Patient Education
General health information from Infectious Disease Specialists of Atlanta. Not medical advice for any individual situation.
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What a Culture and Sensitivity Report Actually Says
Why a culture takes two or three days, what sensitive and resistant mean on the report, and why the first antibiotic is sometimes changed after it…
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The Cough That Outlasts the Illness
A cough lasting three weeks after a chest infection is usually the airway healing, not infection. What antibiotics will not fix, and the signs that change…
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Vaccines When Your Immune System Is Suppressed
Immune-suppressing treatment changes which vaccines are safe and when they work best. Which ones are ruled out, which matter more, and how timing is planned.
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Infection After a Joint Replacement: Uncommon, Serious, Treatable
Fewer than one or two joint replacements in a hundred become infected. What the warning signs are, why treatment runs for weeks, and what the surgery…
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Fever After International Travel: Always Worth Mentioning the Trip
A fever weeks after a trip abroad can be malaria, and it is missed when the travel is never mentioned. What to say, when to be…
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An HIV Diagnosis Today: What Treatment Actually Involves
Treatment is usually one tablet a day, life expectancy is normal, and an undetectable viral load cannot be passed on. What the first year looks like.
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MRSA: What the Word Actually Means, and What It Does Not
MRSA is a resistance pattern, not a separate disease, and most of it is an ordinary skin infection. What changes about treatment, and what does not.
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RSV Is Not Just a Childhood Illness
RSV sends tens of thousands of older adults to hospital each year. Why it is mistaken for a cold, who is at real risk, and what…
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Strep Throat in Adults: When a Sore Throat Needs a Test
Most adult sore throats are viral and antibiotics do nothing for them. What raises the odds of strep, what the swab settles, and why the course…
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Flu Antivirals: When They Change the Outcome, and When They Do Not
Antivirals shorten flu by about a day for most healthy adults. Who gets much more than that, why the first 48 hours matter, and what they…