperature can remain normal or it can rise up to 38C. Symptoms of infective toxicosis are mild or are missing.

In case of moderately severe influenza form, body temperature rises up to 38,5-39,5°С and are common the next symptoms:
1) Intoxication

• abundant sweating
• lack of energy
• photophobia
• joint and muscle pain
• headache

2) Catarrhal symptoms

• hyperemia of velum and back of the throat
• conjunctiva hyperemia

3) Respiratory symptoms

• affection of throat and trachea
• dry painful cough (in some cases wet cough)
• phonation defect
• chest pains
• rhinitis (cold)
• hyperemia
• dryness of nasal lining and swallow

Lungs skip lesion syndrome is a dynamically growing (for several hours) pulmonary heart disease with typical segmental shade in one of lungs. In case of favorable result clinicoroentgenological changes are solved in 2-3 days practically entirely – this is the major difference from pneumonia. In case of hypertoxic form of influenza is possible to have wet lungs usually ending with hemorrhagic pneumonia.

Abdominal syndrome:

• abdominal pains
• diarrhea occurs rarely and as a rule it is a sign of other infections. What is known as “Norovirus” is caused not by influenza virus.

Severe form of influenza

Body temperature rises up to 40-40,5°С. In addition to the symptoms specific for moderately severe influenza form also may appear signs of encephalopathy (psychosis state, convulsive attack, hallucination), vascular disorders (nose bleed), vomit.

Hypertoxic form of influenza.

There is a serious danger of fatal case especially for diseased from risk group.

When influenza courses without any complications, fever lasts 2-4 days and finally patient is recovered in 5 days. It is possible to have occasional temperature rises which are usually associated with bacterial flora lay-up or another virus respiratory infection.

Rubella

Rubella is a virus disease with a specific small spotted rash called exanthem is characterized by frank fever. The disease can affect fetus of women being pregnant. Rubella is caused by the agent called togavirus and has a RNA genome. It is nonpersistent in external atmosphere, dies rapidly when heated up to 56 ° C, when drying, under the control of the action of ultraviolet rays, either, formalin and other abluents. The source of infection of is human diseased with that kind of virus disease, especially being in subclinical form that passes without rash. In interepidemic period selected cases are observed. The climactic number of cases of the virus disease are registered in April – June. The disease represents a notable risk for pregnant women because of fetal infection. Rubella virus releases into external environment one week before the rash appears on skin and during the week when foolhardy has appeared. Infection is transmitted via airborne.


Symptoms
Incubation period is 11-24 days. General condition of this kind of virus disease is characterized by weakness that is why at the beginning the only noticeable symptom is rash resembling with these of scarlatina. Patients suffer from brief weakness, lack of energy, headache, pain in muscles and in joints. Temperature of the majority of patients often is subfebrile, although it in some cases riches 38-39°C and keeps 1-3 days. When woman examination low-grade symptoms of catarrh, little redding of pharynx and conjunctivitis are observed. From the identical first days of the virus disease appears generalized lymphadenopathy (in other words, the tenderness of lymphatic system). The most expressed are increasing and painfulness of back-necked and occipital lymph glands. Exanthem appears on 1-3 day from the beginning of disease, first on the neck and after several hours spreads on the whole richness and it can be itching. Also there is some inspissation of rash of extensor surface of limbs and buns.


Elements of the indiscreet represent little spots with diameter of 2-4 mm, usually they do not coalesce, are kept for 3-5 days and disappear without living pigmentation on skin. In 25-30% of cases rubella progresses without rash and is characterized by moderate fever. The virus disease can course without symptoms, having the exclusive manifestation of viremia and increasing of titre in blood of specific antibodies.

Diagnosis
Clinical and laboratory data help to recognize that virus disease. Nowadays virologic methods are not used widely. From serological tests are used the neutralization test and hemagglutination-inhibition test injected together with paired sera captivated 10-14 days apart.


Treatment
Doctors prescribe comfort care when uncomplicated rubella. When arthritis doctors usually prescribe 0.25g chingamin (chloroquine) 2-3 times a day for 5-7 days. Also are advised diphenylhydramine (0.05g two times a day), butadiene (0.15g 3-4 times a day), nosotropic treatment. When encephalitis, are advised corticosteroid remedies. Common prognosis for rubella is favorable, excepting when encephalitis which has mortality of 50%.


Preventive Measures
Are extremely important for women in child-bearing age. Some specialists recommend to vaccinate girls of 13-25 years. Diseased with rubella should be isolated up to five days since rash has appeared.

Mononucleosis

Mononucleosis is an acute infectious disease that is characterized by damage of reticuloendothelial and lymphatic systems and is carried out with fever, tonsillitis, polyadenitis, increasing of liver and spleen, leukocytosis of basophilic mononuclear.

The focus of infectious organism is human diseased with mononucleosis and virus carrier. Infection is transmitted via airborne, direct contact (for example, when kissing) and via saliva pollution of articles of daily use. The virus is detected in saliva at the end of incubation period of disease, height of it or in six months or more after recovery.

The recovery of virus is observed in 10-20% of cases who carried mononucleosis over in the past. Epstein-Bar virus in latent form can keep in bursal lymphocytes and in fauces mucous membrane epithelium.

Mononucleosis meets everywhere, people of different ages can disease with it. In developed countries the disease often meets among teenagers and young people, the peak of this virus disease incidence is 14-16-year old girls and 16-18-year old boys. In developing countries often disease junior age groups. Rarely this virus disease meets among people over 40 years because majority of people being in this age are immune namely to that infection. Children up to 2 years old as a rule are not diagnosed in connection with latent course. Mononucleosis is less contagiuos: usually are observed sporadic cases, sometimes are observed little epidemic outbreaks.

First days of disease are marked with increasing of size of liver and spleen that achieve maximum size after 4-10 days. Sometimes are observed dyspeptic condition and abdominal pains. 5-10% of the diseased people can have slight ochrodermia and scleral icterus. In some cases is observed the increment in activity of transaminase in the blood that tells about compromised liver function. In height of the virus disease or in the beginning of the recovery diseased people who take antibiotics often can have rash (spotty papular, urticarial, hemorrhagic). It often appears when taking drugs of penicillic family, especially ampicillin and oxacillin (in the blood often are detected antibodies resistant to these antibiotics).

The virus disease incidence lasts 2-4 weeks, sometimes even more. First, progressively disappears fever and fur on amygdalas then normalizes haemogramma, size of lymphatic glands, liver and spleen. In some cases in several days temperature reduces and rises again. The change of haemogramma can keep for several weeks and even months.

Mononucleosis Treatment

If course of the disease is slight and there is possible isolation, then patient can be treated at home. When the condition of the patient is grave then it is necessary hospitalizing into infectious disease ward. Doctor prescribes bed rest and comfort care. Antibiotics are taken in case of bacterial complications. In this case it must be taken into account that ampicillin and oxacillin are strongly contradicted for the patients diseased with Mononucleosis. For the patients with grave condition it is recommended glucocorticoid therapy.