Pneumonia

Alternative Names

Pneumonia

What is Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an inflammatory disease that affects the lungs. It is commonly cause by bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites. Pneumonia is the most common in older people. You also have a great risk of getting this disease if you have a chronic illness or weak immune system. In rare cases, pneumonia can occur in young, healthy people.

Pneumonia can range from mild to life-threatening. In most cases, pneumonia is a complication of influeza.

Signs and symptoms

The common signs and symptoms of pneumonia include:

• Fever
• Lower-than-normal body temperature in older people
• Cough
• Shortness of breath
• Sweating
• Shaking chills
• Chest pain that fluctuates with breathing
• Headache
• Muscle pain
• Fatigue

Possible complications

Left untreated pneumonia can cause acute respiratory distress syndrome, lung abscesses (pus-filled cavities in the lung), bacteria in the blood, a collapsed lung, hemoptysis (coughing up blood) and even death.

What causes

Pneumonia usually occurs when your immune system is weakened, most often by a simple viral upper respiratory tract infection.

Other possible causes of pneumonia include a cold or flu (walking pneumonia).

The usual cause of pneumonia is a virus or bacteria. Sometimes certain types of fungi and parasites can also cause it. Pneumonia can also appear as a result from breathing in chemical fumes.

Prevention

Vacccination

• Seasonal flu shot. The influenza virus can be a direct cause of viral pneumonia. Bacterial pneumonia is also a common complication of the flu. A yearly flu shot provides significant protection either way.
• Pneumonia vaccine. Doctors recommend a one-time vaccine against Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria (pneumococcus) for everyone older than age 65, as well as for people of any age residing in nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
• Childhood vaccines. Children should be given the seasonal flu vaccine every year. Doctors also recommend a pneumonia vaccine for all children younger than age 2 and for children ages 2 to 5 years who are at great risk of pneumococcal disease, including those with immune system deficiency, cancer, cardiovascular disease or sickle cell anemia.

Treatment

Your doctor may recommend you a chest X-ray, blood tests and bacterial cultures of mucus produced by coughing in order to determine the cause of pneumonia.

In many cases, oral antibiotics are used. The type of antibiotic you need depends on the type of pneumonia. You can be treated at home. In some cases, other members of your family can be treated by this medicine to prevent disease.

Children can be hospitalized for the treatment if they have pneumonia triggered by pertussis or other bacterial pneumonia that causes high fevers and respiratory distress.