Pneumonia is an infectious disease that affects the lungs and can be caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi. Inflammation of the lungs is one of the most dangerous diseases in the world, despite the fact that there is a large arsenal of medications to fight the infection. The disease often proceeds without visible symptoms, so it is detected late. Late treatment leads to various complications. This article will discuss what complications occur after pneumonia, and how to identify them in order to start therapy in a timely manner.
Who is at risk?
Negative consequences of the disease most often occur in the following category of patients:
- older people;
- children, most often babies;
- persons with innate low immunity;
- weakened by oncological diseases, taking a large amount of medicines, HIV-infected;
- suffering from diseases of the respiratory system;
- having chronicdiseases - heart defects, diabetes, problems with the musculoskeletal system;
- received inappropriate treatment - drugs prescribed without analysis for effectiveness in combating the causative agent of the disease, self-medication;
- patients with total pneumonia;
- alcohol and smoking abusers.
Causes of occurrence
Complications after the disease appear as a result of:
- strong emotional stress;
- bad food;
- low immunity;
- frequent colds;
- malfunctions of the endocrine system;
- heavy operations;
- old age;
- smoking, drinking alcohol and drugs;
- non-adherence to treatment;
- incorrectly designed therapy regimen;
- severe intoxication of the body by pathogenic microorganisms.
Complications after pneumonia
All consequences after pneumonia are divided into two types according to the place of localization: pulmonary and extrapulmonary.
Pulmonary complications include:
- lung abscess and gangrene;
- different types of pleurisy and bleeding;
- bronchial obstructive syndrome;
- severe respiratory failure.
The most common extrapulmonary complications include:
- blood clotting disorder with formation of blood clots in small vessels (DIC);
- anomalies associated with the work of the heart andvessels;
- encephalitis and meningitis;
- all kinds of mental disorders;
- toxic-infectious shock (TSS);
- general infection of the body with pathogens through the blood (sepsis).
To the question of what complications can be after pneumonia, it should be answered that with the blood flow, an infection in the lungs can get into any internal organ and cause its disease.
Consequences of pneumonia in children
Pneumonia is an insidious disease, often followed by negative consequences that last a lifetime. It is very important to complete the course of treatment until complete recovery, because despite the improvement in the child's condition, the inflammatory process can continue. Recovery must be confirmed by a control examination. The most common and harmless consequence of pneumonia is a prolonged cough resulting from a damaged mucous membrane of the upper respiratory tract and the release of a significant amount of sputum. It may continue for several weeks after recovery.
In addition, often a complication after pneumonia in children becomes asthenic syndrome. It is manifested by mental irritable weakness, impatience, unstable mood, fatigue, intolerance to loud sound, bright light.
Physiotherapy helps to eliminate the consequences. Performing special massages, aerotherapy, breathing exercises help speed up the healing process.
Complicationspneumonia in children that appear immediately after illness
Some complications of the disease appear immediately after the first few days after the child's recovery or even during treatment. These include:
- Neurotoxicosis. In children, this disease is the body's response to an infection. When sick, the child shows increased activity, can cry for a long time, throw tantrums. After a while, his mood changes dramatically. Animation disappears, lethargy, depression, indifference to others appear. Then, after a while, a high temperature rises, up to 40 degrees, which cannot be reduced. Against the background of heat, convulsions occur with possible respiratory arrest.
- Waterhouse-Friderichsen Syndrome. This is a severe pathology that develops with hemorrhages in the adrenal cortex. A complication after pneumonia, the symptoms of which are manifested by a fever of more than 39 degrees and headaches, has an acute course. There is a rapid decrease in blood pressure, tachycardia appears, the pulse is barely palpable. Breathing becomes rapid and intermittent, possibly a coma.
For the successful treatment of the consequences of pneumonia, it is very important to diagnose the disease in time. In childhood, complications develop very quickly.
Delayed complications
A child thought to have recovered may suddenly become ill again as a result of late complications from pneumonia. These diseases include:
- Pulmonary insufficiency - often worries children after recovery from the underlying disease. The child develops shortness of breath, rapid shallow breathing, lips and nasolabial triangle become bluish.
- Sepsis is a general infection of the body with pathological microorganisms that have entered the bloodstream. It is characterized by high body temperature, cardiac arrhythmias, low blood pressure, loss of consciousness. The disease is incurable.
To prevent negative consequences, the treatment of pneumonia should be taken very seriously and strictly follow all doctor's prescriptions.
Complications of the cardiovascular system
Pathogenic microorganisms that are in the lungs, spreading throughout the body, often cause heart complications. After pneumonia, the following diseases can occur:
- Myocarditis. This is an inflammation of the heart muscle, as a result of which its main functions are violated: conductivity, the ability to contract. The disease begins with mild symptoms. With the progression of myocarditis, there is a decrease in working capacity, fatigue, weakness against the background of normal or slightly elevated body temperature. The main symptom of the disease is a constant stabbing or pressing pain in the upper part of the heart, which cannot be stopped with nitroglycerin. Heart failure appears, as indicated by shortness of breath with little physical activity, arrhythmia and swelling of the legs.
- Pericarditis. When entering the cavitypericardial infection with a complication after pneumonia, inflammation of the outer shell of the heart occurs. The patient feels severe weakness and constant retrosternal pain, which increases with inhalation, coughing, swallowing and in the supine position. There is a change in the pericardial tissue: it becomes dense and thick, limiting the amplitude of the movement of the heart. It ceases to cope with the incoming volume of blood, so swelling is formed. Without proper treatment, pulmonary edema may develop.
What complications after pneumonia in adults
In addition to disorders in the cardiovascular system, the following serious diseases can begin:
Lung abscess - this disease is associated with inflammation of the lung tissue, its destruction and the formation of necrotic cavities filled with pus. In the initial stages, there is general weakness, shortness of breath, fever, dry cough, loss of appetite. With the development of the disease, the cough becomes wet, a large amount of sputum is secreted, which has an unpleasant odor and dark color, the body temperature decreases and the general condition improves
- Pulmonary edema - occurs due to the accumulation of fluid in the tissues of the organ. Symptoms of a complication after pneumonia in adults are manifested in a violation of gas exchange, which leads to a lack of oxygen in the blood, the appearance of cyanotic skin and lack of air. The patient suffers from severe shortness of breath even at rest, bubbling breathing, tachycardia. When coughing, pink frothy sputum is secreted. There is a fear of death, consciousness is confused,coma often occurs.
- Pleurisy - there are three types: dry, exudative and purulent. Often diagnosed as a complication after pneumonia, when the infection enters the pleura and causes inflammation. Each type of disease has its own symptoms, but all are characterized by weakness, low performance, fever, cough.
Prevention of complications
The most important thing for patients who have recovered from pneumonia is to protect yourself from complications. To do this, you should make sure that after the course of therapy, the body temperature has completely stabilized, and x-rays show that there are no foci of inflammation left in the lungs. After recovery, doctors recommend paying special attention to nutrition. The diet will include he althy foods containing vitamins, minerals and trace elements. To maintain the immune system, you need to use herbal decoctions and vitamin complexes.
To restore the microflora of the gastrointestinal tract, it is necessary to take probiotics. A course of physiotherapy will help restore and strengthen the respiratory system. A convalescent person is advised to be outdoors more often, to engage in feasible sports and to beware of colds. With a serious attitude to treatment, rehabilitation is successful, and he alth is restored.
Conclusion
Pneumonia, like all other diseases, is treated differently. Some, using medicines, quickly recover, others, even with a serious attitude towards the disease and careful medical treatment, recover slowly and hard. As a result, serious complications are possible afterpneumonia. This is due to various factors, the most important of which are: incorrectly selected medicines or weak immunity.
