Pneumonia is inflammation of the lungs, usually caused by a bacterial infection. Normally, the small sacs in the lungs are filled with air. If you have pneumonia, the air sacs fill up with pus and other fluid.
Early diagnosis of pneumonia and appropriate treatment not only reduces the severity of symptoms but also saves lives. Initiating treatment soon after onset of symptoms significantly slows down the progression of the pneumonia infection.
Although pneumonia is not contagious, the respiratory viruses and bacteria that lead to it are. When these germs are in someone’s mouth or nose, that person can spread the illness through coughs and sneezes.
The germs can also spread if someone shares drinking glasses and eating utensils with an infected person or touches their used tissues or handkerchiefs.
If someone in your home has a respiratory infection or throat infection, keep their drinking glasses and eating utensils separate from those of other family members and wash your hands well and often, especially if you are handling used tissues or dirty handkerchiefs.
Symptoms
Possible signs and symptoms of pneumonia include a cough that may be dry or you may cough up yellow, green or brown mucus.
Other symptoms include fever, chills, rapid breathing, breathing with grunting or wheezing sounds, working hard to breathe, vomiting, chest pain, belly pain, being less active and loss of appetite in older children or poor feeding in babies.
Seek immediate professional assistance if you have difficulty breathing, your lips or tongue are blue or you feel confused.
You must also seek urgent medical assistance if you start feeling short of breath, experience chest pain that becomes worse when you breathe in or out, are coughing up blood or have had a cough for three weeks or more.
Causes
Pneumonia is usually caused by a bacterial or viral infection. Bacterial pneumonia is the more common. Viruses are a common cause of pneumonia in young children. Almost all serious complications of Covid-19 feature pneumonia.
Pneumonia can also be caused by a fungal infection. This is more likely to affect people with a weakened immune system.
Other causes include breathing in vomit, having a foreign object such as a peanut accidentally getting into a lung, breathing in harmful substances such as smoke and being on a ventilator to help you breathe while being treated in hospital.
Types of bacterial pneumonia include pneumococcal pneumonia, mycoplasma or walking pneumonia and pertussis, which is also referred to as whooping cough.
Diagnosis
Your doctor will examine you, checking your appearance, breathing pattern and vital signs. He or she will also listen to your lungs and may ask you to have a chest X-ray for further analysis.
Treatment
Early diagnosis and treatment of pneumonia can significantly reduce the severity of the symptoms as well as the recovery period.
People who have viral pneumonia do not need antibiotics, as antibiotics only work against bacteria, not viruses. Someone with viral pneumonia from the flu virus or Covid-19 might be prescribed an antiviral medicine if it is early in the illness.
If you have bacterial pneumonia your doctor will treat it with an antibiotic taken orally, meaning by mouth. In most cases this treatment can be done at home. The antibiotic your doctor will use depends on the type of bacteria thought to have caused the pneumonia.
Some children might need treatment in hospital if the pneumonia causes a lasting high fever or breathing problems, or if they need oxygen, are vomiting and cannot take medicine or have a lung infection that may have spread to the bloodstream.
Hospital treatment can include intravenous (IV) antibiotics given into a vein, together with fluids and breathing treatments. More serious cases might be treated in the hospital’s intensive care unit.
Children with pneumonia need plenty of rest and should drink plenty of liquids while the body works to fight the infection. Medication is available to reduce a fever.
It is not advisable to give aspirin to your child or teenager as it is linked to a rare but serious illness called Reye syndrome, which can lead to liver failure and death.
If the doctor thinks that your child might have bacterial pneumonia, he or she will prescribe antibiotics. Give the medicine on schedule for as long as directed. Doing so will help your child recover faster and help prevent the infection from spreading to others.
If your child is wheezing, breathing treatments may be recommended by the doctor.
Always consult your doctor before you use any medicine to treat your child’s cough. Over-the-counter cough and cold medicines are not recommended for children under six years old. If your child does not seem to be feeling better within a few days, call your doctor for advice.
Recovery period
With treatment, most types of bacterial pneumonia are cured within one or two weeks. Walking pneumonia and viral pneumonia may take four to six weeks to go away completely.
Prevention
Some types of pneumonia can be prevented by vaccines. Children usually receive routine vaccines against Haemophilus influenzae, pneumococcus and whooping cough beginning at two months of age.
These vaccines are particularly important for children who have a chronic illness such as a heart or lung disorder or asthma. The type of vaccine recommended is based on the child’s age and medical condition.
When possible, keep children away from anyone with symptoms of infection such as a stuffy or runny nose, sore throat or a cough and away from anyone who has been diagnosed with a respiratory infection.
During the Covid-19 pandemic masks were shown to be helpful in preventing the spread of viruses and bacteria that cause pneumonia. It is recommended to continue using them when necessary.
Practising good hygiene can also help you live a healthy life. Wash your hands well and often. Avoid close contact with people who are sick. Stay at home when sick to avoid infecting others.
Clean and disinfect surfaces that many people touch. Do not smoke and avoid excessive alcohol drinking. Maintain a healthy lifestyle to promote overall good health.
