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Other infections (non-cold or flu)

An infectious disease is an illness resulting from an infection. The infection can be passed along in many ways, including through coughing, eating, touching and having sex. Our resources provide information about many different types of infections, including hepatitis, herpes, and HIV, to name just a few. Find out more below.

Aging and HIV: A challenge for geriatricians

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What is sepsis?

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Understanding West Nile and Lyme disease

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Evidence Summary

Telephone delivered interventions for reducing morbidity and mortality in people with HIV infection
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (2013)
Evidence Summary

Text-messaging interventions help people quit smoking and improve medication use among HIV positive
PLoS Medicine (2013)
Evidence Summary

Treatment of periodontitis for glycaemic control in people with diabetes mellitus.
Cochrane Database Syst Rev (2022)
Patient Decision Aid

Hepatitis B: Should I take antiviral medicine for chronic hepatitis B?
OHRI

This patient decision aid helps people who have a chronic hepatitis B viral infection decide on whether or not to take antiviral medicine by comparing the benefits, risks and side effects of both options.
Web Resource Rating

Screening for chlamydia and gonorrhea: Consumer fact sheet
U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)

Sexually active women over 24 years old who do not use condoms or have more than one sexual partner should get screened for chlamydia and gonorrhea.
Web Resource Rating

What treatment options are there for warts?
Informed Health Online

Warts are almost always harmless and usually disappear on their own in time. Common treatments include salicyclic acid and cryotherapy (freezing the warts).
Evidence Summary

Interventions for prevention of herpes simplex labialis (cold sores on the lips).
Cochrane Database Syst Rev (2015)
Evidence Summary

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for chronic wounds.
Cochrane Database Syst Rev (2015)
Web Resource Rating

Joint infection (Beyond the Basics)
UpToDate - patient information

Bacteria can cause an infection in both natural and artificial joints. Symptoms include pain and swelling with or without fever. Treatment includes antibiotics and may require removing an artificial joint and/or the tissue around it.
Evidence Summary

Follow-up consultations via telemedicine may be an effective alternative to face-to-face consultations for patients suffering from foot ulcerations
BioMed Central Health Services Research (2014)
Evidence Summary

Antiviral treatment and other therapeutic interventions for herpes simplex virus epithelial keratitis.
Cochrane Database Syst Rev (2015)
Evidence Summary

For people prescribed antibiotics, probiotics (compared with no treatment or placebo) reduce the risk of getting C. difficile-associated diarrhea without causing important side effects
Ann Intern Med (2012)
Evidence Summary

Abdominal laparoscopic surgery reduces surgical infections by 70-80% compared with open surgery in obese patients
Ann Surg (2012)
Web Resource Rating

Common warts
Mayo Clinic

Warts are bumps with black dots that grow mostly on hands and fingers. They are caused by a virus and are contagious. Treatments include medications with salicylic acid or freezing.
Web Resource Rating

Who should get the shingles vaccine? If I've already had shingles, should I get the vaccine so I don't get shingles again?
Mayo Clinic

You should get the shingles vaccine (Zostavax) if you are 60 or older, even if you have had shingles before. This protects your body from reactivating the chickenpox virus that causes shingles.
Patient Decision Aid

Vaginal Yeast Infection: Should I Treat It Myself?
OHRI

This patient decision aid helps women who suspect they may have a vaginal yeast infection decide on whether or not to self-treat the infection by comparing the benefits, risks, and side effects of both options. It outlines alternatives to self-treatment such as going to see the doctor or waiting to see if it goes away.
Web Resource Rating

An update: New evidence on vitamins
Evidence-based Living

Eating a healthy, balanced diet is enough to satisfy your daily vitamin requirements. Unless your diet is lacking in some way, you do not need to take vitamins. Vitamins do little to prevent asthma, cancer or ear infections.
Web Resource Rating

Kidney infection
Mayo Clinic

Kidney infections require prompt medical attention. Talk to your doctor if you experience fever, back/side/groin/abdominal pain, frequent urination, strong urge to urinate, burning sensation when urinating, or pus or blood in your urine.
Web Resource Rating

Dental plaque and gum disease
Patient.co.uk

Plaque build-up and gum disease can be prevented with good oral hygiene. Brush your teeth for at least two minutes twice a day, and clean between your teeth.
Web Resource Rating

Can antibiotics prevent cellulitis from coming back?
Informed Health Online

A low-dose of penicillin every day for up to a year may prevent cellulitis from recurring, with few side effects. It is important, however, to use the penicillin properly to prevent bacterial resistance.
Patient Decision Aid

Nail Infection: Should I Take Antifungal Pills?
OHRI

This patient decision aid helps people who have painful fungal nail infection or a medical condition, such as diabetes, that can lead to complications from foot infection decide on whether or not to take antifungal pills by comparing the benefits, risks, and side effects of both options. It also presents alternative treatments such as antifungal creams.
Patient Decision Aid

Hepatitis B: Should I Be Tested?
OHRI

This patient decision aid helps people decide on whether or not to have a blood test for hepatitis B or hepatitis C by comparing the benefits, risks and side effects of both options.
Web Resource Rating

Shingles (Herpes Zoster)
Patient.co.uk

This article describes the causes of shingles, along with its symptoms and treatments. There is a vaccine that you can get to help prevent shingles.
Web Resource Rating

Aging well with post-polio syndrome: Don't let fall prevention fall through the cracks
Healthy Aging & Physical Disability (RRTC)

Exercises can help prevent falls among people with post-polio syndrome. Wear rubber-soled shoes, increase your home safety, carry your phone with you when on walks, and talk to your doctor about exercises to increase your strength and balance.
Blog Post

Antimicrobial resistance: What is it and why should you care?

In this 2-minute video, Dr. Jon Stokes discusses what antimicrobial resistance is, why it is “an under-discussed pandemic” and how antibiotics "uphold the entirety of modern medicine".
Blog Post

Understanding West Nile and Lyme disease

In this 2-minute video, Dr. Mark Loeb discusses the symptoms and complications of these diseases. Learn what you can do to protect yourself.
Blog Post

What is sepsis?

Sepsis is a life-threatening medical condition triggered by the body’s extreme response to an infection. Most recent estimates indicate there are over 75,000 cases of sepsis per year in Canada, leading to 18,000 deaths. In this two-minute video, critical care physician Dr. Alison Fox-Robichaud describes sepsis, who is most at risk, and how it can be prevented.
Blog Post

Aging and HIV: A challenge for geriatricians

HIV-geriatric medicine is intended to be collaborative work between HIV specialists and geriatricians. It is a fairly young discipline which aims to ensure a global and specific approach to elderly patients with HIV, focused on function and the continuum of care. How geriatricians envisage care older people living with HIV?
Blog Post

Digestive problems? Try probiotics

Got probiotics? These “good for you” bacteria, found in certain foods and available as supplements, contribute to a healthy digestive system and improve gastrointestinal problems.

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