What is pneumonia?
In pneumonia, one or both inflamed lungs.
What are the signs and symptoms of pneumonia disease?
- You need a lot of coughing, which you cough up mucus. This mucus may be colored or foamy.
- You have pain or pressure in the chest.
- You are cramped and short of breath. Breathing hurts.
- You feel feverish with chills, fever, headache and fatigue.
What causes pneumonia, How do you get pneumonia disease?
Pneumonia is usually caused by a bacterium, virus or fungus. It is often the result of a cold or flu. You can also get pneumonia after chokes on food or vomit. Especially if you are weak and can not cough properly.
How is pneumonia diagnosed?. If you have symptoms associated with pneumonia, the doctor listens with a stethoscope to your lungs. If they have doubts, let them make a chest X-ray or a CT scan. Let them investigate coughed up phlegm to see what is causing the inflammation.
The cause is a bacterium, you will get antibiotics. When you get a fungal medications. The cause is a virus, you should take it easy and drink plenty of fluids. There are no medicines against viral infection.
People who are very ill with the pneumonia to the hospital to recover. There they get medication and possibly additional oxygen or moisture through a drip.
Smokers, people with diabetes, people with COPD, drug addicts and people with AIDS are more likely to pneumonia than healthy people. The other groups are young children, the elderly, debilitated, cripple or unconscious people and those with poor immunity.
What is the treatment for pneumonia?
Very old people, people with anxiety symptoms or a heart or lung disease usually need some time to the hospital. The drugs they can get through a drip. If necessary, they also get extra oxygen or extra moisture. Sometimes it is necessary temporarily ventilator.
One problem in the treatment of pneumonia is that many pathogenic bacteria are resistant to the drugs. This means that the bacteria are no longer going to death. You must then use other drugs, and it takes longer before you are healthy again.
What can you do to prevent pneumonia disease?
In order to reduce the risk of pneumonia, you can do breathing exercises. Your doctor or physical therapist can tell you more about it. In people with muscle disease helps air stacking against the accumulation of mucus in the lungs.
Against certain forms of pneumonia is a vaccination. Vaccination protects for five years. Also, the flu shot reduces the risk of pneumonia disease. Get this always when you are in a risk group.