Pneumonia is an inflammation of the lungs, an infectious disease caused by the presence of pathogenic bacteria in the body. Despite the apparent, at first glance, the simplicity of the inflammatory process, this disease can be very diverse. In most cases, pneumonia is a disease that manifests itself in such a way that it is rather difficult to immediately suspect abnormalities in the lungs.
This feature of this infectious disease is due to the fact that the age of the patient and the conditions in which bacteria develop is very important for it. The causative agents that provoke the development of pneumonia in a small child who is ill at home, and in an elderly person who becomes ill, for example, while in the hospital, are different. Therefore, the symptoms and treatments are also different.
Pneumonia is a disease, the development of which can be caused by viruses, unicellular fungi, bacteria. Depending on which pathogen has struck the body's immune system, the symptoms of the disease will differ. Pneumonia can be bilateral ifboth lungs are affected, and one-sided if only one of them is affected - for example, left-sided pneumonia. There are also lobar, segmental, focal and total varieties of the disease.
In practice, the most common bacterial pneumonia is an inflammatory process caused by a certain type of bacteria. Before the advent of antibiotics (drugs aimed at suppressing various pathogens), several hundred people died from this disease every year. Today, this infection responds well to treatment and, as a rule, does not cause any complications. The development of viral pneumonia in most cases is associated with the appearance in the human body of an adenovirus or influenza virus. This disease is quite difficult and very often has complications. Fungal pneumonia affects immunocompromised patients, such as those who are immunocompromised.
Among other things, hospital and community-acquired infections can be distinguished. The first is associated with the presence of a specific bacterial flora, which, as a result of a long stay in a hospital in a number of patients, can cause the onset of this disease. There is also aspiration pneumonia associated with the inhalation of foreign matter into the lungs, and congestive pneumonia, which develops due to prolonged bed rest or due to shallow breathing.
You can suspect the presence of this infectious disease with a prolonged increase in temperature, a protracted cold,severe weakness, cough and pain in the chest. If you have these symptoms, you should see a doctor as soon as possible. In some cases, the doctor will be able to make a diagnosis based on just listening to the lungs. However, the main way to diagnose pneumonia is a chest x-ray. Other necessary examinations include biochemical and general blood tests. Even though the patient is not required to be admitted to a hospital for further treatment, these studies and tests must be carried out to make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe appropriate therapy.
