Pneumonia (inflammation of the lung tissue) is a dangerous lung disease. Therefore, the treatment of this disease should be treated with all seriousness. When it comes to residual effects after pneumonia, this term means a violation of various functions of the human body after an illness. If this is not given proper attention, then such residual effects can lead to undesirable consequences.
Causes of residual phenomena
During pneumonia, a certain secret accumulates in the alveoli of the lung. Due to the formed adhesions, the following occurs:
- narrowing of the lumen of the alveoli;
- blocking gas exchange;
- breathing disorder.
The lungs are an organ that should enrich the blood circulating through the vessels with oxygen. The place where this process takes place is the alveoli. Outwardly, they look like balls, in which there are a huge number of small blood vessels. Pneumonia affects the lung tissue, this also applies to the alveoli. The disease disrupts the respiratory function of the organ.
The transferred disease reduces immunity, the body's defenses are weakened, and this often causes the attachment of secondary infections. Therefore, the most common causes of residual effects after pneumonia are:
- strong effect on the body of viruses;
- presence of a chronic inflammatory process;
- impaired immune system, low immunity.
After suffering pneumonia, immunodeficiency often leads to the development of various diseases of the throat, nose, and bronchi. A person may develop a sore throat, cough, the cause of which may be bronchitis or laryngitis, a runny nose. If a patient with recent pneumonia comes down with the flu, the illness tends to be more severe.
It is very difficult for an organism weakened by pneumonia to fight foreign viruses that attack it. Quite often, the cause of diseases of the lungs and bronchi becomes a pathogen, which is called pneumococcus. This virus is transmitted through the air, and it is very difficult to protect yourself from it. According to statistics, the most common ailment after suffering pneumonia is bronchitis. Cough with such bronchitis is protracted and difficult to treat.
Symptoms of pathology
How to determine that pneumonia is defeated if the patient continues to cough? To do this, you need to take an x-ray of the lungs. Sometimes the residual effects after pneumonia on x-rays are observed as slight blackouts on the lungs. They can be wellsee on film.
After a person has suffered inflammation of the respiratory organ, his tissues may appear:
- spikes of various sizes;
- scars;
- pleurisy;
- endocarditis;
- pleurisy.
Microbes that are in the bloodstream prevent blood from circulating normally in the lungs. To get rid of residual changes after a recent illness, the patient is prescribed additional treatment, and rehabilitation in a special sanatorium is also recommended.
Consequences after pneumonia
Since the lungs and heart work in close contact with each other, it is quite common for lung disease to lead to heart failure. The infection, moving along the bloodstream, enters the cardiac organ and causes an inflammatory process in it, thereby disrupting its functions. This leads to endocarditis. With this disease, the heart membrane is affected and blood circulation is disturbed.
Respiratory tract infections
When a person gets pneumonia, other organs associated with the respiratory system are sometimes also involved in the inflammatory process. It can be the bronchi and the pleural membrane. How much they will be affected depends on how severe the inflammatory process is in the lungs and where exactly the focus of inflammation is located. Doctors consider lobar pneumonia to be the most severe, which captures all the lungs, pleura and most of the bronchi.
To eliminate the inflammatory process in the lungs,antibiotic therapy is prescribed. The treatment process is easy to control using x-rays. But bronchitis as a residual phenomenon of pneumonia in the picture can be overlooked. This happens when the doctor is inexperienced or the x-ray equipment is of poor quality.
Sometimes inflammation of the pleura and different parts of the bronchi disappear on their own, and sometimes the disease drags on for a long time. The reason for this may be early termination of antibiotic therapy. Such a phenomenon can lead to the fact that the tissues of the bronchial tree or pleura are replaced by connective tissues. This pathology causes a decrease in respiratory function. It is almost impossible to completely remove it.
The fact that antibiotic therapy is over, and the inflammatory process continues, is evidenced by the following facts:
- continuous cough;
- body temperature does not return to normal;
- presence of pain in different parts of the chest.
You can see the residual effects after pneumonia on the X-ray. To prevent them, treatment with antibacterial drugs should last from 10 to 14 days and no less. In addition to anti-inflammatory drugs, the patient must also take expectorant drugs.
Asthenic syndrome
Under this term are symptoms that are popularly called a general breakdown. Asthenic syndrome manifests itself in the following:
- it is difficult for a person to cope with even the smallest load;
- even mental work is given withhard work;
- during the daytime, rapid fatigue appears;
- even in the morning, immediately after sleep, a person feels tired.
To quickly get rid of asthenic syndrome, doctors recommend the following:
- after the end of antibiotic therapy, take vitamin complexes;
- the patient's diet should contain as many vegetables, fruits and protein foods as possible;
- outdoor walks are very useful for a convalescent person, only they should be moderate and not too tiring;
- should delay going to work, even if it does not require the use of physical effort, physical activity should be increased gradually and a sparing regimen should be observed for at least a week after the end of the acute period of the disease.
Dysbacteriosis
Residual effects after pneumonia in both children and adults can manifest themselves in violation of the normal intestinal microflora. Also, such a pathology can be caused by a side effect of strong antibiotics. Dysbacteriosis has the following symptoms:
- liquid stool, but no pathological impurities;
- discomfort in the intestines;
- bloated belly;
- frequent belching, nausea and vomiting rarely.
To prevent dysbacteriosis, it is necessary, while taking antibiotics, to simultaneously use drugs belonging to the group of prebiotics or probiotics. Prebiotics contain variousnutrients that stimulate the patient's own intestinal microflora. Probiotics are useful lacto- and bifidobacteria, which, getting into the human intestine, displace pathogenic microflora from it.
If prevention has not been done in a timely manner and dysbacteriosis has developed, then these drugs are used to treat it. You should know that it will not be possible to quickly cure the pathology, this is a rather laborious and lengthy process.
Immunodeficiency
A person who has had pneumonia often develops a so-called secondary immunodeficiency. It is characterized by increased susceptibility to various infections. To prevent this from happening, it is recommended:
- do not overload yourself physically;
- do not get cold;
- eat well;
- take a multivitamin.
How to treat
Residual effects after pneumonia will disappear quite quickly and easily if the treatment of this disease was carried out correctly and the patient paid due attention to his he alth during rehabilitation.
As pneumonia itself, as well as the drugs used to treat it, have a negative effect on the body. Exhausting cough, constant temperature, antibiotics and other drugs deplete the patient's immune system. Therefore, in order to fully recover from illness, doctors recommend following some rules.
You should dress according to the weather, avoiding even the slightest hypothermia. Due to the fact that the immune system is weakened after an illness, cold cancause a new disease. But this does not mean that you need to abandon walks in the fresh air. Such walks are very useful, as they improve lung function, prepare the heart for full loads after the final recovery. It should only be taken into account that walks should not be tiring.
After an illness, you should eat right. No special diet is needed, but the food should be wholesome, with plenty of vitamins. In the daily diet, you need to include a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits, reduce the amount of fat, it is recommended to steam meat dishes.
Don't overwork yourself too much at work, as this can worsen your overall he alth. It is also necessary to avoid various stressful situations.
Breathing exercises
This method of recovery from illness helps to improve gas exchange and reduce damage to the walls of the bronchi. Some recommended exercises:
- swing arms in different directions;
- squats;
- reading aloud, speaking tongue twisters.
Rehabilitation through massage
The impact of this procedure on the body, weakened by the disease, is difficult to overestimate. Massage does the following:
- blood and lymph circulation improves;
- adhesions decrease in lungs;
- chest mobility is restored;
- significantly improved overall he alth.
Folk methods
If a personif you are interested in how to treat the residual effects of pneumonia, then in addition to what has already been said, you can also advise using traditional medicine methods. After the patient has been ill with pneumonia, he may be haunted by a cough for another 1-2 months. The reason for this is the sputum that remained in the lungs after the illness.
In this case, grandmother's recipes may come in handy. They can be used as helper methods. Tinctures and decoctions of medicinal herbs are used both inside and for inhalation and rubbing. Treatment with folk methods helps to significantly reduce the rehabilitation time.
But if the cough is strong and does not go away for a long time, it is best to seek help from a doctor. The specialist will determine how dangerous the residual effects of pneumonia are on x-rays.
Complications after illness
Sometimes the complications can be more dangerous than the pneumonia itself. Therefore, it is very important to detect a complication as early as possible.
There are two types of complications - those that are localized in the lungs and those that are outside the lungs.
Pulmonary:
- lung abscess;
- pleurisy;
- lack of respiratory function;
- chronic bronchitis;
- appearance of the asthmatic element.
Extrapulmonary:
- myocarditis;
- pericarditis;
- hepatitis;
- meningitis.
Hospitalization period
Pneumonia is a fairly serious illness and is most often treated in a medical setting. Some patients ask the question: will they be dischargedwhether with residual effects of pneumonia? The length of stay in the hospital depends on the degree of the disease and on how effective the chosen treatment is.
Often 3-4 days are enough for successful treatment of this disease. But there are cases when the patient is still left in the hospital to monitor his condition. In complicated forms, the length of stay in the hospital can be up to 10 days. If the disease passes in a mild form, then the patient is discharged home after a few days, where he must continue the treatment on his own. At elevated body temperature, the patient must comply with bed rest. Also, while at home, the patient must follow all the recommendations of doctors.
