As pneumonia progresses, it has four stages: Congestion, red hepatization, gray hepatization, and resolution. You'll typically feel worse during the first three stages before feeling better during the final stage when the immune cells clear the infection.
Viral pneumonia in healthy people goes away in 1 to 2 weeks, but cough and fatigue may last for many weeks. Viral pneumonia can be serious and life-threatening in people with other medical illnesses.
Stage 4 (resolution) is the final recovery stage and occurs during days 8 to 10. Fluids and breakdown products from cell destruction are reabsorbed. Macrophages (large white blood cells) are present and help to clear white blood cells (neutrophils) and leftover debris. You may cough up this debris.
The radiograph still remains the reference standard for a medical diagnosis of pneumonia, and also helps to differentiate between bacterial and viral pneumonia. However, a combination of clinical symptoms, exam findings, and imaging is the best way to uncover the most likely culprit.
If your pneumonia is really severe or you have another serious health problem, your doctor may recommend that you get treated in the hospital. While there, you'll get antibiotics and fluids through a vein. You may also be given oxygen to help you breathe easier.
The typical pneumonia treatment plan consists of rest, antibiotics, and increased fluid intake. You should take it easy even if your symptoms begin to subside. Depending on the cause of pneumonia, your doctor may prescribe an antiviral medication instead of an antibiotic.
Bacterial pneumonia is usually more severe than viral pneumonia, which often resolves on its own. Pneumonia can affect one or both lungs. Pneumonia in both of your lungs is called bilateral or double pneumonia.
A blood culture test can be used to detect the causative virus in the blood; similarly, a nasal or throat swab test is done to look for viruses. For the accurate diagnosis of viral pneumonia, rapid antigen tests (ELISA tests) are very effective.
Don't try to run back to work and infect everyone else. Rest until you feel better. Whatever you do, don't smoke, it will only make your pneumonia worse. If your pneumonia is really severe or you have another serious health problem, your doctor may recommend that you get treated in the hospital.
See your doctor if you have difficulty breathing, chest pain, persistent fever of 102 F (39 C) or higher, or persistent cough, especially if you're coughing up pus. It's especially important that people in these high-risk groups see a doctor: Adults older than age 65.
Call your doctor. And see your doctor right away if you have difficulty breathing, develop a bluish color in your lips and fingertips, have chest pain, a high fever, or a cough with mucus that is severe or is getting worse.
Death commonly results from progressive sepsis, shock, and respiratory failure,8‐10,12 but the importance of heart failure, myocardial ischemia/infarction, and arrhythmia are increasingly recognized. Through these complications or others, pneumonia may also cause cardiac arrest.
Walking pneumonia usually indicates a more mild pneumonia caused by a bacteria called mycoplasma pneumoniae. If you have walking pneumonia, your symptoms will be mild and you'll probably function normally. Walking pneumonia symptoms include: Dry cough that's persistent and typically gets worse at night.
Pneumonia is contagious just like a cold or flu when it is caused by infectious microbes. However, pneumonia is not contagious when the cause is related to a type of poisoning like inhalation of chemical fumes.
Is it better to sit up or lie down with pneumonia? Whether you're in bed or resting on the couch, you may find it more comfortable to sit up or prop yourself up with extra pillows. That's because an upright position allows the congestion to drain from your nose and throat more easily.
SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and the influenza virus are the most common cause of viral pneumonia in adults. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common cause of viral pneumonia in young children. Most viral pneumonias are not serious and last a shorter time than bacterial pneumonia.
Pneumonia is swelling (inflammation) of the tissue in one or both lungs. It's usually caused by an infection, most commonly bacteria and viruses, which are both contagious.
A chest X-ray is often used to diagnose pneumonia. Blood tests, such as a complete blood count (CBC) see whether your immune system is fighting an infection. Pulse oximetry measures how much oxygen is in your blood. Pneumonia can keep your lungs from getting enough oxygen into your blood.
Typical antibiotics do not work against viruses. If you have viral pneumonia, your doctor may prescribe an antiviral medication to treat it. Sometimes, though, symptom management and rest are all that is needed.
While symptoms for either bronchitis or pneumonia can range from mild to serious enough to require hospitalization, symptoms such as fever, breathing problems, and chest pain tend to be more severe with pneumonia.
In some cases, viral pneumonia can lead to a secondary bacterial pneumonia. At that point, your doctor may prescribe antibiotic therapy. Your doctor will be able to tell if it has become bacterial pneumonia by a change in your symptoms or signs.
plenty of fluids – taken orally or intravenously. antibiotics – to kill the infection, if bacteria are the cause. medications – to relieve pain and reduce fever. rest – sitting up is better than lying down.
Azithromycin is a first-line treatment for healthy adults under age 65 with bacterial pneumonia. It is often paired with another antibiotic like doxycycline or amoxicillin. Azithromycin is currently being studied for its effectiveness in treating secondary bacterial pneumonia that is sometimes associated with COVID-19.
Viruses that infect the respiratory tract may cause pneumonia. Viral pneumonia is often mild and goes away on its own within a few weeks. But sometimes it is serious enough that you need to get treatment in a hospital.