What is pneumonia and when can it be suspected?
Pneumonia is an inflammatory process that develops in one or two lungs at the same time. As a rule, pneumonia has an infectious etiology: it can be triggered by viruses, fungi or pathogenic bacteria. The purpose of treating pneumonia in adults is always variable and depends on what kind of disease is diagnosed.
The pathology in question may be the result of a common cold. Therefore, if characteristic symptoms of pneumonia occur, it is necessary to consult a family doctor as soon as possible.
Types and symptoms of pneumonia
The clinical manifestations of pneumonia are largely determined by the cause of the disease, as well as the prevalence of the infiltrative process in the lung tissue. By the volume of the lesion, they are distinguished: focal, polysegmental, lobar. Also, the process can be one- or two-sides.
Common manifestations of pneumonia are general weakness, fatigue, chills, and a sharp rise in body temperature up to 38-40 C.
A common symptom is a dry cough, which eventually becomes moist with difficult-to-discharge sputum. When, with pneumonia, it is involved in the pleura process, this is accompanied by a pronounced pain syndrome, which increases when trying to take a deep breath. A severe course of pneumonia is often accompanied by shortness of breath, pallor or blueness of the skin in the area of the nasolabial triangle.
In children, the elderly, symptoms of intoxication can significantly predominate in the clinical picture. Depending on the volume of damage to the lung tissue, focal, lobar and total forms of pneumonia are distinguished. Focal pneumonia develops gradually: the temperature rises, a dry cough appears.
Croupous pneumonia begins with an increase in body temperature to 39-40 C, severe chills, pain in the chest, and coughing. The disease may be accompanied by shortness of breath, red cheeks, which is more pronounced on the affected side.
Daily fluctuations in body temperature with pneumonia can be within 1.5 degrees. The increase is observed most often in the evening. As a rule, jumps in body temperature with timely medical intervention last up to 3 days.
With lobar pneumonia, blood streaks may appear in the sputum of a patient.
Doctors must also carry out a complete diagnosis and differentiate pneumonia from tuberculosis - the symptoms of these diseases are identical.
Types by condition of occurrence
There are community-acquired pneumonia and hospital-acquired pneumonia. A hospital-acquired form is considered a form that develops in a hospital 48 hours after the patient is hospitalized for other indications. This type of pneumonia is distinguished due to the characteristics of the course and treatment, since in the conditions of hospitals and hospitals, strains of infectious pathogens that are resistant to antibiotic therapy often develop.
The aspiration form, which develops as a result of the contents of the oral cavity, nasopharynx or stomach entering the lower respiratory tract, as well as foreign particles in the form of solids. Bacterial pathogens found in aspiration masses or objects develop and cause a severe type of inflammation with purulent complications: the production of purulent sputum, difficulty in its transportation and significant damage to the lung tissue.
General rules for the treatment of pneumonia
Before starting therapy aimed at getting rid of the pathology, the patient must undergo a full examination. Any diagnostic and therapeutic procedures/manipulations are carried out only in a hospital. If pneumonia is diagnosed without fever and cough, specialists must rule out other respiratory diseases - for example, tuberculosis or oncology.
The choice of the treatment regimen and the specific selection of drugs is carried out on an individual basis. But there is also a general principle of therapy for the inflammatory process in the lungs:
- Antibacterial drugs. Must be appointed in any case. If pneumonia proceeds typically and without complications, then antibiotics are prescribed in tablets/capsules, in all other cases, intravenous drugs are administered.
- Symptomatic therapy. Used drugs such as mucolytics, mucokinetics, and antipyretic drugs. The purpose of these drugs is to relieve symptoms, which improves the course of the disease.
- Physiotherapy. If a patient has unilateral pneumonia without coughing and a critical increase in temperature, then they can be prescribed a variety of physiotherapeutic procedures.
Additional methods are also used, which include herbal treatments and breathing exercises.
Usually the course of treatment lasts from 10 days to two weeks.
Remember that self-medication is fraught with the development of serious complications. A timely and competent course of treatment is the only way to avoid the development of severe complications.










