Antiviral medications
Antiviral Medications
Antiviral medications (pronunciation: an-tee-vy-ruhl med-i-key-shuhns) are a type of drug used to treat viral infections. Unlike most antibiotics, which destroy bacteria directly, antiviral drugs work by inhibiting the development of the virus.
Etymology
The term "antiviral" is derived from the Latin "anti-" meaning "against" and "virus" meaning "poison". The term "medication" comes from the Latin "medicatio" meaning "healing".
Types of Antiviral Medications
There are several types of antiviral medications, including:
- Neuraminidase inhibitors: These drugs are commonly used to treat influenza.
- Nucleoside analogues: These are used to treat hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV.
- Protease inhibitors: These are used to treat HIV and hepatitis C.
- Reverse transcriptase inhibitors: These are used to treat HIV and hepatitis B.
Related Terms
- Antiretroviral therapy: This is a treatment for HIV that uses a combination of antiviral medications.
- Antiviral resistance: This occurs when a virus mutates and becomes resistant to an antiviral medication.
- Viral load: This is the amount of virus in a person's blood, and it is often used to monitor the effectiveness of antiviral therapy.
See Also
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Antiviral medications
- Wikipedia's article - Antiviral medications
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