Dr. Wojo. Healthy Living. Simplified.

As we embark on another winter season, people are starting to suffer from a variety of respiratory illnesses — the common cold, a cough, bronchitis, or pneumonia. There are certain measures one can take to lessen the risk of getting sick.  Let’s take a look at some of these issues.

What are the causes? Many respiratory illnesses are caused by a viral infection. Antibiotics are only used with bacterial infections, thus there is no specific treatment that will shorten the course of a viral illness. The best you can do is treat your symptoms in order to make yourself more comfortable. On the other hand, bacterial infections require more aggressive treatment, such as antibiotics, once the pathogen is identified.

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