Recognizing symptoms of pneumonia and how to succesfully treat it

Donya Betancourt, Pediatrician, drdonya@hotmail.com

Ever since the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome made headlines across the globe, pneumonia has been a hot topic.

Pneumonia is an inflammation and infection of the lungs. Your lungs are two spongy organs surrounded by a moist membrane (the pleura). When you inhale, air is carried through the windpipe (trachea) to your lungs in two major airways called bronchi.

Inside your lungs, the bronchi subdivide nearly 20 times into a million smaller airways (bronchioles), which finally end in clusters of tiny air sacs called alveoli.

There are mechanisms to protect your lungs from infection. In fact, you're frequently exposed to bacteria and viruses that can cause pneumonia, but your body normally keeps them from entering your lungs and causing a problem.

There are more than 50 kinds of pneumonia that range in seriousness from mild to life-threatening. In infectious pneumonia, bacteria, viruses or other organisms attack your lungs. The infection causes your lungs to become inflamed, making it hard for you to breathe. It often mimics a cold or the flu, so you may not realize you have a more serious condition.

In addition, symptoms of pneumonia vary greatly, depending on any underlying conditions you may have and the type of organism causing the infection. In case of bacterial infection, the symptoms that may develop after you have had a cold or the flu include a high fever, sweating, chest pain (pleurisy), and a cough that produces thick, greenish or yellow phlegm.

Viruses start with a dry (nonproductive) cough, headache, fever, muscle pain and fatigue. As the pneumonia progresses, you may become breathless and develop a cough that produces phlegm. When you have viral pneumonia you run the risk of developing a secondary bacterial pneumonia as well.

Another common cause is Mycoplasmas. These tiny organisms cause symptoms similar to both bacterial and viral pneumonia, symptoms appear more gradually and are often milder.

Fungus and parasites can be the cause too. Serious pneumonia can be life-threatening. See your doctor if you have a persistent cough, chest pain that fluctuates with your breathing (pleurisy), an unexplained fever, especially a fever of 38 degrees C or higher, or if you suddenly feel worse after a cold or the flu. During an examination, the doctor can detect with a stethoscope for abnormal bubbling or cracking sounds, known as rales, and for rumblings (rhonchi) that signal the presence of thick liquid.

Both these sounds may indicate inflammation caused by infection. A chest X-rays is needed to confirm the presence of pneumonia and to determine the extent and location of the infection or blood tests to check your white cell count, or to look for the presence of viruses, bacteria or other organisms. Send a sample of your phlegm to a laboratory to help identify the microorganism that's causing your illness.

Treatment for pneumonia varies, depending on the severity of your symptoms and the type of pneumonia you have. Doctors use antibiotics for bacterial infection, plenty of rest and antiviral medicine for virus.

In addition to these treatments, medication is given to reduce fever, treat your aches and pains, and soothe the cough associated with pneumonia. You don't want to suppress your cough completely because coughing helps clear your lungs.

If you have serious pneumonia, your breathing is very labored, you may be hospitalized and treated with intravenous antibiotics or put on oxygen.

Proper rest, a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains with moderate exercise all help keep your immune system strong. If you have pneumonia, try to stay away from anyone with a compromised immune system. When that is not possible, you can help protect others by wearing a face mask and always coughing into a tissue.

If you've been diagnosed with pneumonia, what you can do to help yourself recover faster is to get plenty of rest, drinks lots of fluids especially water, take the entire course of prescribed medications and follow up with your doctor to monitor your progress.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) "a world-wide health threat". As we know over 300 people have been affected by it in Southeast Asia since November 2002.

It is difficult to find the exact cause of this disease and until now no specific cause has been identified although it is presumed to be viral.

Scientists were able to isolate a virus from the tissues of two patients who had SARS and then used several laboratory methods to characterize the agent. Examination with an electron microscope revealed that the virus had the distinctive shape and appearance of a corona virus.