What Are Some Diseases Of The Lungs – Pneumonia is inflammation and fluid in your lungs caused by a bacterial, viral or fungal infection. This makes breathing difficult and can cause fever and coughing with yellow, green or bloody mucus. Influenza, COVID-19, and pneumococcal disease are common causes of pneumonia. Treatment depends on the cause and severity of the pneumonia.
Pneumonia is an infection in your lungs caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi. Pneumonia causes swelling (inflammation) in the tissue of your lungs and can lead to fluid or pus in your lungs. Bacterial pneumonia is usually more severe than viral pneumonia, which often gets better on its own.
What Are Some Diseases Of The Lungs
Pneumonia can affect one or both lungs. Pneumonia in both lungs is called bilateral or double pneumonia.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Effects Beyond The Lungs
While all pneumonia is inflammation in your lungs caused by an infection, your symptoms may vary depending on whether the underlying cause is a virus, bacteria or fungus.
Bacterial pneumonia is more common and more serious than viral pneumonia. A hospital stay is more likely to be required. Providers treat bacterial pneumonia with antibiotics. Viral pneumonia causes flu-like symptoms and is more likely to get better on its own. You usually do not need specific treatment for viral pneumonia.
We classify pneumonia by what pathogen (virus, bacteria or fungus) caused it and how you got it – community-acquired, hospital-acquired or ventilator-associated pneumonia.
You can get hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) while in a hospital or healthcare facility for another illness or procedure. HAP is usually more severe than community-acquired pneumonia because it is often caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria, such as methicillin-resistant bacteria.
Chitotriosidase: A Marker And Modulator Of Lung Disease
You can receive HCAP while in a long-term care facility (such as a nursing home) or an outpatient, extended-stay clinic. Like hospital-acquired pneumonia, it is usually caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
If you need to be on a respirator or breathing machine to help you breathe while in the hospital (usually in the ICU), you are at risk of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). The same types of bacteria that cause community-acquired pneumonia, as well as drug-resistant types that cause hospital-acquired pneumonia, cause VAP.
Aspiration occurs when solid, liquid, spit or vomited food moves through your windpipe and into your lungs. If you can’t cough, your lungs may be infected.
It can be difficult to tell the difference between the symptoms of a cold, the flu and pneumonia, and only a healthcare practitioner can diagnose. Because pneumonia can be life-threatening, it is important to seek medical attention for severe symptoms that may be signs of pneumonia, such as:
What’s The Connection? Your Heart Can Affect Your Breathing
Pneumonia can happen to anyone. It is a common disease, with millions of people diagnosed each year in the United States. About 55,000 people die of pneumonia each year in the United States. It is the most common cause of death in developing countries.
You don’t necessarily have all the symptoms of pneumonia. Symptoms can be different in children and older adults.
Symptoms of pneumonia depend on the cause. Symptoms can range from mild to severe. Babies, children, and older adults may have different symptoms.
Symptoms of viral pneumonia usually develop over several days. You may have symptoms similar to bacterial pneumonia or you may also have:
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Children and infants may have no symptoms of pneumonia or may have symptoms that are different from those of adults, including:
People over 65 or those with weakened immune systems may have milder or less noticeable symptoms of pneumonia (such as coughing and shortness of breath). Symptoms of ongoing health conditions may worsen. Older adults may experience:
Pneumonia can develop when your immune system attacks an infection in the sacs of your lungs (alveoli). This will cause your lungs to swell with fluid.
Many bacteria, viruses and fungi can cause infections that lead to pneumonia. Bacteria are the most common cause in adults and viruses are the most common cause in school-aged children. Common illnesses that can cause pneumonia include:
How Lung Cancer Progresses By Stage
Pneumonia isn’t really contagious, but the bacteria and viruses that cause it are. For example, the flu is contagious and can cause pneumonia, but most people with the flu do not develop pneumonia.
Pneumonia caused by fungi is not contagious. Fungal infections do not spread from person to person like viruses and bacteria.
To diagnose pneumonia, a healthcare professional will ask about your health history and perform a physical exam. They will listen to your lungs with a stethoscope and may perform or order additional tests. These include imaging (such as a chest x-ray), pulse oximetry (checking the level of oxygen in the blood), blood tests, or sputum tests.
Your doctor may perform tests that look at your lungs for signs of infection, measure how well your lungs are working, and check your blood or other body fluids to determine the cause of your pneumonia. This includes:
What Drugs Can Cause Breathing Problems?: Drugs & Your Lungs
Treatment for pneumonia depends on the cause—bacterial, viral, or fungal—and how severe your case is. In many cases, the cause cannot be determined and the treatment focuses on managing the symptoms and ensuring that your condition does not get worse.
Viral pneumonia often goes away on its own, but you should always follow your doctor’s advice to treat the symptoms and reduce the risk of serious complications.
Over-the-counter medicines and other home remedies can help you feel better and manage pneumonia symptoms, including:
If you are otherwise healthy, most symptoms of bacterial pneumonia usually improve within 24 to 48 hours of starting treatment. You may feel better after a few days of treatment for viral pneumonia. Some symptoms, such as cough and fatigue, may persist for several weeks.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (copd)
If you have bacterial pneumonia, you will not be considered contagious if the fever has gone and you have had antibiotics for at least two days. If you have viral pneumonia, you are still considered contagious until you feel better and are free of fever for several days.
The best way to prevent pneumonia is to vaccinate against the bacteria and viruses that often cause it. There are also everyday precautions you can take to help reduce your risk of pneumonia.
There are two types of vaccines (shots) that prevent pneumonia caused by pneumococcal bacteria. Like the flu vaccine, these vaccines do not protect against all types of pneumonia, but if you do get sick, it is less likely to be serious.
In addition to vaccination, you can reduce the risk of getting and spreading pneumonia with some healthy habits:
Common Lung Disorders & Their Causes
If you are otherwise healthy, you can recover quickly from pneumonia if you get prompt care. However, pneumonia can be life-threatening if left untreated, especially if you have an underlying health condition.
Even those who have been successfully treated and make a healthy recovery may still face long-term health problems. After recovering from pneumonia, you may experience:
If you have a severe case of pneumonia or complications, you may need to stay in the hospital for treatment. You are more likely to be hospitalized for pneumonia if you are:
If you have been admitted to the hospital with pneumonia, it may take six to eight weeks to return to normal.
Diseases Of The Lung Anatomical Chart: Anatomical Chart Company: 9781587799082: Pulmonary & Thoracic Medicine: Amazon Canada
As you begin to recover from pneumonia, your temperature will probably return to normal at first. After that, you may notice that you are coughing up less mucus. Feeling that you are ready to return to some of your normal activities is a good sign that you have improved.
You can usually resume your normal activities if your symptoms are gone, mild or improving and you do not have new or worse:
If you are generally healthy, most people feel well enough to return to previous activities in about a week. However, it may take about a month to completely return to normal.
Especially if you are sick or have an underlying health condition, call your doctor if you have new or worse:
What Does Decreased Lung Capacity Mean?
Yes, while fever is common with pneumonia, it is possible to have pneumonia with a low fever or no fever. This is more likely if:
Pneumonia is not usually treated differently in children. However, children may be at greater risk of severe illness from pneumonia. They are also more likely than adults to be admitted to the hospital for treatment.
With so many different causes and symptoms, pneumonia can seem confusing. It can be worrying to wonder if your symptoms could mean something more serious is going on. High fever, bloody or unusual colored mucus, chest pain and shortness of breath are symptoms that should not be ignored. Do not hesitate to seek medical help when your body tells you that something is not right.
The Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse Cleveland Clinic products or services. Political pulmonology (/ˌ pʌ lmə nɒlədʒi /, /ˌ pʊ lməˈnɒlədʒi /, from Latin pulmo, -onis “lung” and Greek suffix -λογία -logia “study”), pneumology (/nʊˈmədʒi, Greek: nʊˈmɒləməʒνύ, nəmɒləməməməməməməməmən lungs”) or pulmonology
Everyday Life Choice To Prevent Lung Diseases
(/nʊmənˈɒlədʒi, njʊ -/) is a medical specialty that deals with diseases involving the respiratory tract.
Pulmonology is considered a branch of internal medicine, and is related to intensive care medicine. Pulmonology often involves the management of patients who require life support and mechanical ventilation. Pulmonologists are specially trained
What are some diseases of the heart, what are some rare diseases, what are some diseases of the liver, what are some gum diseases, what are the diseases of the lungs, what are some diseases of the pancreas, what are some diseases of the brain, what are some of the autoimmune diseases, what are some diseases of the eye, diseases of the lungs, what are some diseases of the kidney, what are some diseases
