What are bacterial diseases?

Bacterial diseases include any type of illness caused by bacteria. Bacteria are a type of microorganism, which are tiny forms of life that can only be seen with a microscope. Other types of microorganisms include viruses, some fungi, and some parasites.

Millions of bacteria normally live on the skin, in the intestines, and on the genitalia. The vast majority of bacteria do not cause disease, and many bacteria are actually helpful and even necessary for good health. These bacteria are sometimes referred to as “good bacteria” or “healthy bacteria.”

Harmful bacteria that what causes bacterial vaginosis called pathogenic bacteria. Bacterial diseases occur when pathogenic bacteria get into the body and begin to reproduce and crowd out healthy bacteria, or to grow in tissues that are normally sterile. Harmful bacteria may also emit toxins that damage the body. Common pathogenic bacteria and the types of bacterial diseases they cause include:

• Escherichia coli and Salmonella cause food poisoning.
• Helicobacter pylori cause gastritis and ulcers.
• Neisseria gonorrhoeae causes the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea.  
• Neisseria meningitidis causes meningitis.
• Staphylococcus aureus causes a variety of infections in the body, including boils, cellulitis, abscesses, wound infections, toxic shock syndrome, pneumonia, and food poisoning.
• Streptococcal bacteria cause a variety of infections in the body, including pneumonia, meningitis, ear infections, and strep throat.

Bacterial diseases are contagious and can result in many serious or life-threatening complications, such as blood poisoning (bacteremia), kidney failure, and toxic shock syndrome.

What is the Difference between a Yeast Infection and Bacterial Vaginosis?

Did someone say vaginal infections? Ugh, talk about no fun! Unfortunately, vaginal infections are a fact of life that most women will experience some time or another. Even with such common occurrences, we often make wrong assumptions and purchase products we do not actually need due to a lack of knowledge. The problem is, no one teaches us the facts! Well, no worries ladies.The RepHreshing Truth is here to empower you with the truth about vaginal infections. We are finally going to answer your burning question: What is the difference between a Yeast Infection and Bacterial Infection or Bacterial Vaginosis (BV)?

Yeast Infection: What You Think You Have

Have you ever noticed vaginal odor, itching, burning or discharge and immediately jumped to the conclusion that you have a Yeast Infection? We all have! Before you run to the store to pick up some quick fix medicine, you should know that Yeast Infections are actually the SECOND leading type of vaginal infections, accounting for 29% of all vaginal infections. Many women commonly mistake other vaginal infections for Yeast Infections, believing that it is the most common type.

Vaginal Yeast Infections are caused when there is an overgrowth of yeast, a fungus (ew!) that lives in the vagina. Typically, beneficial vaginal bacteria like Lactobacillus help keep other organisms (like the yeast) under control. But, when the beneficial bacteria cannot keep up and yeast overgrows, you can get a yeast infection. So how do you know if it is a Yeast Infection? Yeast Infections are usually signified by itching and burning in the vagina and around the vulva. A white vaginal discharge that may look like cottage cheese and may be odorless or have a yeasty smell (like bread or beer).

Bacterial Vaginosis: The Most Common Type of Vaginal Infection

If Yeast Infections are the second most common vaginal infection, what is the first? You guessed it, Bacterial Vaginosis (BV). BV is caused when there is too much bad (pathogenic) bacteria. Again, typically, beneficial vaginal bacteria help keep bad bacteria under control. But, when the beneficial bacteria cannot keep up and bad bacteria overgrow, you can get a bacterial infection, or Bacterial Vaginosis (BV). Bacterial Vaginosis is also accompanied by unbalanced pH because the bad bacteria that cause this infection flourish in elevated pH, while beneficial bacteria thrive in a healthy pH environment.

Signs of Bacterial Vaginosis generally include a grayish white vaginal discharge, a bothersome “fishy odor” and elevated pH.Many women describe the discharge as yogurt-like or pasty. Women may also experience vaginal itching and redness as a result of BV.

Make sure you know which type of infection you have BEFORE treating it. Yeast infection treatments will not help a bacterial infection and may further irritate this uncomfortable condition.

Importance of Vaginal pH & Beneficial Bacteria

An important part of keeping everything in balance is the vaginal pH. In healthy women, vaginal pH is typically 3.5 to 4.5. Studies show that vaginal issues often occur when vaginal pH is unbalanced. Healthy pH helps beneficial bacteria to thrive so that it can do its job maintaining vaginal health.

When pH becomes elevated, the environment shifts in favor of the pathogenic bacteria. This can allow pathogenic bacteria to cause vaginal odor, discomfort and even infection. Elevated pH is one of the key factors doctors look for when diagnosing vaginal infections. Maintaining healthy vaginal pH within the healthy range can help reduce risk of vaginal issues.

Unfortunately, elevated vaginal pH can be caused by a number of things including your period, because blood has a pH of 7.4, sexual intercourse (pH of semen is 7.1 to 8), some hygiene products (even “pH-balanced” feminine washes have a pH of 5.5 or higher). The hormone fluctuations that women experience each month are also associated with elevated pH.

What to do if you Think you Have a Vaginal Infection

If you think you have a vaginal infection, your best bet is to see your doctor. Most women opt for a visit to a gynecologist, but a primary care physician can also diagnose infections. Your doctor will do a pH test and assess your symptoms and may take a simple swab for examination under a microscope before providing a diagnosis. If you have a yeast infection, your doctor may prescribe an oral medication or recommend an over-the-counter treatment. If you have a bacterial infection, your doctor will prescribe an antibiotic. Or you can read the article : how to get rid of bacterial vaginosis. Make sure you use all of the medicine your doctor prescribes, even if you start to feel better.

Once your infection is cured and you have returned to normal, you may wish to maintain your vaginal health by ensuring you have an optimal balance of beneficial bacteria and by maintaining healthy vaginal pH. RepHresh Pro-B Probiotic Feminine Supplement is clinically shown to provide healthy beneficial lactobacillus that works with your body to balance yeast and bacteria*. RepHresh Vaginal Gel is clinically shown to maintain healthy vaginal pH. The RepHresh Brand can help you take control of your feminine health - and that is the RepHreshing Truth!

Bacterial vs. viral infections: How do they differ?

What's the difference between a bacterial infection and a viral infection?

Answers from James M. Steckelberg, M.D.

As you might think, bacterial infections are caused by bacteria, and viral infections are caused by viruses. Perhaps the most important distinction between bacteria and viruses is that antibiotic drugs usually kill bacteria, but they aren't effective against viruses.

Bacteria

Bacteria are single-celled microorganisms that thrive in many different types of environments. Some varieties live in extremes of cold or heat. Others make their home in people's intestines, where they help digest food. Most bacteria cause no harm to people, but there are exceptions.

Infections caused by bacteria include:

• Strep throat
• Tuberculosis
• Urinary tract infections

Inappropriate use of antibiotics has helped create strains of bacterial disease that are resistant to treatment with different types of antibiotic medications.

Viruses

Viruses are even smaller than bacteria and require living hosts — such as people, plants or animals — to multiply. Otherwise, they can't survive. When a virus enters your body, it invades some of your cells and takes over the cell machinery, redirecting it to produce the virus.

Diseases caused by viruses include:

• Chickenpox
• AIDS
• Common colds

In some cases, it may be difficult to determine whether a bacterium or a virus is causing your symptoms. Many ailments — such as pneumonia, meningitis and diarrhea — can be caused by either type of microbe.

Overview of Bacterial Skin Infections

The skin gives an amazingly decent hindrance against bacterial diseases. Albeit numerous microorganisms interact with or dwell on the skin, they are typically not able to set up a disease. At the point when bacterial skin contaminations do happen, they can extend in size from a minor spot to the whole body surface. They can run in earnestness too, from innocuous to life undermining. 

Numerous sorts of microscopic organisms can contaminate the skin. The most widely recognized are Staphylococcus and Streptococcus. Skin contaminations brought on by less normal microorganisms might create in individuals while hospitalized or living in a nursing home, while planting, or while swimming in a lake, lake, or sea. 

A few individuals are at specific danger of creating skin contaminations. For instance, individuals with diabetes are liable to have poor blood stream, particularly to the hands and feet, and the abnormal amounts of sugar (glucose) in their blood diminish the capacity of white platelets to battle contaminations. Individuals who are more established, who have human immunodeficiency infection (HIV) or AIDS or other safe issue, or hepatitis, and who are experiencing chemotherapy or treatment with different medications that smother the safe framework are at higher danger also on the grounds that they have a debilitated invulnerable framework. Skin that is aggravated or harmed by sunburn, scratching, or other injury will probably get to be contaminated. Truth be told, any break in the skin inclines a man to contamination. 

Counteractive action includes keeping the skin undamaged and clean. At the point when the skin is cut or scratched, the damage ought to be washed with cleanser and water and secured with a sterile wrap. Petrolatum might be connected to open regions to keep the tissue clammy and to attempt to anticipate bacterial intrusion. Specialists suggest that individuals don't use anti-toxin treatments (medicine or nonprescription) on uninfected minor injuries in light of the danger of adding to a sensitivity to the anti-microbial. In any case, an anti-microbial salve is utilized if a disease creates. Bigger territories require anti-infection agents taken by mouth or given by infusion. Abscesses (discharge filled pockets) ought to be cut open by the specialist and permitted to deplete, and any dead tissue must be surgically evacuated.

Click here for the home remedies for bacterial vaginosis

Overview of Bacteria

Bacteria are microscopic, single-celled organisms. There are thousands of different kinds, and they live in every conceivable environment all over the world. They live in soil, seawater, and deep within the earth’s crust. Some bacteria have been reported even to live in radioactive waste. Many bacteria live in the bodies of people and animals—on the skin and in the airways, mouth, and digestive, reproductive, and urinary tracts—without causing any harm. Such bacteria are called resident flora, or the microbiome. Many resident flora are actually helpful to people—for example by helping them digest food or by preventing the growth of other, more dangerous bacteria.

Only a few kinds of bacteria cause disease. They are called pathogens. Sometimes bacteria that normally reside harmlessly in the body cause disease. Bacteria can cause disease by producing harmful substances (toxins), invading tissues, or doing both.

Classification

Bacteria can be classified in several ways:

• Scientific names: Bacteria, like other living things, are classified by genus (based on having one or several similar characteristics) and, within the genus, by species. Their scientific name is genus followed by species (for example, Clostridium botulinum). Within a species, there may be different types, called strains. Strains differ in genetic makeup and chemical components. Sometimes certain drugs and vaccines are effective only against certain strains.
• Staining: Bacteria may be classified by the color they turn after certain chemicals (stains) are applied to them. A commonly used stain is the Gram stain. Some bacteria stain blue. They are called gram-positive. Others stain red. They are called gram-negative. Gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria stain differently because their cell walls are different. They also cause different types of infections, and different types of antibiotics are effective against them.
• Shapes: All bacteria may be classified as one of three basic shapes: spheres (cocci), rods (bacilli), and spirals or helixes (spirochetes).
• Need for oxygen: Bacteria are also classified by whether they need oxygen to live and grow. Those that need oxygen are called aerobes. Those that have trouble living or growing when oxygen is present are called anaerobes. Some bacteria, called facultative bacteria, can live and grow with or without oxygen.

BACTERIA IN THE BODY

The body normally contains several hundred different species of bacteria but many trillions of individual bacteria. The bacteria outnumber the cells of the body by about 10 to 1. Most of these bacteria reside on the skin and teeth, in the spaces between teeth and gums, and in the mucous membranes that line the throat, intestine, and vagina. The species differ at each site, reflecting the different environment at each site. Many of them are anaerobes—that is, they do not require oxygen. Usually, these anaerobes do not cause disease. Many have useful functions, such as helping break down food in the intestine. However, these bacteria can cause disease if the mucous membranes are damaged. Then, bacteria can enter tissues that are usually off-limits to them and that have no defenses against them. The bacteria may infect nearby structures (such as the sinuses, middle ear, lungs, brain, abdomen, pelvis, and skin) or enter the bloodstream and spread.

Bacterial Defenses

Bacteria have many ways of defending themselves.

Biofilm

Some bacteria secrete a substance that helps them attach to other bacteria, cells, or objects. This substance combines with the bacteria to form a sticky layer called biofilm. For example, certain bacteria form a biofilm on teeth (called dental plaque). The biofilm traps food particles, which the bacteria process and use, and in this process, they probably cause tooth decay. Biofilms also help protect bacteria from antibiotics.

Capsules

Some bacteria are enclosed in a protective capsule. This capsule helps prevent white blood cells, which fight infection, from ingesting the bacteria. Such bacteria are described as encapsulated.

Outer membrane

Under the capsule, gram-negative bacteria have an outer membrane that protects them against certain antibiotics. When disrupted, this membrane releases toxic substances called endotoxins. Endotoxins contribute to the severity of symptoms during infections with gram-negative bacteria.

Spores

Some bacteria produce spores, which are an inactive (dormant) form. Spores can enable bacteria to survive when environmental conditions are difficult. When conditions are favorable, each spore germinates into an active bacterium.

Flagella

Flagella are long, thin filaments that protrude from the cell surface and enable bacteria to move. Bacteria without flagella cannot move on their own.

Antibiotic resistance

Some bacteria are naturally resistant to certain antibiotics.

Other bacteria develop resistance to drugs because they acquire genes from other bacteria that have become resistant or because their genes mutate. For example, soon after the drug penicillin was introduced in the mid-1940s, a few individual Staphylococcus aureus bacteria acquired genes that made penicillin ineffective against them. The strains that possessed these special genes had a survival advantage when penicillin was commonly used to treat infections. Strains of Staphylococcus aureus that lacked these new genes were killed by penicillin, allowing the remaining penicillin-resistant bacteria to reproduce and over time become more common. Chemists then altered the penicillin molecule, making a different but similar drug, methicillin, which could kill the penicillin-resistant bacteria. Soon after methicillin was introduced, strains of Staphylococcus aureus developed genes that made them resistant to methicillin and related drugs. These strains are called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

The genes that encode for drug resistance can be passed to following generations of bacteria or sometimes even to other species of bacteria.

The more often antibiotics are used, the more likely resistant bacteria are to develop. Therefore, doctors try to use antibiotics only when they are necessary. Giving antibiotics to people who probably do not have a bacterial infection, such as those who have cough and cold symptoms, does not make people better but does help create resistant bacteria. Because antibiotics have been so widely used (and misused), many bacteria are resistant to certain antibiotics. Read also about: home remedies for bacterial infection

Resistant bacteria can spread from person to person. Because international travel is so common, resistant bacteria can spread to many parts of the world in a short time. Spread of these bacteria in hospitals is a particular concern. Resistant bacteria are common in hospitals because antibiotics are so often necessary and hospital personnel and visitors may spread the bacteria if they do not strictly follow appropriate sanitary procedures. Also, many hospitalized patients have a weakened immune system, making them more susceptible to infection.

Resistant bacteria can also spread to people from animals. Resistant bacteria are common among farm animals because antibiotics are often routinely given to healthy animals to prevent infections that can impair growth or cause illness.