Pneumonia is serious?

Pneumonia is an inflammation of the lungs, an infection of an infectious nature, caused by the presence of bacterial pathogens in the body. Despite the seeming, at first glance, simplicity of the inflammatory process, this disease can be very diverse. In most cases, pneumonia is a disease that manifests itself in such a way that immediately it is difficult to suspect deviations from the lungs.

This feature of this infectious disease is due to the fact that for her very important is the age of the patient and the conditions in which bacteria develop. The causative agents, which provoke the development of pneumonia in a small child who fell ill at home, and in an elderly person who fell ill, for example, while in hospital, are different. Consequently, the symptoms and treatment methods also differ.

Pneumonia is a disease whose development can be caused by viruses, unicellular fungi, bacteria. Depending on which causative agent the body's immune system has been struck with, the symptoms of the disease will differ. Pneumonia can be bilateral, in the event that both lungs are affected, and one-sided, if only one of them is affected, for example, left-sided pneumonia. Isolate also share, segmental, focal and total varieties of the disease.

In practice, the most common bacterial pneumonia is an inflammatory process caused by a certain type of bacteria. Before the advent of antibiotics (drugs designed to suppress various pathogens) from the disease every year, several hundred people died. Today, this infection is well treatable and, as a rule, does not cause any complications. The development of viral pneumonia in most cases is associated with the appearance in the human body of adenovirus or influenza virus. This disease is very difficult and very often has complications. Fungal pneumonia is susceptible to patients with weakened immunity, for example, suffering from immunodeficiency.

Among other things, you can identify hospital and community-acquired infection. The first is due to the presence of a specific bacterial flora, which as a result of prolonged stay in a hospital in a number of patients can cause the appearance of this disease. There is also aspiration pneumonia associated with inhaling into the lungs of foreign matter, and congestive pneumonia that develops due to prolonged bed rest or because of shallow breathing.

To suspect the presence of this infectious disease is possible with a prolonged rise in temperature, prolonged cold, severe weakness, cough and pain in the chest. If you have these symptoms, you should consult your doctor as soon as possible. In some cases, the doctor will be able to diagnose on the basis of just listening to the lungs. However, the main way to diagnose pneumonia is chest X-ray. Other necessary tests include a biochemical and general blood test. Even with the condition that the patient is not required to be placed in a hospital for further treatment, these studies and tests must be carried out to establish an accurate diagnosis and appropriate therapy.