What is pneumonia?
Pneumonia is an infection which puffs up one or both the lungs by filling the air sacs with purulent materials. During this condition, the person coughs out pus or phlegm. It becomes difficult to breathe with regular chills and fever.
The seriousness of pneumonia can vary from person to person. It can be mild as well as life-risking, depending upon the immunity of the person. People with weak immunity tends to have pneumonia, besides that certain organism, including viruses, fungi, and bacteria are to be blamed for the same.
What causes pneumonia?
In general, pneumonia can be caused by bacteria, fungi, or virus. This infection fills the lungs with purulent materials of pus, causing inflammation in the alveoli of the lungs. Most of the times, our body fights with these bacteria and prevents them, but there are times when it fails to protect our body from the same.
Types of pneumonia :
3-Lobar pneumonia :
It affects one or more lobes of the lungs. Generally caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae.
2-Bronchial pneumonia
It affects patches in both the lungs, causing inflammation in both the lungs. It is also known as bronchopneumonia.
3-Community-acquired pneumonia :
It generally affects a person outside the hospital or any other health care centers. This is the most common type of pneumonia among all. Bacteria, Bacteria-like organisms, viruses, and fungi are the main reason.
The hospital acquired pneumonia tends to be more serious as it affects the person despite all the medications given to him/her. They’re even resistant to antibiotics.
Targets of pneumonia:
Although it can affect any age group, the risk gets high for people above the age of 65 years old and children of age two years and younger.
What are the symptoms?
The symptoms of pneumonia depend on various things starting from the organism that affected the body, age, health to immunity of the person. Pneumonia can affect new-borns as wells, but the symptoms seem to be very common at the beginning, which makes it difficult to diagnose.
With older people, pneumonia can even hamper their mental awareness
Mild signs, including cough and cold, are seen which at times last longer than required. Some of the common symptoms of pneumonia can be listed as below :
- Having severe chest pain while breathing, even at a normal pace which causes shortness in breath while performing daily activities.
- A change was seen in the mental health of the person, especially after the age of 65 years. Coughing out puss.
- The body becomes extremely tired even by doing small tasks. Fatigue hinders everyday task of the person.
- Having a high fever for a long time. The temperature stays 102°F or above.
- Nausea or vomiting.
- Having sudden chills without any reason.
Complications and treatment:
Complications are rare with people having pneumonia, but at times there are rare cases which embody complications. Bacteremia and septic shock, in this case, the bacteria spreads in the blood causing septic shock with fatal complications.
Along with that respiratory failure, renal failure, lung abscesses can be the complications involved with pneumonia.
The treatment depends on the type of pneumonia. When the symptoms are mild, it often gets treated at home, but for the serious cases, there is certain treatment according to the type. It is best to consume the prescribed medicines on time to cure the disease at a faster rate.
Bacterial pneumonia gets treated with the help of antibiotics like Augmentin. Consuming the complete dose of medicine ensures a permanent departure from the disease. Irregularity can bring it back. The improvement is seen within three days.
People with viral pneumonia are being prescribed with antiviral medicines. This treats a person within a span of one or three weeks.
Diagnosis:
Diagnosis of pneumonia can be difficult at times. The symptoms tend to be similar to that of regular flu or cold. When the symptoms persist for a longer time; it needs to be diagnosed with certain tests.
Conclusion:
Pneumonia can be mild for some and extremely serious for others. The seriousness of the disease depends on the health, age, and immunity. Children and people above the age of 65 gets seriously affected by the disease. Although with proper medications and positive approach, it leaves the person on time.