Each of us is everywhere in wait for sources of infection, but this does not mean that at the first contact with them we will certainly fall ill. This does not happen because our health is protected by immunity. This is a protective property of our body, which is produced after diseases or vaccinations.
There are times when a person picks up an infection, but there are no ready-made antibodies in the body to fight it, then medical serum comes to the rescue. This is a blood plasma preparation lacking fibrinogen, but with ready-made antibodies.
Treatment serum
In order to prevent or urgently treat an infectious disease, sometimes you have to resort to the use of therapeutic sera. They are prepared from blood plasma, removing fibrinogen from it, the protein responsible for coagulation.
Serums already contain ready-made antibodies against pathogens of various infectious diseases. Most often, preparations made from animal blood plasma are used for preventive and therapeutic purposes. Sometimes serums of people who have had this infectious disease are used.
Healing serum is a more effective drug than a vaccine. As a result of its use, passive immunity is formed many times faster. Its introduction quickly neutralizes the causative agents of infection, as well as their waste products.
Varieties of Serums
The classification of sera is suitable in terms of their significance and action features. Based on this, they are:
- Antibacterial.
- Antitoxic.
- Antivirus.
- Homologous.
- Heterogeneous.
The first variety is obtained as a result of hyperimmunization of horses, using dead bacteria. Despite the content of ready-made antibodies, such sera are not widely used, therefore they are rarely used.
Antiviral drugs are obtained from the blood serum of animals that have been infected with the virus. They are used much more often because of their greater effectiveness.
Among the antitoxic, it is especially necessary to distinguish: anti-diphtheria serum, anti-tetanus, anti-gangrenous. They are obtained from the blood plasma of horses, using gradually increasing doses of toxins. Before testing in humans, serums must be cleaned, checked for safety and pyrogen-free.
Use of medicinal serum
For therapeutic purposes, immune serum is used. Its healing properties depend on the method of its preparation. If it is prepared from human blood plasma (homologous), then the duration of its therapeutic action is much longer than that made from animal blood (heterologous).
Animal blood serum lasts only a couple of weeks, and then its destruction occurs. In addition, such drugs can cause side effects.
Before use, the human body must be checked for sensitivity to serum components, while a highly diluted drug is administered. If no adverse reactions are observed, then the patient is injected with therapeutic serum in small doses and with an interval of half an hour.
If after the test negative reactions are observed, but there is no homologous drug, then the drug is administered under anesthesia and with the use of a large amount of glucocorticoids along the way.
For safety reasons, any doctor before the introduction of heterologous serum to the patient will put a dropper, so that in urgent cases, if the rejection of a foreign protein begins, begin to provide first aid.
The effectiveness of the use of serum depends on the right dose and the timeliness of the procedure. The dose should be calculated taking into account the form of the clinical process so that it can neutralize all antigens circulating throughout the body.
Medicinal serum is a drug that can be effective in the early days of the disease. Applying it at a later date, most likely, will not give the desired effect.
Most often, serums are used to treat the following diseases:
- Diphtheria.
- Botulism.
- Tetanus.
- Staphylococcal infection.
- Anthrax.
- Flu.
- Rabies and others.
If you use serum at the very beginning of the disease, then it will give a good effect.
Blood plasma preparations
These drugs include several forms:
- Native plasma. It has a short shelf life, only a few days.
- Frozen It can be stored in the freezer for several months.
- Dry plasma. For 5 years it is suitable. Before use, it is necessary to dilute it with saline.
Globulin, fibrinogen, and albumin are most often obtained from blood plasma. Gamma globulin is mainly used for the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases, including:
- Measles.
- Whooping cough.
- Rubella.
- Hepatitis.
- Polio.
There are cases of using this drug for a burn disease.
Fibrinolysin is able to lyse blood clots, therefore its use in thromboembolic disease is justified. Before intravenous administration, dilute with saline.
Immunoglobulins are most often made from human blood, they are of 2 types:
- Measles.
- Drugs directed action.
Using homologous drugs is safer; they do not cause adverse reactions. To obtain measles immunoglobulin, donor blood is used, which already contains antibodies against a number of bacterial and viral infections.
In order to prepare directed immunoglobulins, volunteers are called for help. They are immunized against a specific disease. The result is drugs with a high concentration of antibodies.
In this way, immunoglobulins are obtained for the treatment of influenza, rabies, smallpox, tetanus and other infections.
Vaccination
Any disease is easier to prevent than to treat later. This can be attributed to infectious diseases. Not always our immunity can cope with the infection, in some cases it is necessary to help develop certain antibodies that will be ready to immediately rush to fight the causative agent of the disease. For this, vaccination is carried out.
This procedure is relevant not only for children, but vaccinations for adults from some serious diseases are also necessary. They will help to avoid serious complications if a source of infection enters the body.
After the introduction of the vaccine, the body carries out a real immune response, leaving white blood cells that will be able to produce antibodies against this pathogen. Moreover, this will not happen some time after infection, but almost immediately.
The composition of the vaccines may be different, depending on this, they are:
The first group in its composition has living pathogens, but have lost virulence. Such strains cause a latent infection in a person, which with the course is no different from the real one, only without obvious visible symptoms.
Propagating in the body, pathogens increase antigenic load, and immunity can develop even after a single use and for life.
Inactivated vaccines contain killed pathogens, so in order to develop sufficient immunity and a certain amount of antibodies, you have to repeatedly inject the drug into the body.
Disease prevention measures necessarily include vaccinating the population against common infections.
Before vaccination, it is necessary to study all contraindications, especially for children. There are cases when vaccination is contraindicated.
Contraindications may be:
- Permanent. Immunodeficiency, malignant tumors.
- Temporary. The presence of acute disease, exacerbation of chronic diseases.
- False. Prematurity, dysbiosis, anemia, congenital malformations, allergies, asthma.
You should not avoid vaccinations, in some cases they can save the life of you or your child.
Differences between vaccine and treatment serum
Despite the fact that vaccines and serums are recognized to protect us from infection and help to cope with them as quickly as possible, nevertheless, there are significant differences between them:
- A vaccine is used to prevent disease, and treatment serum is a drug.
- After the introduction of the vaccine, long-term immunity is formed in the body, and the serum already contains ready-made antibodies.
- The effect of the vaccine occurs after some time, and the serum acts immediately.
- After vaccination, immunity is established for a long time, and treatment serum is just a temporary action.
- The list of diseases that can be prevented with a vaccine is much greater than the number of diseases that can be cured with serum.
Thus, they act in one direction, but the mechanisms are completely different.
Whey and its composition
After the cottage cheese is cooked, whey remains, its use may be the most diverse, but most of us just pour it. And in vain, this is an indispensable product not only in nutrition, but also in some other areas.
Such a wide range of uses is explained by the composition of whey, and it is quite rich in it. It includes: lactose, whey proteins, milk fat, B, C, A, E vitamins, and biotin.
In addition, it contains calcium, magnesium and beneficial bacteria.
All these components are very useful for the body, so you should reconsider your attitude to this product.
Useful properties of whey
The benefits of this product have been known since ancient times. Our ancestors often used whey for various diseases.
It has a huge list of useful properties:
- It normalizes the work of the liver and kidneys.
- Stimulates bowel function.
- It is a diuretic, which means it helps to eliminate harmful substances.
- Cleanses the skin.
- Relieves inflammatory processes.
- Provides significant assistance with rheumatism.
- Eliminates hemorrhoids.
- Helps to get rid of cerebrovascular accident.
- It relieves chronic diseases of the respiratory system.
You can still list the diseases for which whey can help. If it is used regularly, the result will not be long in coming.
Classification of immunostimulants
These are drugs that enhance immunity. First of all, they can be divided into preparations of plant and animal origin.
Immunostimulants of animal origin are not divided into 2 groups.
- Regulate immunity at the level of the thymus and bone marrow.
- Thymus-based proteins have an effect on T-lymphocytes.
- Medications that affect antibody production.
All these drugs have a powerful effect on the body, and without a doctor’s recommendation it is undesirable to take them.
2. Cytokines. Coordinate the work of immune cells.
- Interleukins. Act on the cells of innate immunity and develop acquired.
- Interferons. They have immunomodulatory and antiviral effects.
- Interferon Inductors. Stimulate the production of their own interferon in the cells of the body.
Despite the huge selection in pharmacies, medications for immunity should be prescribed by a doctor.
Immunity Medicines
This is the easiest way when it is necessary to increase immunity, especially since there is no deficiency in these drugs. All these drugs are divided into several varieties:
- Homeopathic. Some with great distrust of such funds. But with the right selection, they have a good effect and do not cause side effects.
- Interferon preparations. They act quickly, but only against viral infections.
If we talk about the effectiveness of drugs, they give a good result, if they are used not at the beginning of the disease, but even before it. This is a kind of disease prevention measure. Then the body will be fully armed before the infection and will quickly cope with it. Such drugs are most in demand: Viferon, Arbidol, Amiksin, Cycloveron and many others.
Nature is the guardian of immunity
Herbal preparations for immunity act much softer on the body, but they need to be taken for a longer time.
Especially popular among this group are such tools:
- "Tincture of Echinacea."
- "Tincture of the marshmallow root."
- "Tincture (extract) of Eleutherococcus".
It positively affects the immunity of Rhodiola rosea. It not only improves the body's resistance to various infections, but also positively affects mental and physical performance.
It is worth considering that herbal preparations act much more slowly, but provide a stable and long-lasting result. In this case, there are practically no side effects. You can take them in courses. Despite the apparent safety of such therapy, consultation with a doctor is still necessary.
So that you don’t have to take up the question of taking medical serum on an emergency basis to fight an infectious disease, take care of your immunity in advance, and then it will not let you down.