PNEUMONIA – EVERYTHING THAT ONE NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT IT

OVERVIEW

Pneumonia is basically the acute infection of the lungs. In this the alveoli which in simpler terms are air sacs that are present in the lungs, their inflammation takes place.

In normal conditions, when the person is healthy, the alveoli are filled up with air. The inflammation that is caused in these alveoli is either due to the fill up of these with pus (a purulent material) or with any kind of fluid, which causes various symptoms in the person.

There are various treatments that are available for this acute respiratory disease. Pneumonia can be both mild as well as very severe and life – threatening. Usually it is a mild disease but in some people especially in those who are immunocompromised, infants, younger children and adults over the age of 65 years are at a higher risk of getting a very severe infection of pneumonia.

 

WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENS IN PNEUMONIA?

• Pneumonia as already described earlier is an acute respiratory disease in which the alveoli, that is the air sacs of the lungs get filled up with water, pus or any other kind of fluid that can be infectious for the person.
• Pneumonia can be caused by any causative agent or microbe , wither it can be bacteria, fungi or virus
• as these micro – organisms causes the inflammation of the alveoli and fill them up with any kind of infectious fluid, this makes it difficult for the oxygen that we breathe to get into our blood stream during exchange of gases in the lungs.
• As the oxygen cannot reach our blood stream sufficiently, there might be drop down in the oxygen level saturation
• Pneumonia can range from being a mild disease and a severe disease as well
• The severity of the disease depends on various factors such as the type of micro – organism affecting an individual and causing lung infection, the overall health of the person and the age factor also plays a very important role in this.
• Pneumonia is one of the most common disease amongst people of any age whether it might be young children or older people

 

STAGES OF PNEUMONIA

There are basically four stages of this infection. The number of stage tells a person how mild or severe the infection is in an individual. The four stages on pneumonia are listed below :

Stage 1 :

• Stage 1 is named as the congestion stage
• Congestion in the initial stage of pneumonia
• This stage 1 occurs within 24 hours when a person comes in contact with pneumonia
• As this is the initial stage, quiet a few mild symptoms can be observed
• The lungs of the person will become heavy and red
• In this initial congestion stage, the person might experience some sort of deep breathing and coughing as the alveoli start filling up with the infectious fluid

Stage 2 :

• Stage 2 is the red hepatization stage
• This stage 2 usually occurs after 2 to 3 days of the stage 1, that is after 2 to 3 days of the congestion stage
• As the disease progresses further with this stage, the symptoms also keep on increasing
• The lungs now resemble the liver and become red, firm and airless
• In this stage, the avveoli will be containing many erythrocytes, neutrophils, epithelial cells and fibrin

Stage 3 :

• Stage 3 is named as the grey hepatization stage
• This stage occurs 2 to 3 days after stage 2, that is 2 – 3 days after the red hepatization stage
• As the name itself suggests, the lungs will appear to be grey, grayish brown or of yellow colour
• This decoloration of the lungs occur due to the disintegration of the red blood cells
• This stage is the late stage of pneumonia and a persistence of fibrin exudate can be seen in this stage

Stage 4 :

• Stage 4 is named as the resolution stage
• During this stage the individuals begin to recover from the infectious disease
• The immune system of the body tries to get the body rid of the infection
• In this stage the exudate that is filled up in the lungs experience progressive enzymatic digestion
• The debris that are produced through this process are then ingested and reabsorbed by the macrophages

 

SYMPTOMS OF PNEUMONIA

The symptoms of pneumonia may vary depending on what type of pneumonia it is and at what stage of the disease a person is. There are various symptoms of pneumonia, some of them below :

• Cough
• Fever
• Sweating and shaking chills
• Shortness of breath
• Rapid and shallow breathing
• Stabbing or sharp chest pain
• Worsening of chest pain while breathing deeply or during cough
• Loss of appetite
• Fatigue
• Feeling of low energy
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Confusion (this usually happens in older people, might cause Alzheimer’s disease)
• Headaches
• The coughing might produce phlegm

 

CAUSES OF PNEUMONIA

There are various causes of pneumonia, and the causes eventually depend on what type of pneumonia is it

Some of the causes of pneumonia are listed below

• Viral infection
• Bacterial infection
• Infection by fungi
• Influenza (flu)
• RSV infection
• Measles
• Chickenpox (varicella – zoster virus)
• Molds

 

DIAGNOSIS OF PNEUMONIA

If the doctor suspects that the person is having pneumonia, the patient might be suggested to undergo the following diagnostic tests. Some of the diagnostic tests are listed below :

• Physical examination
• Blood tests
• Chest X – ray
• Pulse oximetry
• Sputum test
• Computed tomography (CT) scan
• Pleural fluid culture
• Serology
• PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and enzyme immunoassays
• Bronchoscopy

 

TREATMENT OF PNEUMONIA

There a number of treatments that are available , some of them might require a hospital stay as well. The type of treatment a person receives depends entirely on the type and stage he or she is having. Following listed are some of the treatments that one might consider while undergoing a treatment for pneumonia :

• Antibiotics (in case of bacterial pneumonia)
• Cough medicine
• Fever reducers
• Pain relievers
• Hospitalization
• Drinking a lot of fluids (in case of viral pneumonia)

 

PREVENTION OF PNEUMONIA

There are various ways to prevent pneumonia or to reduce the risk of progressing the already existing pneumonia to another severe stage from a mild one. Following listed are some of the methods by which one can reduce the chance of being infected by the acute respiratory disease :

• By getting vaccinated
• Washing hands
• Maintaining proper hygiene
• Avoid smoking
• Being aware of general health