You may become concerned when you start seeing symptoms of an infectious disease. You can go to the clinic and ask the doctor to perform a full checkup to confirm the infectious disease. The doctor can perform a variety of tests for different infectious diseases to determine the root cause of the symptoms.
Types of Diagnostic Techniques
Blood tests involve using a needle to obtain a sample of blood. In the urine test, you urine into a container. Throat swab involves taking a swab of sample from the moist part of the throat. Sometimes, the doctor will take a swab of samples from other areas of the body. Stool sample involves keeping some of your feces in a ziplock bag for the doctor. The doctor can test your stool sample for the presence of parasites or other pathogenic microorganisms.
Molecular diagnostic testing involves three stages including extraction, amplification, and detection. One of the advantages is the insensitivity of the rapid antigen tests. Over 50% of viral pathogens are used in molecular tests. It is frequently used in detecting gastrointestinal infectious disease. Another diagnostic test technique is to collect a liquid sample in the middle ear, ear discharge and nasal discharge. Spinal tap requires you to lie on the side with the knees touching your chest while the doctor insert a needle into the area between the bones of the spine to obtain the cerebrospinal fluid.
Once the doctor has collected the samples, he will use a microscope to check out the infectious organisms. Sometimes, they have to culture an organism from the sample to detect anomalies. Doctors can also use genetic testing methods to do research on the microbe. There are other newer techniques that allow the doctor to test several microbes on a single sample at one time.
Treatment
The doctor will prescribe an appropriate treatment when the lab result confirms that you have infectious disease. Usually, antibiotics will be prescribed. The doctor may also advise lots of rest and fluid intake. If you get parasitic infection, the doctor will prescribe you with anti-fungal medication. There are a number of people who have also turned to alternative medicine to cure their infectious diseases.
Some of the foods that are said to be effective in killing bacteria and viruses that cause infection are cranberry, garlic, goldenseal, and food enriched with Vitamin C and D. Most of the time, infectious disease can be recovered on its own if you have a healthy immune system. Some of the less serious infectious diseases are influenza, and streptococcus. Serious infectious diseases like HIV are harder to cure and most people die from them.
Prevention
You must always remember to take the prevention steps to protect yourself from infectious disease. It is an easy step that everyone knows and that is to wash your hands with soap and water. When you want to sneeze, you must use your hand to cover your mouth. Surfaces that are frequently touched should be cleaned with detergent and water solution. You also have to be careful of drinking water or eating food that has been prepared by sick people.