About pneumonia

What is pneumonia?

Pneumonia is an inflammatory infection that develops in the lungs. This disease fills up air sacs with fluid or pus that leads to cough with phlegm, fever, and difficulty in breathing.

  • We inhale air from the nose or mouth that reaches to lungs through Trachea, commonly known as the windpipe. Afterward, oxygen will automatically travel to air sacs through bronchi surrounded by the network of fine capillaries (thin and tiny blood vessels).
  • In capillaries, the oxygen passes through the thin lining of the air sacs and diffuses in the blood vessels, and from here, the oxygen is passed all over the body. 
  • Accidentally, sometimes we inhale toxic bacteria and microorganisms that reach the alveoli. In alveoli, blood and lungs exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide. However, the unwanted bacteria thrives and multiplies, leading to a lung infection called pneumonia.
  • To fight and rupture the hazardous microorganism, our immune system activates and attacks the virus that causes our air sacs to fill with fluid. This fluid leads to lung inflammation resulting in oxygen to find difficulty tracking blood capillaries. This results in difficulty in breathing.
  • This infection inflames one or both lungs, filled up with fluid. If the infection has triggered both the lungs, then it is double pneumonia or walking pneumonia.

What are the symptoms for pneumonia?

Consequently, a person suffering from Pneumonia might reflect these symptoms:

  • Cough: A person with Pneumonia may experience a Cough with phlegm that gets worse by the 3rd day of infection. Along with this, the person might experience mild Chest pain while coughing. However, Shortness of breath is also noted in some patients.
  • Fever: In the beginning, Fever might seem like a normal virus but, if it stays longer than usual, the person must approach the doctor as soon as possible. Furthermore, Sweating and shaking Chills are frequent with fever. 
  • Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea: a person with Pneumonia is expected to experience stomach concerns, as it requires a healthy diet with a good supply of oxygen to digest food completely. In addition to this, the patient will experience mild to extreme Fatigue and weakness.
  • Cyanosis: it is a medical situation that leads to the turning of lips, tongue, and nails blue. In rare cases of pneumonia, a person might experience these situations. Since fluids in air sacks act as barriers to stop oxygen from accumulating in the blood. This pigment is the result of not receiving enough oxygenated blood.
  • Elders, especially people over the age of 65 years, experience Confusion or changes in mental awareness and Lower than normal body temperature. 

List of symptoms 

Chest pain while coughing,Fever,Nausea,Vomiting,Diarrhea

List of conditions

The patient will experience Difficulty in breathing and Fever due to fluid and pus in lungs,Double Pneumonia is when this disease triggers both lungs.

List of drugs

Levaquin (levofloxacin),Relenza (zanamivir),Cipro (ciprofloxacin),Oracea (doxycycline)

What are the causes for pneumonia?

There is not any particular cause for pneumonia, but usually, the reason is a virus. However, medical experts say that there are about 30 viruses that cause pneumonia. Some of the main causes are mentioned below:

  • Bacterial pneumonia: There are many types of bacterial pneumonia, but the most common type among them is Streptococcus pneumonia. A person can catch this pneumonia after a cold or flu, or it can occur on its own due to bacteria and germs already present in the body.
  • Fungi pneumonia: It is the most common type of pneumonia among people suffering from chronic health diseases or weakened immune systems, and people who have inhaled a large number of microorganisms. 
  • Viruses: Pneumonia can also be caused by a similar virus that causes flu and cold. However, influenza and adenovirus are some types of viruses that lead to pneumonia. This type of infection is most commonly found in infants and children below the age of 5 years.
  • Hospital-acquired pneumonia: This type of pneumonia acquired by hospitals is serious because the microorganisms causing it may be more resistant to antibiotics and because the people who get it are already sick. 

What are the treatments for pneumonia?

Here are some treatments that a patient can undergo to fight this disease.

  • Prescription medicine: The doctor may prescribe you the medicine that targets the microorganism causing pneumonia.
  • Oral antibiotics: If the pneumonia is caused by bacteria, then antibiotics are recommended for the sufferer.
  • Anti-viral: If the cause of pneumonia is a virus such as influenza or corona, then a medical expert recommends anti-viral to ease the discomfort.
  • Anti-fungal: Medication helps to cure pneumonia if the root cause is a fungus. Patients are recommended to take the medication to clear out the infection completely.
  • OTC medication: Over-The-Counter (OTC) or non-prescriptive medicines like aspirin, Motrin, and Tylenol are used to relieve the pain. 
  • Antibiotics: Injecting antibiotics in veins is done in severe cases if the person is not getting better with oral doses of antibiotics.
  • Respiratory therapy: Includes delivering medicine directly into the lungs to destroy the root cause or teaching the patient breathing exercise that can maximize the oxygen in the body.
  • Oxygen therapy: it maintains the oxygen level in the victim's bloodstream to receive oxygenated blood. The oxygen is supplied through a nasal tube, face mask, or ventilator, depending on severity.
  • Bronchoscopy: This procedure is done if the patient has inhaled an object that's causing pneumonia.

What are the risk factors for pneumonia?

Here are some factors that increase the risk of catching pneumonia: 

  • Pneumonia can target anyone, but children below the age of 2 and elderly people above the age of 65 have a high risk to associate with this inflammatory lung disease. 
  • If you are in a hospital intensive care unit (ICU), especially the machine that helps a person to breathe, then you are at superior risk of Pneumonia.
  • A person with asthma, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (copd), or heart disease is at a greater risk of pneumonia.
  • Smoking and vaping increase the risk of pneumonia. It damages your body's natural defenses against the microorganism causing Pneumonia.
  • A person with weakened immunity is prone to catch any disease, but pneumonia among that is more severe. 
  • A person with a habit of drinking regularly is more prone to the risk factor of pneumonia. The excessive alcohol content in the body flushes out the natural defenders that fight pneumonia. 
  • A person victim of HIV/AIDS has a higher risk of being a victim of pneumonia. These 2 diseases lower the immunity of the body and resist the body to recover. However, if a person with AIDS/HIV catches pneumonia, it will decrease his life cycle. 
  • A person with an organ transplant is associated with a high risk of pneumonia.

Is there a cure/medications for pneumonia?

Yes, pneumonia does have a cure and treatment if the situation is managed on time. It is an inflammatory infection in the lungs that causes pus and fluids to fill it up. 

Cure and medication for pneumonia:

  • Oral Antibacterial drugs like Zithromax and Vibramycinare advised if the root cause of pneumonia is bacteria. However, in severe cases, antibacterial is also injected into the veins.
  • Acyclovir and Ganciclovir are advised for patients with viral pneumonia. Patients are advised to consume it even after feeling better, so pneumonia doesn’t return.
  • Flucytosine, ketoconazole, and itraconazole are some common antifungal medications advised by doctors for fungal pneumonia. 
  • In severe cases, oxygen therapy is recommended for the patient to supply oxygen into the bloodstream.
  • Respiratory therapy includes delivering medicines directly into the lungs or teaching the victim breathing exercises.
  • Mild pneumonia can be treated at home with rest and antibiotics. However, it is recommended to drink plenty of fluids, so the lungs loosen up mucus in the lungs and help bring out the phlegm.
  • If you have weaker immunity, then take a shot of vaccination to prevent pneumonia. Prevnar 13 and Pneumovax 23 are recommended vaccines for children below age 5 and older than age 65, respectively. 

List of condition

The patient will experience difficulty in breathing and fever due to fluid and puss in lungs. Double pneumonia is when this disease trigger both lungs.

List of symptoms: 

  • Chest pain while coughing
  • Fever
  • Nauseous
  • Vomiting 
  • Diarrhea

List of drugs

  • Levaquin (levofloxacin)
  • Relenza(zanamivir)
  • Cipro (ciprofloxacin)
  • Oracea (doxycycline)

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