Health Matters: Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an inflammation of the airspaces in the lung most commonly caused by infections. Bacteria, viruses, or fungi can cause the infection. There are also a few non-infectious types of pneumonia that are caused by inhaling or aspirating foreign matter or toxic substances into the lungs. Pneumonia is more common in elderly people and often occurs when the immune system becomes weakened via a prior infection or another condition.

Pneumonia is generally more serious when it affects older adults, infants and young children, those with chronic medical conditions, or those with weakened immune function.

Different Types of Pneumonia

There are often references to pneumonia based upon the way that the infection is acquired, such as community-acquired pneumonia or hospital-acquired pneumonia.

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) develops outside of the hospital or health-care environment. It is more common than hospital-acquired pneumonia.

Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) is acquired when an individual is already hospitalized for another condition. HAP is generally more serious because it develops in ill patients already hospitalized or under medical care for another condition.

Contagious period for pneumonia

It is impossible to say with certainty exactly how long an adult or child with pneumonia is contagious, since this varies according to the type of germ or organism that caused the pneumonia. This contagious period can range from one to two days to weeks. In general, while an infected person is coughing or sneezing, there is the potential to release contaminated droplets into the air.

Also, a variety of respiratory infections can turn into pneumonia.

Risk Factors For Pneumonia

There are a number of factors that increase the risk of developing pneumonia. A weakened immune system, either due to disease such as HIV/AIDS or cancer, medications that suppress immune function; infants and children 2 years of age or younger; age 65 and older; having a chronic disease such as cystic fibrosis, COPD, sickle cell anemia, asthma, heart disease, diabetes; swallowing or coughing problems, as may occur following stroke or other brain injury; being a patient in an intensive-care unit of a hospital, particularly if on ventilator support; malnutrition; and cigarette smoking are  some of these risk factors.

Signs And Symptoms Of Pneumonia

Severe symptoms of pneumonia include: cough, chest pain when breathing or coughing, laboured breathing or shortness of breath, coughing up phlegm, fever, chills, and fatigue. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea are other possible symptoms that can accompany the respiratory symptoms.

Infants and newborns may not show specific symptoms of pneumonia. Instead, the baby or child may appear restless or lethargic. A baby or child with pneumonia may also have a fever or cough or vomit. Older adults or those who have weak immune systems may also have fewer symptoms and a lower temperature. A change in mental status, such as confusion, can develop in older adults with pneumonia.

Treatment

Antibiotic medications are the treatment of choice for pneumonia caused by bacterial and fungal infections. The exact choice of medications depends on many factors, including the following: the organism responsible for the infection, the likelihood that the organism is resistant to certain antibiotics and the patient’s underlying health condition

It is not possible to prevent all types of pneumonia, but one can take steps to reduce the chance of contracting the condition by quitting smoking, practicing good hand-washing and avoiding contact with people who have colds, the flu, or other infections.

Avoidance of areas where fungal pathogens are endemic is recommended to prevent fungal pneumonias.