The first symptoms of pneumonia usually resemble those of a cold or flu. The person then develops a high fever , chills, and cough with sputum. Common symptoms include :. Treatment depends on the type and severity of the pneumonia. Doctors commonly prescribe over-the-counter OTC medications to help manage the symptoms of pneumonia. These include treatments for reducing fever, reducing aches and pains, and suppressing coughs.
In addition, it is crucial to rest and drink plenty of fluids. Staying hydrated helps to thin out thick phlegm and mucus, making it easier to cough up. Hospitalization for pneumonia may be required if symptoms are especially bad or if an individual has a weakened immune system or other serious illnesses. In the hospital, patients are generally treated with intravenous antibiotics and fluids. They may need a supplemental oxygen supply.
In most children, the immune system can protect them from pneumonia. If a child does develop pneumonia, it is usually due to a virus. Symptoms include :. Treatment includes plenty of rest and a regular intake of fluids.
The doctor may suggest over-the-counter for abdominal problems, but cough medicines will not help. Adults should not smoke around children, especially if they have pneumonia. Bacteria and viruses are the main causes of pneumonia. Pneumonia-causing germs can settle in the alveoli and multiply after a person breathes them in.
They can be passed on through coughing and sneezing, or spread onto shared objects through touch. Here are more home remedies to try. You can help your recovery and prevent a recurrence by getting a lot of rest and drinking plenty of fluids. Take any prescribed medications as directed. If your symptoms are very severe or you have other health problems, you may need to be hospitalized. At the hospital, doctors can keep track of your heart rate, temperature, and breathing.
Hospital treatment may include:. Pneumonia may cause complications, especially in people with weakened immune systems or chronic conditions, such as diabetes. The first line of defense against pneumonia is to get vaccinated. There are several vaccines that can help prevent pneumonia.
These two pneumonia vaccines help protect against pneumonia and meningitis caused by pneumococcal bacteria. Your doctor can tell you which one might be better for you. Prevnar 13 is effective against 13 types of pneumococcal bacteria. The CDC recommends this vaccine for:. Pneumovax 23 is effective against 23 types of pneumococcal bacteria.
The CDC recommends it for:. Pneumonia can often be a complication of the flu, so be sure to also get an annual flu shot. The CDC recommends that everyone ages 6 months and older get vaccinated, particularly those who may be at risk of flu complications. This vaccine protects against Haemophilus influenzae type b Hib , a type of bacterium that can cause pneumonia and meningitis. Together with vaccination and additional prevention steps, you can help reduce your risk of getting pneumonia.
Here are even more prevention tips. A variety of infectious agents cause pneumonia. With proper recognition and treatment, many cases of pneumonia can be cleared without complications. For bacterial infections, stopping your antibiotics early can cause the infection to not clear completely. This means your pneumonia could come back. Stopping antibiotics early can also contribute to antibiotic resistance.
Antibiotic-resistant infections are more difficult to treat. Viral pneumonia often resolves in 1 to 3 weeks with at-home treatment. In some cases, you may need antivirals. Pneumonia that occurs during pregnancy is called maternal pneumonia.
Pregnant people are more at risk of developing conditions like pneumonia. This is due to the natural suppression of the immune system that happens during pregnancy. However, you may notice some of them more later on in your pregnancy due to other discomforts you may be encountering.
Maternal pneumonia can lead to a variety of complications, such as premature birth and low birth weight. Pneumonia can be a rather common childhood condition.
The causes of childhood pneumonia can vary by age. Fungi can induce pneumonia, too. The infection causes inflammation in the air sacs of the lungs. This results in a buildup of fluid that makes it hard to breathe.
Pneumonia can be a medical emergency, especially among high-risk groups like people over 65 and children 5 or younger. Pneumonia typically affects the lungs, but complications can lead to problems in other areas of the body, too.
These can be very serious and even deadly. Your risk, treatment, and recovery time depend on what caused the infection, your age, and any additional health issues you had before getting pneumonia.
A bacteria or virus enters the body through an airway. Once the infection gets into the lungs, inflammation causes air sacs, called alveoli, to fill up with fluid or pus. This can lead to trouble breathing, coughing, and coughing up yellow or brown mucus. Breathing may feel more difficult or shallow. You may experience chest pain when you take a deeper breath. The buildup of fluid in and around the lungs leads to more complications.
Fluid that collects in one area is called an abscess. Fluid that forms between the covering of the lungs and inner lining of the chest wall is called a pleural effusion. An infected pleural effusion will need to be drained. A chest tube is usually used to do this. If the infection and fluid buildup get severe enough, it can stop the lungs from doing their job. When the lungs are unable to add oxygen to the blood and remove carbon dioxide at the correct levels, respiratory failure can occur.
Signs of respiratory failure include:. This fungus frequently causes pneumonia in people who have AIDS. Some doctors may suggest an HIV test if they think that Pneumocystis jiroveci is causing the pneumonia. A healthy person's nose and throat often contain bacteria or viruses that cause pneumonia. Pneumonia can develop when these organisms spread to your lungs while your lungs are more likely to be infected.
Examples of times when this can happen are during or soon after a cold or if you have a long-term chronic illness, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD. You can get pneumonia in your daily life, such as at school or work community-associated pneumonia or when you are in a hospital or nursing home healthcare-associated pneumonia. Treatment may differ in healthcare-associated pneumonia, because bacteria causing the infection in hospitals may be different from those causing it in the community.
This topic focuses on community-associated pneumonia. Symptoms of pneumonia in otherwise healthy people often start during or after an upper respiratory infection , such as influenza flu or a cold. Symptoms may include:. When symptoms are mild, your doctor may call your condition "walking pneumonia. Older adults may have different, fewer, or milder symptoms, such as having no fever or having a cough with no mucus a dry or nonproductive cough.
The major sign of pneumonia in older adults may be a change in how clearly they think confusion or delirium or when a lung disease they already have gets worse. Some conditions with symptoms similar to pneumonia include bronchitis, COPD, and tuberculosis.
After you've been infected with a pneumonia-causing organism, it takes as little as 1 to 3 days or as long as 7 to 10 days for symptoms to appear. How severe pneumonia is and how long it lasts depend on:. In healthy people, pneumonia can be a mild illness that is hardly noticed and clears up in 2 to 3 weeks. In older adults and in people with other health problems, recovery may take 6 to 8 weeks or longer. If you have severe pneumonia, you may have to go to the hospital:.
If your pneumonia is caused by a virus or bacteria, you may spread the infection to other people while you are contagious. How long you are contagious depends on what is causing the pneumonia and whether you get treatment. You may be contagious for several days to a week.
If you get antibiotics, you usually cannot spread the infection to others after a day of treatment. You are more likely to have complications of pneumonia and need to go to the hospital if you:.
The faster you get treatment, the faster you will get over pneumonia. This is especially true for the very young, for people older than 65, and for anyone with other long-lasting chronic health problems, such as asthma. Call or other emergency services immediately if you:. Call a doctor immediately if you have:. Also call your doctor if you have new chest pain more than just discomfort when you cough that gets worse with deep breathing and if you have other symptoms of pneumonia, such as shortness of breath, cough, and fever.
Watchful waiting is a wait-and-see approach. If you get better on your own, you won't need treatment. If you get worse, you and your doctor will decide what to do next. Your family doctor or general practitioner can diagnose and treat pneumonia. You may be referred to a specialist in lung diseases respirologist.
Your doctor will usually diagnose pneumonia with:. The need for more tests often depends on how severe your symptoms are, your age, and your overall health. This is especially true for older adults and infants.
One example of a test you may have is the arterial blood gas test. If you are very ill, have severe shortness of breath, or have a condition that increases your risk such as asthma or COPD , your doctor may test your mucus. Tests include a Gram stain and a sputum culture. This test can identify some bacteria that cause pneumonia. This can help guide treatment for pneumonia. This fungus often causes pneumonia in people who have AIDS. If you have severe pneumonia, you may need other tests , including tests to check for complications and to find out how well your immune system is working.
Doctors use antibiotics to treat pneumonia caused by bacteria, the most common cause of the condition. Antibiotics have a high cure rate for pneumonia. Your doctor will choose your antibiotic based on a number of things, including your age, your symptoms and how severe they are, and whether you need to go to the hospital. The number of days you take antibiotics depends on your general health, how serious your pneumonia is, and the type of antibiotic you are taking.
Most people see some improvement in symptoms in 2 to 3 days. Unless you get worse during this time, your doctor usually will not change your treatment for at least 3 days. Getting started on antibiotics soon after getting pneumonia may help recovery. If there is no improvement or if your symptoms get worse, you may need a culture and a sensitivity test.
These tests help identify the organism that is causing your symptoms. These tests also help your doctor find out whether the bacteria is resistant to the antibiotic. If you do not need to go to the hospital for pneumonia, it is not usually necessary to identify the organism causing the pneumonia before starting treatment. If you do go to the hospital, you will probably have some testing to identify the bacteria.
You likely will not have to go to the hospital unless you:. Pneumonia also can be caused by viruses, such as those that cause the flu and chickenpox varicella. Antibiotics do not work to treat pneumonia caused by a virus. In most cases pneumonia is a short-term, treatable illness. But frequent bouts of pneumonia can be a serious complication of a long-term chronic illness, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD. If you have a severe long-term illness, it may be hard to treat your pneumonia, or you may choose not to treat it.
You and your doctor should discuss this. This discussion may include information about how to create an advance care plan. There are a number of steps you can take to help prevent getting pneumonia. Pneumococcal vaccines. Children get the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine PCV as a routine vaccination. Older adults age 65 or older and people who have some long-term chronic conditions also need the pneumococcal vaccine.
The pneumococcal vaccine may not prevent pneumonia. But it can prevent some of the serious complications of pneumonia, such as infection in the bloodstream bacteremia or throughout the body septicemia , in younger adults and those older than age 55 who have a healthy immune system.
Other vaccines can prevent common diseases that sometimes lead to pneumonia, such as:. Home treatment is important for recovery from pneumonia. The following measures can help you recover and avoid complications:. Your doctor may want to see you after a week of treatment to make sure you are getting better.
Be sure to contact your doctor if you do not feel better, your cough gets worse, you have shortness of breath or a fever, you feel weak, or you feel faint when you stand up. Be careful with cough and cold medicines.
They may not be safe for young children or for people who have certain health problems, so check the label first. If you do use these medicines, always follow the directions about how much to use based on age and weight. Always check to see if any over-the-counter cough or cold medicines you are taking contain acetaminophen. If they do, make sure the acetaminophen you are taking in your cold medicine plus any other acetaminophen you may be taking is not higher than the daily recommended dose.
Ask your doctor or pharmacist how much you can take every day. Doctors use antibiotics to treat pneumonia that is caused by bacteria.
Although experts differ on their recommendations, the first antibiotic used is usually one that kills a wide range of bacteria broad-spectrum antibiotic. There are many types of antibiotics.
Your doctor will decide which antibiotic will work best for you. In most cases, a doctor will prescribe antibiotics without first identifying the exact organism causing the illness. If you don't get better with your first antibiotic, your doctor may add a second antibiotic to cover other bacteria that are not being treated with the first one. Or you may have more testing to identify the specific organism that is causing the pneumonia. Sometimes doctors use two antibiotics when first starting treatment.
More and more bacteria are becoming resistant to certain antibiotics, making them less effective. An example of this is MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus , which is resistant to many types of penicillin. To help fight antibiotic resistance, ask your doctor how to take your antibiotics correctly , such as always finishing your prescription.
0コメント