What is pneumonia?
Pneumonia is a disease that occurs when the lungs get inflamed, usually due to infection. It’s more common problem than most people think. Usually it’s a mild disease, but some forms are very dangerous and require a consultation with a doctor. An example is the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or SARS, whose cause and cure have yet to be discovered. About 30 different kinds of germs infect the lungs and cause pneumonia. Infected lungs leak fluids and shed dead cells. This material clogs up air sacs and makes it hard for the lungs to do their job of getting oxygen into the blood. Without enough oxygen, none of the cells in your body work as they should. Pneumonia can affect just one section of the lung or many sections of the lung. When both lungs are affected, it’s called double pneumonia. Pneumonia generally lasts about two weeks. But it may take a month or more for the infected lung or lungs to clear up. Thus, when recovering from pneumonia, even healthy people may feel tired or weak.
Causes
Viruses cause about half of all cases of pneumonia. Bacteria are the most common cause of pneumonia in adults over the age of 30. Fungi can also cause pneumonia. Many of these germs are all around us. They usually can’t get past a healthy person’s natural defenses. That’s why pneumonia is most common in elderly people, in cigarette smokers, in alcoholics, and in people suffering from other diseases such as flu.
Symptoms
1. Viral pneumonia usually comes with a combination of low fever and chills, muscle aches, fatigue, enlarged lymph nodes in the neck, chest pain, sore throat, and coughing. The cough generally brings up only a small amount of mucus.
2. Bacterial pneumonia usually comes with a combination of high fever, cough with thick greenich or rust-colored mucus, shortness of breath, rapid breathing, sharp chest pain that is worse with deep breaths, abdominal pain, and severe fatigue. There can be profuse sweating and mental confusion.
3. In children, labored and rapid breathing (more then 45 breaths a minute); sudden onset of fever; cough; wheezing; and bluish skin, lips, or fingertips are general signs of pneumonia.
4. Mycoplasma pneumonia is often very benign and resolves without any treatment. Symptoms can consist of violent attacks of coughing that bring up only a small amount of mucus. There are chills and fever; some patients become very weak for up to a month.
Fever as a symptom and why it should be managed at the onset
Fever is a common symptom among the kinds of pneumonia. That’s because fever is, by itself, the body’s warning signal that there is an infection. It is very important that fever not e ignored so that a disease, whether pneumonia or not, can be detected and further complications be avoided. In the case of pneumonia, the best thing to do is to manage your fever at the first sign.
Managing Fever at the Onset
Whether it’s mild or high, you should take Paracetamol to help alleviate your suffering from fever. Drink plenty of fluids and avoid physical and mental stress. It is also advisable to dress in light clothing so that you feel comfortable and your temperature can stabilize. After managing your fever, this does not mean that the rest of the symptoms should be taken lightly.
When to consult a doctor?
1. Your symptoms indicate you have any form of pneumonia. In many instances, you need immediate treatment to recover and avoid complications.
2. Your sharp chest pain does not get better with prescribed treatment; you have increased shortness of breath; or your fingernails, toenails, or skin becomes dark or develops a bluish tinge after diagnosis. Your lungs are not getting enough oxygen and you need medical assistance.
3. You cough up blood; you may need additional treatment for a worsening infection.
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