Walking pneumonia symptoms typically come on slowly and include sore throat, headache, malaise and low-grade fever – which tend to be less severe than they are with pneumonia. In fact, symptoms of walking pneumonia may be so mild that they don't affect your ability to carry out your day-to-day routine.
Walking pneumonia is usually treated with antibiotics. Your cough may last for 2 to 3 weeks after the infection has been treated. You may have some wheezing too. These symptoms will go away over time.
Most walking pneumonia symptoms usually go away within 3 to 5 days, but a cough can linger for weeks or months.
You might have: Chest pain when you take a deep breath. A cough that may come in violent spasms. Mild flu-like symptoms such as fever and chills.
Bronchitis can also, however, bring on chest discomfort and wheezing. 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.
Untreated pneumonia can also lead to a lung abscess, where part of the lung tissue dies. And, in very rare cases, respiratory failure can occur. These complications can be reduced, or avoided altogether, with prompt diagnosis and proper treatment. Your doctor relies on several tools to help diagnose pneumonia.
Bacterial pneumonia is more serious and often results in a gurgling sound when breathing and mucus or phlegm when coughing.
Walking pneumonia is typically mild and rarely requires hospitalization. The symptoms can feel like a bad cold, but they often go away on their own in less than a week. Getting plenty of rest and managing symptoms at home can help you stay comfortable during your recovery.
Pneumonia can be life-threatening if left untreated, especially for certain at-risk people. You should call your doctor if you have a cough that won't go away, shortness of breath, chest pain, or a fever. You should also call your doctor if you suddenly begin to feel worse after having a cold or the flu.
Rizzo notes that walking pneumonia is treatable with antibiotics if your doctor believes bacteria to be the cause. Over-the-counter medications can also be used to relieve symptoms, such as antihistamines for nasal congestion or cough medications to help ease the cough and loosen any mucus (sputum).
Condition requires immediate medical attention. While most cases of walking pneumonia are likely to reach a resolution without any treatment, it would be better for the patient to visit a doctor as soon as persistent symptoms are observed.
Walking pneumonia is often caused by a type of bacterium that produces milder symptoms that come on more gradually than do those of other types of pneumonia. The illness often is brought home by young children who contract it at school.
Drink warm beverages, take steamy baths and use a humidifier to help open your airways and ease your breathing. Contact your doctor right away if your breathing gets worse instead of better over time. Stay away from smoke to let your lungs heal. This includes smoking, secondhand smoke and wood smoke.
Pneumonia or Chest Infection
Those who suffer from pneumonia or a chest infection can feel upper back pain, or pain throughout the torso, when they breathe. These conditions usually come with fever, coughing up green or yellow mucus, and other indicative symptoms.
Symptoms may include: A cough, which may be productive of sputum that is clear, yellow, or green. (It's important to note that the cough associated with pneumonia can appear similar or identical to the cough associated with other lung infections such as bronchitis.) A high fever and chills (sometimes shaking chills)
However, if you have other respiratory illnesses such as bronchitis or pneumonia with COVID-19, you may have a wet cough that contains mucus. Does coughing up mucus mean you're getting better? In most cases, coughing up mucus means your body is working to fight off an infection, and it is in the healing stages.
Common symptoms of pneumonia include: a cough – which may be dry, or produce thick yellow, green, brown or blood-stained mucus (phlegm) difficulty breathing – your breathing may be rapid and shallow, and you may feel breathless, even when resting. rapid heartbeat.
Pneumonia impacts sleep by making it difficult to breathe while lying in bed. The pain or discomfort from the illness may also prevent you from sleeping, or excessive coughing and congestion can keep you awake.
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.
Walking pneumonia is a milder form of pneumonia. Their symptoms are similar, but walking pneumonia has a low fever and a cough that doesn't produce phlegm (dry cough). Pneumonia has a higher fever (101 to 105 degrees F, or 38 to 40 degrees C) and a cough that produces phlegm (wet or productive cough).
Drinking warm fluids, breathing in steam, and trying deep breathing and controlled coughing techniques may all help you clear mucus in the lungs without medication.
When mucus starts to build up or trickle down the back of the throat, this is known as postnasal drip. Causes of postnasal drip include infections, allergies, and acid reflux. As well as feeling the need to clear the throat frequently, a person with postnasal drip may also experience: a sore throat.