Clinical Picture of Pneumonia

Pneumonia is the name given to the infection in the lungs. Bacteria, virus, fungi or even parasite can cause the infection. When these organisms enter the lungs, they sit in the air sacs and multiply there and thus their number increases and the infection also increases.

Symptoms

Usually the disease starts with infection in nose and throat such as common cold and shows it’s main symptoms after 2 to 3 days. Symptoms can be many and vary due to the depth of infection and age is also a criteria.

Common symptoms are cold, fever, loss of appetite, chills, rapid breathing, vomiting, pain in chest and stomach, reduction in physical activity and in severe cases the colour of fingernails and lips changes to bluish grey.

Rapid breathing is the main symptom in children, which is noticed. But if the infection were below in the lungs, near the abdomen then there would be no breathing problem. Symptoms appear faster if bacteria cause the infection than by other organisms.

Kids have high fever with chills but it goes away by taking some antibiotics prescribed by the doctors. Pneumonia that is caused by virus has slow symptoms and also takes long time to completely vanish.

Diagnosis

The doctor diagnoses pneumonia by hearing the breath sounds through stethoscope. He would advise some tests and chest X-ray. By the reports the extent of infection is known and the medication is started. This is very dangerous disease and many people die due to this.

Prevention

There are two types of vaccines available in the market. Infants should be given the vaccine when they are two years of age so that they are at low risk of developing the disease. Other vaccine is for adults.

Adults with disease like diabetes or some whose spleen is removed are at higher risk. People who drink alcohol and smoke are also at higher risk.

Taking rest and drinking plenty of fluids is good when you are infected by pneumonia.