What is pneumonia? Pneumonia, or as it is called – an inflammation of the lungs, is an infection of one or both lungs which is usually caused by bacteria, fungi and viruses. Currently, each year in the US pneumonia sick about three million people. In Russia, pneumonia carries over one million people in a year.
Despite all the advances in modern medicine, pneumonia is still a serious and dangerous disease, 5% of the patients with pneumonia die.
In some cases, the disease is transmitted by drip-viral . A sick person sneezes, his secretions contain bacteria and microorganisms, which, falling into the lungs of a healthy person, cause inflammatory infectious processes. In other cases, pneumonia occurs due to high activity of bacteria, always present in the human nose and throat. This can happen due to hypothermia or viral infections that weaken the immune system.
Symptoms. Symptomatology pneumonia is varied. In recent years, more frequent asymptomatic, while ill person does not have an elevated temperature, cough, sputum . Such a treat pneumonia starts late, so it is a lot of dangerous complications
The main symptoms of pneumonia include the following manifestations: fever, ranging from 37 to 39.5 degrees, shortness of breath and sputum, chills, cough. Sometimes bloody discharge, which extend in the form of streaks of blood in the sputum structured. Also quite characteristic symptom – it’s a pain in the chest while trying to take a deep breath, pain usually develops at the point where the main focus of inflammation. Very often painful sensations occur when the pleural form of pneumonia.
Cough is a common symptom because the infection can be away from the major airways. Sometimes, it can change the color of the skin. In addition, the disease may be accompanied by headache, loss of consciousness, fever.
With pneumonia in children is usually not observed the characteristic symptoms, except lethargy, loss of appetite and fever.
Diagnostics. Usually, suspected pneumonia may occur during examination by a doctor. However, you can ask the doctor to appoint an additional examination, usually a lung X-ray. An X-ray is the main tool in the diagnosis of disease. With pneumonia on chest radiograph clearly fixed inflammatory focus (it can be equity inflammation that develops locally one of the lobes of the lung, or a more extensive process).
In addition to X-ray perform laboratory analysis of the contents of sputum collected in expectoration. This establishes the nature of pneumonia (bacteria, viruses and microorganisms talking about infectious process).
Also used in the diagnosis a blood test. Increased number of white blood cells indicates a bacterial or viral pneumonia.
Bronchoscopy. Rather unpleasant procedure that allows not only to diagnose, but also to conduct a direct examination of the bronchi. During bronchoscopy through a thin tube inserted into the nose or mouth of a patient, the physician inspects the bronchi . Sometimes bronchoscopy revealed a large amount of liquid. In this case, puncture is made easy and the liquid removed through the long needle. If necessary, surgery is performed and the fluid removed from the lungs surgically.
The treatment of pneumonia. Antibiotics are used to treat all types of pneumonia, regardless of the nature of their origin.
Often used in the treatment of pneumonia such antibiotics – Generic Amoxil (Amoxicillin) , Generic Augmentin (Amoxicillin And Clavulanate), Generic Levaquin (Levofloxacin) , Generic Bactrim (Trimethoprim And Sulfamethoxazole) and others (which you can buy online through the Internet that will cost you cheap or with good discounts).When pneumonia is slowly developing, then recommended sulfa antibiotics.
In the treatment of pneumonia caused by adenovirus, rhinovirus, influenza viruses, antibiotics are often not given the proper therapeutic effect. In such cases, it is required to be added the antiviral drugs.
Fungal form of inflammation of the respiratory system (histoplasmosis, blastomycosis, aspergillosis and cryptococcosis) is required to use drugs acting locally on each type of fungus.
In addition, on the treatment it is necessary to observe a special diet.
Folk remedies are very good in addition to medical treatment and help cope with the disease several times faster.
