What are the Symptoms & Treatments of Pneumonia?

What is pneumonia and how it is treated :

Pneumonia develops as an infection of the lungs causing fluid buildup and inflammation in the lungs. Pneumonia is treated by prescribing medications like antibiotics, antivirals or anti-fungal depending on the causative organism and also by delivering IV fluids to prevent dehydration, oxygen therapy when you’re not getting enough oxygen and draining the fluids by catheter or surgery. It can also be managed by taking pain relievers and fever reducers, cough suppressants, breathing treatments and breathing exercises, using a humidifier to make it easier to breath and by drinking plenty of fluids. 

What are the symptoms of Pneumonia :

The main symptoms of pneumonia are high fever, fatigue, shortness of breath, sweating or chills, chest pain, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, increased heart rate, bluish discoloration observed in lips or nails along with mental altered state like confusion. In few cases, the symptoms can add up to dry cough, headache and muscle pain. Pneumonia in babies and children presents as fever, chills, general discomfort, flushed skin, increased sweating, cough, loss of appetite, vomiting, tachypnea showing rapid breathing, restlessness, lack of energy, fussiness and specially in babies as grunting sound with noisy breathing, pale skin, limpness, crying more than usual, difficulty in feeding and diapers that are less wet or a decreased amount of urine. 

What are the different types of pneumonia :

Pneumonia is categorized into different types based on the pathogen causing it such as bacterial pneumonia, viral pneumonia and fungal pneumonia. It is also classified on the basis of how one can get affected by it. They are community acquired pneumonia (CAP) which includes the causes like bacterial cause, viral, fungal and rarely protozoan, healthcare associated pneumonia (HCAP), hospital acquired pneumonia (HAP), ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) and aspiration pneumonia. Hospital acquired pneumonia is a serious kind compared to others and is caused by an antibiotic resistant bacteria most commonly Staphylococcus aureus.

Explain how pneumonia is diagnosed :

Pneumonia is diagnosed by physically examination the patient, taking the medical history and running tests for the signs of infection like chest X-ray or CT scan, blood tests to find out the organism, sputum test, pulse oximetry, pleural fluid culture, arterial blood gas test and bronchoscopy. It is caused mostly by bacteria in adults and due to virus in young children. The common conditions that can lead to this disease are common cold, COVID-19, influenza, legionnaires’ disease, human metapneumovirus (HMPV), mycoplasma pneumonia bacteria, pneumococcal disease and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The warning signs of pneumonia are something that should not be ignored. One should visit a doctor in case symptoms like shortness of breath, fever or cough with mucus, tiredness and when you feel less hungry.

Conclusion :

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