What do viruses/bacteria exactly do inside of our bodies that makes them dangerous and causes us to get sick?
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An infection is an overgrowth of a pathogen, too much of a bad thing. Your body plays hosts to lots of beautiful good bugs that cause no problems at all! Symptoms can vary depending on the bug and the degree of overgrowth. Some bacteria straight up produce toxins that can make you very sick by targeting a necessary protein. Sometimes the presence of bacteria activates a nonspecific immune response (inflammation) and that creates the runny nose, headache, fevers… but those are actually just responses from the body trying to control the overgrowth, not the bug itself!
In the case of Covid, the body has such a strong response to the virus that it creates a cycle of inflammation that clogs up the lungs. So in that case, it’s not the virus but the body that makes you really sick.
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