Question

Name seven infectious disease Upper respiratory and infectious agent

Answer 1

Upper respiratory tract infections are severe infections that occur in the upper respiratory tract which are the nose, sinuses, pharynx and larynx.

Few of the severe infectious diseases of the Upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) are;

1) Nasal Obstruction or Congestion: The nasal passages would be swollen with excess mucus or fluid and this could happen due to some infection caused by inhaling any infectious or allergic substance. Also this could happe because of some foriegn object in the nose, this is most commonly seen in children.

2) Sore Throat: Sore Throat also known as Pharyngitis is a dry, painful and itchy feeling in the throat. Sore throat, cold and flu mostly occur at the same time. Sore throat may occur due to infection of the throat, straining of the voice, swallowing hot food and burning the throat, dry mouth conditons or sleeping with the mouth open, a condition in sleep apnea.

3) Tonsillitis: This is a URTI that causes the inflammation of the tonsils. The symptoms of tonsillitis would include sore throat, enlargement of tonsils, fever, difficulty in eating or swallowing and large swollen lymph nodes around the neck. Abscesses may also develop in the throat if tonsils are not cured within time.This is mostly caused by viral infections when compared bacterial infection.

4) Laryngitis: This URTI infection is similar to Tonsillitis. In this infection, the virus would have infected the Larynx in the throat and it would be severely inflamme. If the Larynx is infected the vocal cords could also have been infected and the patient would not be able to speak. Laryngoscopy could help determine if the larynx has been infected.

5) Sinusitis: This URTI is also known as rhinosinusitis. In this disease condition the mucous membranes that line the sinuses would be inflammed. The patient would have facial pain, stuffy nose and thick nasal mucus that would make it difficult for the patient to breathe. Sinusitis must not be ignored and needs to be treated as soon as possible.

6) Otitis media: This URTI is a condition where the middle ear of a patient would be severely inflammed. There are two typed of otitis media, acute otitis media and otitis media with effusion. These infections should be treated as soon as possible to avoid further complications.

7) Common cold: This URTI is a a viral disease that mostly affects the nose and happens within 2 days after the patient has been infected. This would be accompanied by cough, runny nose, constant sneezing, itchy throat, headache and fever. This infection usually lasts upto a week.