Bacterial and Viral Infections

Bacterial infections can often be treated without antibiotics. This depends on what bacteria are causing the infection, the extent and degree of tissue involvement and your state of overall health. The tendency to get bacterial infections can be decreased through diet and specific nutritional supplements, as well as lifestyle factors. Bacterial infections such as Lyme disease may have several different organisms (co-infections) causing the disease; Alpine Physicians does not treat Lyme disease.

Bacterial infections may respond to oral (non-drug) combinations of anti-microbial approaches. More serious infections respond better to intravenous treatment. Skin infections, for example MRSA, need oral, topical and intravenous treatment to be effectively eliminated.

Viral infections do not respond to antibiotic treatment, and the available antiviral medications are variable in effectiveness. The type of virus also effects treatment options, as some viruses are more susceptible to non-drug therapies. Acute viral infections are normally easier to treat than chronic infections, for example hepatitis C.

Acute self limiting viral infections, such as influenza, are normally treated with oral antiviral supplements. Viruses that can develop into chronic infections, such as Epstein-Barr virus, are best treated with a series of intravenous infusions that usually resolves the disease in two-three weeks. Some of the emerging viruses, such as swine flu (H1N1) and bird flu (H5N1) respond better to intravenous nutrient infusions than they do to pharmaceutical treatment. There is a secondary condition that can occur with influenza that is life threatening; this condition is known as a cytokine storm. Pharmaceutical drugs are either mildly effective or not effective in treating cytokine storm. The best treatment available is intravenous vitamin C.