If You Were Just Sick With Pneumonia

Pneumonia

As well chosen: Bronchopneumonia

On this page

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics

See, Play and Learn

• No links available

Summary

What is pneumonia?

Pneumonia is an infection in 1 or both of the lungs. Information technology causes the air sacs of the lungs to fill up upward with fluid or pus. It can range from mild to astringent, depending on the type of germ causing the infection, your age, and your overall health.

What causes pneumonia?

Bacterial, viral, and fungal infections can cause pneumonia.

Bacteria are the well-nigh common cause. Bacterial pneumonia tin occur on its own. It tin can as well develop later you've had certain viral infections such as a common cold or the influenza. Several different types of bacteria can cause pneumonia, including:

• Streptococcus pneumoniae
• Legionella pneumophila; this pneumonia is oft called Legionnaires' disease
• Mycoplasma pneumoniae
• Chlamydia pneumoniae
• Haemophilus influenzae

Viruses that infect the respiratory tract may cause pneumonia. Viral pneumonia is often mild and goes away on its own within a few weeks. But sometimes it is serious enough that y'all demand to get treatment in a hospital. If you have viral pneumonia, you are at gamble of too getting bacterial pneumonia. The different viruses that can cause pneumonia include:

• Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)
• Some common cold and flu viruses
• SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19

Fungal pneumonia is more common in people who have chronic health problems or weakened allowed systems. Some of the types include:

• Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP)
• Coccidioidomycosis, which causes valley fever
• Histoplasmosis
• Cryptococcus

Who is at risk for pneumonia?

Anyone tin can get pneumonia, just certain factors can increase your risk:

• Age; the risk is higher for children who are age 2 and under and adults age 65 and older
• Exposure to sure chemicals, pollutants, or toxic fumes
• Lifestyle habits, such as smoking, heavy booze use, and malnourishment
• Being in a infirmary, peculiarly if you are in the ICU. Existence sedated and/or on a ventilator raises the run a risk fifty-fifty more.
• Having a lung illness
• Having a weakened immune organization
• Accept trouble coughing or swallowing, from a stroke or other condition
• Recently existence ill with a cold or the flu

What are the symptoms of pneumonia?

The symptoms of pneumonia tin can range from mild to astringent and include:

• Fever
• Chills
• Coughing, ordinarily with phlegm (a slimy substance from deep in your lungs)
• Shortness of breath
• Chest hurting when you breathe or cough
• Nausea and/or vomiting
• Diarrhea

The symptoms tin vary for different groups. Newborns and infants may not show any signs of the infection. Others may vomit and have a fever and cough. They might seem sick, with no energy, or be restless.

Older adults and people who have serious illnesses or weak immune systems may have fewer and milder symptoms. They may even have a lower than normal temperature. Older adults who accept pneumonia sometimes take sudden changes in mental awareness.

What other issues can pneumonia cause?

Sometimes pneumonia can cause serious complications such as:

• Bacteremia, which happens when the bacteria motility into the bloodstream. It is serious and tin can lead to septic stupor.
• Lung abscesses, which are collections of pus in cavities of the lungs
• Pleural disorders, which are conditions that bear upon the pleura. The pleura is the tissue that covers the outside of the lungs and lines the within of your breast cavity.
• Kidney failure
• Respiratory failure

How is pneumonia diagnosed?

Sometimes pneumonia can be hard to diagnose. This is because it can crusade some of the same symptoms every bit a cold or the influenza. It may have time for you lot to realize that yous have a more serious condition.

Your health care provider may employ many tools to brand a diagnosis:

• A medical history, which includes asking about your symptoms
• A concrete exam, including listening to your lungs with a stethoscope
• Various tests, such as
  • A chest x-ray
  • Blood tests such as a complete blood count (CBC) to see if your immune system is actively fighting an infection
  • A Blood civilization to observe out whether you have a bacterial infection that has spread to your bloodstream

If you lot are in the infirmary, have serious symptoms, are older, or accept other health issues, yous may also have more tests, such every bit:

• Sputum test, which checks for bacteria in a sample of your sputum (spit) or phlegm (slimy substance from deep in your lungs).
• Breast CT scan to come across how much of your lungs is afflicted. It may besides bear witness if you lot have complications such every bit lung abscesses or pleural effusions.
• Pleural fluid culture, which checks for bacteria in a fluid sample that was taken from the pleural space
• Pulse oximetry or blood oxygen level test, to check how much oxygen is in your blood
• Bronchoscopy, a procedure used to expect inside your lungs' airways

What are the treatments for pneumonia?

Handling for pneumonia depends on the type of pneumonia, which germ is causing it, and how severe it is:

• Antibiotics treat bacterial pneumonia and some types of fungal pneumonia. They do not piece of work for viral pneumonia.
• In some cases, your provider may prescribe antiviral medicines for viral pneumonia
• Antifungal medicines treat other types of fungal pneumonia

Y'all may need to exist treated in a infirmary if your symptoms are severe or if you lot are at hazard for complications. While in that location, you may get additional treatments. For example, if your claret oxygen level is low, you may receive oxygen therapy.

It may take time to recover from pneumonia. Some people feel better within a week. For other people, information technology tin take a month or more.

Tin can pneumonia be prevented?

Vaccines can aid forbid pneumonia caused by pneumococcal bacteria or the influenza virus. Having good hygiene, not smoking, and having a salubrious lifestyle may also help prevent pneumonia.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Claret Institute

• Sputum Culture (National Library of Medicine) Also in Castilian

• FastStats: Pneumonia (National Middle for Health Statistics)

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Pneumonia (National Institutes of Health)

• How the Lungs Work (National Middle, Lung, and Blood Institute) As well in Spanish

• Chlamydia Pneumoniae Infections (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
• Mycoplasma pneumoniae Infections (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
• Pneumonia (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Too in Spanish

• Pneumonia (Nemours Foundation) Also in Castilian

valdezloverrien71.blogspot.com

Source: https://medlineplus.gov/pneumonia.html

Share this post