Mycoplasma pneumonia: a kind of bacteria and disease

These pathogens are the cause of acquired, usually outside of hospitals, pneumonia. The disease in this case begins gradually, not immediately, and because it is very easy to miss its beginning, which makes the disease caused by mycoplasma, dangerous. Mycoplasma pneumonia was isolated in the late 19th century, from several patients with bull pleuropneumonia.

In a man for the first time such a pneumonia was described in 1938. For that time it was a very unusual pneumonia, and therefore it was called atypical. Almost twenty years it was believed that the case in the virus, only later it was proved that the pathogen - mycoplasma pneumonia.

This kind of illness did not put the patients to bed at once, and nowadays many people also carry it on their feet. Although, of course, this can not be done.

What is mycoplasma? This is a special kind of bacteria, whose structure has characteristics, and therefore it must be taken into account when selecting a patient for treatment. Mycoplasma pneumonia has an unusual cell membrane, and therefore many types of antibiotics (beta-lactam, for example) do not have any effect on it. But it is vulnerable to the marcolids, tetracycline series and fluoroquinolones. Therefore, in principle, this pneumonia is curable, if diagnosed in time.

Mycoplasma pneumonia in children manifests itself brighter than in adults, especially if the child does not eat enough protein products (immunity decreases). However, the symptoms are the same, although a very small child can not tell about some of them, one has to show observation.

Air-droplet this type of pneumonia is transmitted most often. Mycoplasma settles on mucous membranes, takes nutrients from them and multiplies successfully by division. Both the upper and lower respiratory tract suffer from this pathogen. Possible bronchitis, pharyngitis and actually pneumonia. The disease is protracted, a large number of sputum is absent, and there are extrapulmonary symptoms, which makes its character atypical. There are suggestions that mycoplasma can provoke diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, so it is very important to detect it in time. Also, hemolytic anemia and encephalitis are probable, therefore it is impossible to start such a pneumonia. The price of the opportunity to endure the disease "on the legs" may be too high.

From other types of pneumonia, this is characterized by a relatively slow progression of symptoms. The analysis takes the liquid to be liquid. Mycoplasmas do not grow on blood agar, they also give an agglutination reaction after the 10th day of the disease. Effective for PCR diagnostics.

The most common are specialists who have to work with people a lot: staff of schools, shelters, and hospitals. More often young people fall ill, who are not yet 40 years old, the causes of the phenomenon are not completely clear, but this is a fact.

Symptoms occur gradually. These can be chest pains (sometimes confused with muscle pains), chills, dry cough, sometimes high fever. The patient sweats heavily, the head and throat ache. Less common is swelling of the neck, pain in the eyes or ears, a rash on the skin, shallow breathing.

What if you suspect this kind of pneumonia?

1. Shake the temperature with aspirin or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (eg ibuprofen). Attention: do not give aspirin to children !
2. Do not drink cough medicines other than those prescribed by your doctor. Some of them do not give a cough of phlegm and worsen the condition.
3. Use a lot of liquid to make it enough for the production of mucus and the subsequent coughing up of mucus with the pathogen.
4. Bed rest is necessary! Let someone else do something about the house.

Even without antibiotics, most of the pneumonia passes by itself. However, symptoms may be more than a month. If pneumonia is allowed to run, there can be complications. Get treatment right away!