Pneumonia is a lung infection that can be caused by viruses, bacteria, parasites, or fungi. Symptoms include coughing, fever, fatigue, and chest pain. Diagnosis involves physical examination, blood tests, and chest X-rays. Treatment includes antibiotics and hospitalization for severe cases.
Pneumonia is an infection that causes lung inflammation and affects the respiratory system. Acute pneumonia is a short-term infection of the lungs. In most cases, the symptoms of acute pneumonia come on suddenly. Many people get lung infection from being in hospital and this is a type of pneumonia which is known as hospital acquired. People who get pneumonia who have not recently been hospitalized are said to have community-acquired pneumonia, which is the most common way of transmission of the infection.
The causes of pneumonia can vary. Pneumonia can be caused by a virus, bacteria, some type of parasite, or a fungus. Most commonly, the infection is caused by a virus, such as the flu, or more by a bacterium known as streptococcus pneumoniae. Typically, it is the inhalation of bacteria into the lungs that causes pneumonia. The bacteria typically make their way to the lungs through entry through the eyes, nose and mouth.
People with acute pneumonia usually have symptoms that appear very quickly. A heavy cough, which may be accompanied by thick mucus, is a very common symptom. Most people will also have a fever, which can get quite high. Some individuals with pneumonia will feel tired, have body aches, loss of appetite, and experience chills and sweats. Pleurisy, which is inflammation of lung tissue that often causes chest pain when you breathe in, can be another symptom.
A doctor will generally perform a comprehensive physical on a person suspected of having acute pneumonia. He or she will pay close attention to the sound of the patient’s lungs by listening with a stethoscope. Blood tests may also be given to look at the patient’s white blood cells, which can indicate the level of infection present. A chest X-ray, one of the more general-purpose diagnostic tools used to test for pneumonia, will also typically be done. The test will be done to visually analyze the amount of infection in the lungs.
Antibiotics can be used to treat a case of acute pneumonia. Sometimes, hospitalization will be needed to treat the infection. This will commonly be the case if a person is elderly, has an existing health condition, or is experiencing very complicated symptoms, such as extreme weakness, trouble breathing, dehydration, or a very high temperature. These patients may receive intravenous medications and respiratory treatments as needed. Most people will recover from an acute or short-lived case of pneumonia after completing the prescribed course of treatment, and some may need to be followed up for a period after treatment to ensure that the infection has completely cleared up.
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