OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
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If you have a viral illness, know that your immune system is very effective at clearing viral infections. Your symptoms are signs that your immune system is activated and working hard. Clearing your symptoms fully can take between one to four weeks.
The treatments described below will help you feel better while your immune system clears the infection.
Products you can buy without a prescription to treat your symptoms:
If you are experiencing mild viral symptoms and do not feel you need a medical evaluation, please call Student Health Services at 541-737-9355 to schedule a COVID test.
If you are experiencing worsening symptoms, first consider the questions and answers below as possible solutions. If you still feel you need a medical evaluation, please call Student Health Services at 541-737-9355 to schedule a telehealth appointment.
You may have an upper respiratory infection (URI).
Frequently called "the common cold," a URI is an illness that causes a runny nose, sneezing, sinus congestion, raw feeling throat, headaches, fatigue, and fevers. Some people develop red eyes or cough as well. The average adult gets two or three URIs per year, and children get eight to ten. Symptoms can be persistent and interfere with daily function and sleep. Most people with a URI will have symptoms for a week or less, then start recovering; some symptoms like sneezing and coughing can linger for up to two weeks even though you are feeling better overall.
URIs are caused by viruses. Each time you have a URI, you develop a degree of immunity to that virus strain, but there are hundreds of different viruses and virus strains.
Your infection started when you inadvertently breathed in viral particles in the air or touched an infectious particle then touched your mouth or nose. Cold viruses can stay alive on surfaces for about two hours.
Your immune system responds to the infection by creating inflammation, which in turn leads to your symptoms. It can be helpful to remember that your runny nose, sinus congestion, fevers, and fatigued feeling, while certainly frustrating, are signs that your immune system is working hard to clear out the infection.
You are sick—that's true. You need to slow down and allow your body time to heal. But URIs are rarely dangerous. Your immune system is very effective at recognizing the infection and eradicating it - much more effective than medicines. URIs nearly always resolve even if you take no medicine at all.
The most important treatment for a URI is rest, hydration, and healthy foods. Your immune system will clear the infection more effectively than any medication, but it will take some time.
Studies show conclusively that antibiotics are not an effective treatment for nearly all URIs. Antibiotics will not make you better faster. They will not reduce your symptoms. In addition, antibiotics can have powerful negative effects on your body, including causing allergic reactions, creating side effects like nausea and vomiting, and altering your body's healthy microbiome. Inappropriate antibiotic use also can create resistant bacterial strains.
It's true that antibiotics have frequently been prescribed for URIs, for fear that the illness would worsen without them. But research demonstrates that taking antibiotics does not speed recovery or lessen symptoms. Simply put, people with URIs get better despite antibiotics, not because of them. This realization is gradually transforming how health care providers treat URIs.
If your symptoms aren't improving over two weeks, or if you develop new or persistent fevers, shortness of breath, or new symptoms, contact Student Health Services. If you feel markedly worse and SHS is closed, go to urgent care or the emergency department. If you aren't sure, call our Nurse Advice Line at 541-737-2724 during normal clinic hours, or 541-737-9355 after clinic hours.
Sinusitis is an illness that causes runny noses, pressure and congested feeling in the forehead and cheeks, fatigue, fevers, sneezing, and headaches. Nasal discharge might be clear, yellow, or green. Some people develop bloody noses. Ear fullness/pressure and bad breath are also common.
Symptoms can be persistent and interfere with daily function and sleep. Most people with acute sinusitis will have symptoms for one to two weeks, then start recovering. Some symptoms like sneezing or intermittent nasal congestion can linger for up to three to four weeks even though you are feeling better overall.
Acute sinusitis is caused when microbes infect the cells lining the hollow cavities (sinuses) in your facial bones. Viruses cause 99 percent of acute sinusitis infections. Bacterial sinus infections are rare and often occur in the setting of an initial viral sinus infection.
Your immune system responds to the infection by creating inflammation, which in turn leads to your symptoms. It can be helpful to remember that your runny nose, sinus congestion, fevers, and fatigued feeling, while certainly frustrating, are signs that your immune system is working hard to clear out the infection.
You are sick—that's true. You need to slow down and allow your body time to heal. But acute sinusitis is very rarely dangerous. Your immune system is incredibly effective at recognizing the infection and eradicating it—much more effective than medicines. Acute sinusitis nearly always resolves even if you take no medicine at all.
The most important treatment for acute sinusitis is rest, hydration, and healthy foods. Your immune system will clear the infection more effectively than any medication, but it will take some time.
Antibiotics are not an effective treatment for viral acute sinusitis. If you have a viral infection, antibiotics will not make you better faster. They will not reduce your symptoms. In addition, antibiotics can have powerful negative effects on your body, including causing allergic reactions, creating side effects like nausea and vomiting, and altering your body's healthy microbiome. Inappropriate antibiotic use also can create resistant bacterial strains, so, when you really do need an antibiotic, it may not work.
If your sinus infection is caused by a bacteria, antibiotics may be needed. About 0.5 to 2 percent of sinus infection are caused by bacteria. When bacteria cause sinus infections, antibiotics can be useful in speeding recovery and preventing complications. Here are some signs that your infection needs a medical evaluation to consider antibiotics:
If your symptoms aren't improving over two weeks, or if you develop new or persistent fevers or worsening facial pressure/pain, or if you start to feel better then start feeling worse again, contact Student Health Services. If you feel markedly worse and SHS is closed, go to urgent care or the emergency department. If you aren't sure, call our Nurse Advice Line at 541-737-2724 during normal clinic hours, or 541-737-9355 after clinic hours.
Pharyngitis, frequently called "sore throat," is an illness caused by a microbial infection (viral or bacterial) in the cells lining the back of the throat. Your infection started when you inadvertently breathed in infectious particles in the air or touched an infectious particle then touched your mouth or nose.
Symptoms include a raw or painful throat, headaches, body aches, fevers, and fatigue. Some people have "common cold" symptoms at the same time: runny nose, sinus pressure, ear fullness, sneezing, and coughing. Most people with a pharyngitis will have symptoms for a week or less, then start recovering; some symptoms like sneezing and coughing can linger for up to two weeks even though you are feeling better overall.
Viral pharyngitis often causes nasal congestion, sinus pressure, itchy irritated eyes, and coughing in addition to sore throat; bacterial pharyngitis usually does not cause these symptoms.
If you are experiencing a severe sore throat without other symptoms, then a medical evaluation for testing may be appropriate. Tests include rapid strep test (looking for Group A strep, a bacteria), throat culture (looking for common bacterial causes for pharyngitis), and testing for EBV, a virus that causes acute mononucleosis.
The most important treatment for pharyngitis is rest, hydration, and healthy foods. Your immune system will clear the infection more effectively than any medication, but it will take some time. In the meantime, slow down and allow your body time to heal.
There are various medications available in the pharmacy to reduce your symptoms while your immune system clears the infection. Read the Self-Care for Viral Illnesses section below for more information.
Antibiotics are rarely needed to treat pharyngitis. Antibiotics do not treat viral infections and are only needed for certain bacterial infections like group A strep. Antibiotics can have powerful negative effects on your body, including causing allergic reactions, creating side effects like nausea and vomiting, and altering your body's healthy microbiome.
If your symptoms aren't improving over the next three to five days, or if you develop new or persistent fevers, worsening throat pain, or new symptoms, contact Student Health Services. If you feel markedly worse and SHS is closed, go to Urgent Care or the Emergency Department. If you aren't sure, call our Nurse Advice Line at 541-737-2724 during normal clinic hours, or 541-737-9355 after clinic hours.
Viruses cause over 90 percent of cases of acute bronchitis in young healthy adults. Bacteria are a less common cause (less than 10 percent) of acute bronchitis. Your immune system responds to the infection by creating inflammation, which in turn leads to your symptoms. It can be helpful to remember that your cough, runny nose, and fatigued feeling, while certainly frustrating, are signs that your immune system is working hard to clear out the infection.
You are sick—that's true. You need to slow down and allow your body time to heal. But acute bronchitis is rarely dangerous. Your immune system is very effective at recognizing the infection and eradicating it - much more effective than medicines. Acute bronchitis nearly always resolves even if you take no medicine at all.
No, acute bronchitis is not pneumonia. These two illnesses affect different parts of the lungs. While acute bronchitis involves the large airways leading into the lungs, pneumonia is a more serious lung infection where the air sacs in the lungs fill up with inflammation. While people with pneumonia do often have a cough, they also generally feel very sick with persistent fevers, trouble breathing, and chest pain.
The most important treatments for acute bronchitis are rest, hydration, and healthy foods. Your immune system will clear the infection more effectively than any medication, but it will take some time.
Studies show conclusively that antibiotics are not an effective treatment for nearly all cases of acute bronchitis. Antibiotics will not make you better faster. They will not reduce your symptoms. In addition, antibiotics can have powerful negative effects on your body, including causing allergic reactions, creating side effects like nausea and vomiting, and altering your body's healthy microbiome.
It's true that antibiotics have frequently been prescribed for acute bronchitis for fear that the illness would worsen without them. But research demonstrates that taking antibiotics does not speed recovery or lessen symptoms. Simply put, people with acute bronchitis get better despite antibiotics, not because of them. This realization is gradually transforming how health care providers treat acute bronchitis.
If your cough isn't improving over three weeks, or if you develop new or persistent fevers, shortness of breath, or new symptoms, contact Student Health Services. If you feel markedly worse and SHS is closed, go to urgent care or the emergency department. If you aren't sure, call our Nurse Advice Line at 541-737-2724 during normal clinic hours, or 541-737-9355 after clinic hours.
Fevers, chills, and body aches are signs that your immune system is activated and fighting off an infection. If you don’t have other symptoms to help you detect where the infection might be in your body, then a medical evaluation is important to help determine the cause.
Many infections cause a variety of symptoms, often starting with nose/sinus/throat symptoms, then developing into a cough. Read through all the information above. If you feel you need to talk to a SHS nurse about your symptoms, call our Nurse Advice Line at 541-737-2724 during normal clinic hours, or 541-737-9355 after clinic hours.