Upper Respiratory Tract Infections – Causes, Symptoms, Treatments

Upper Respiratory tract infections (URTI or URI) are the illnesses which are caused by acute infection that involves upper respiratory tract like sinuses, larynx, nose or pharynx. These infections are transmitted through virus contaminated hands or respiratory droplets. These cause rhinorrhea, increased secretions and hence, results in coughing and sneezing. In United States, URIs are common infections in the population.

It is an estimation that an average adult has 2 – 3 URI type illnesses in a year and an average child has 6 – 10. Recent studies showed that nearly 98 percent of upper respiratory infections are viral in nature.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF UPPER RESPIRATORY TRACT INFECTIONS:
Symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections generally include:

• Cough
• Cold
• Runny nose
• Phlegm
• Blocked nose
• Facial pressure
• Extreme sensitivity to warm weather and cold
• Sneezing
• Fever
• Stuffiness
• Headache
• Earache

Symptoms are observed after 1 – 3 days of exposure to virus. These symptoms are observed for 7 – 10 days, but infection lasts for long periods. As various respiratory infections are prevailing, symptoms vary from disease to disease.

CAUSES OF UPPER RESPIRATORY TRACT INFECTIONS:
The following are some causes of upper respiratory tract infections:

• Diphtheria
• Influenza
• Rotavirus
• Parainfluenza
• Adenovirus
• Pneumococcus
• Respiratory Syncytial Virus
• Measles
• Bornholm disease
• Rhinovirus
• Haemophilus influenzae
• Whooping cough
• Pseudomonas aeruginosa
• Human metapneumovirus

TREATMENTS FOR UPPER RESPIRATORY TRACT INFECTIONS:

Always seek doctor’s advice regarding the medications, treatment and also change in treatment plans. Some of the medications include:

• Azithromycin
• Clarithromycin
• Macrolide antibiotics
• Zithromax
• Biaxin
• Erythromycin
• Apo- Erythro E-C
• Apo- Erythro-S
• Apo- Erythro-ES
• E.E.S. 200
• Erybid
• E.E.S 400
• E.E.S
• E-MycinE
• E-Mycin Controlled Release
• ERYC
• Eramycin
• Ethril
• Ilosone
• Erythrocin
• ErTab
• Eryphar
• Ilotycin
• ETS – 2%
• EryPed
• Pediazole
• SK-Erythromycin
• Robimycin
• Pediazole
• Pediamycin
• Wyamycin E
• PCE
• Amoxil
• Larotid
• Novamoxin
• Dirithromycin
• Histinex