The first signs, symptoms and treatment of pneumonia

Pneumonia is an inflammation of the lung tissue, which dramatically reduces the level of oxygen entering the blood. Disease can lead to disability or death. It is for this reason that it is important to determine the first signs of pneumonia in time and to start treatment of the disease as soon as possible.

• Causes Symptoms Types
• Stage
• Complications Diagnosis Treatment
• Home Treatment
• have
• child during pregnancy
• Prevention

Causes Among the causes of pneumonia, the primary is a bacterial infection. The most common pathogens are:

• Gram-positive microorganisms: staphylococci, pneumococci and streptococci.
• Gram-negative microorganisms: enterobacteria, Friedlander's stick, proteus, legionella, hemophilic and intestinal bacilli, etc.
• Viral infections( influenza, herpes, adenovirus, etc.).
• Fungal infections.

Also, the disease can occur due to the following factors:

• Pre-existing chest injuries.
  

  
  

• Toxic substances.
• Ionizing radiation.
• Allergic agents.

Patients with such pathologies are at risk:

• Congestive heart failure.
• Chronic nasopharyngeal infection.
• Chronic bronchitis.
• Congenital malformations of the lung.
• Severe immunodeficiency.
• Elderly people.
• Patients on prolonged bed rest.

Symptoms of

The first signs of the disease in an adult directly depend on its nature, the causative agent, the attendant circumstances:

• Pneumococcal and staphylococcal pneumonia usually begin acutely, often due to hypothermia. The patient is tormented by severe chills, body temperature often rises to 40 degrees, during a cough there is a strong pain from the affected lung. The first time the cough is dry, later there is a purulent sputum, often with a bloody impurity.
• Bronchopneumonia and focal pneumonia are the results of acute or chronic inflammation of the bronchi and upper respiratory tract. The first signs of these diseases - chills, body temperature about 38 degrees, dry cough or with mucopurulent sputum. The chest pain that occurs during coughing and inhalation of the air is not ruled out. Acrocyanosis and cyanosis are observed.
• Viral and fungal pneumonia are characterized by fever, muscle pain, headache, sudden malaise, but cough may be mild.
• Croupous pneumonia begins quickly and acutely. Body temperature rises to 39-40 degrees and can last up to 10 days, accompanied by a febrile condition and marked symptoms of intoxication - weakness, arthralgia, headaches, myalgia. The patient is concerned about the pain in the chest on the side of the inflammation and shortness of breath, as well as a dry, unproductive "barking" cough. From the second day of the disease, viscous sputum with blood begins to flow away during the cough, the amount of blood gradually increases, and it becomes more diluted.

In severe cases, the patient has superficial rapid breathing, frequent arrhythmic pulse, deaf heart tone and low blood pressure. On average, the fever lasts no more than 10-11 days.

Common symptoms for all types of pneumonia include:

• Increased body temperature.
• Sweating.
• Lack of appetite.
• Weakness.
• Chills.
• Cough.
• Nausea, sometimes vomiting.
• Acute air shortage.
• Consciousness disorder( typical for patients with weak immunity and elderly people).

Types

According to clinical and morphological features, the following types of disease are distinguished:

• Croupy( share).
• Focal( bronchopulmonary pneumonia).
• Interstitial( interalveolar, peribronchial, interlobular).
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Depending on the pathogen, pneumonia happens:

• Pneumococcal. Staphylococcal
• .
• Streptococcal.
• Pneumonia caused by a prosthesis.
• Mycoplasma.
• Pneumonia caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
• Candidiasis.
• Lobarnaya.
• Mixed.

The degree of defeat distinguishes pneumonia:

• Single-sided.
• Double sided.
• Total, radical( central), segmental, sub-lobular, fractional.

Depending on the nature of the course of the disease:

• Acute.
• Acute protracted.
• Chronic.
• Atypical.

Stages of

During the acute typical pneumonia, the following developmental stages are distinguished:

• 1 stage( tide) - lasts no more than 2 days. During this period, the patient's pulmonary capillaries expand, blood flows into the tissues of the lung and stagnates. The patient's body temperature rises sharply, shortness of breath, dry cough, and painful sensations when inhaled.
• Stage 2( red surgery) - lasts up to 3 days and is accompanied by the filling of alveoli with sweaty plasma and lung tissue tightening. The pain in this period is aggravated, the body temperature remains high, with cough spilled rusty sputum.
• Stage 3( gray cure) - lasts from 4 to 8 days. During this time, due to the breakdown in the alveoli of erythrocytes and hemoglobin, the affected lung becomes brown. The pains are dulled, shortness of breath decreases, cough becomes productive, the patient begins to expectorate mucous and purulent sputum. Body temperature decreases.
• Stage 4( resolution) - lasts from 10 to 12 days. This is the stage of recovery and resorption of phlegm. Symptoms gradually recede, pain disappears, sputum clears easily, breathing and body temperature return to normal.

Atypical pneumonia associated with weak immunity, listed stages is not inherent.

Complications of

The course of the disease and its outcome largely depends on the complications that arise which are pulmonary and extrapulmonary.

Pulmonary complications:

• Abscess or gangrene of the lung.
• Bronchitis.
• Atelectasis of the lung.
• Pneumosclerosis.
• Pleurisy.
• Obstruction.
• Parapneumonic exudative pleurisy.

Extrapulmonary complications:

• Otitis.
• Hepatitis.
• Meningitis.
• Encephalitis.
• Meningoencephalitis.
• Myocarditis.
• Sepsis.
• Anemia.
• Psychoses.
• Mastoiditis.
• Glomerulonephritis.

In the severe form of acute pneumonia with extensive lesion and destruction of lung tissue, the effects of toxins appear:

• Renal failure.
• Acute respiratory, cardiac and / or liver failure.
• Infectious-toxic shock.
• Strong acid-base balance shift.
• Thrombohemorrhagic syndrome.

Diagnostics

The basis for the diagnosis is the medical examination( history, auscultation and percussion of the lungs), the clinical picture, the results of instrumental and laboratory studies.

Laboratory-instrumental diagnostics includes:

• Clinical and biochemical blood analysis. The presence of inflammation is judged by certain indicators( leukocytosis, number of stab neutrophils, increased ESR).
• X-ray in two projections reveals focal or diffuse dimming of different localization and sizes, as well as other radiographic signs of the disease.
• Microscopy of separated sputum helps to identify gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria.
• Pulse oximetry is a non-invasive method used to calculate the degree of oxygen saturation in the blood.
• Bacteriological study of sputum culture to detect a microbial agent and determine its sensitivity to antibacterial, antifungal and other drugs.
• Evaluation of the gas composition of blood.

In case of severe illness, additional examinations may be necessary - bronchoscopy with biopsy, CT of chest organs, ultrasound, PCR diagnostics, blood test for blood culture and sterility, etc.

Treatment of

Therapy can be performed on an outpatient basis only in mild formadults, in other cases hospitalization in a hospital is indicated. Abundant drink, bed rest and a sparing diet the patient must observe the entire period of severe intoxication and fever. The ward or the room where the patient is located should be regularly ventilated and quartzed.

The choice of a medicine or a combination thereof is prescribed by the physician depending on the age and condition of the patient, the severity of the symptoms, the absence or presence of complications and individual characteristics.

For the treatment of pneumonia, antibiotics are used:

• Penicillins - Ampiox, Amoxiclav, Ampicillin, Oxacillin, Flemoxin Solutab, Amoxicillin, Augmentin.
• Cephalosporins - Cefazolin, Ceftriaxone, Cefotaxime, Suprax, etc.
• Macrolides - Rovamycin, Sumamed, Clarithromycin, Azithromycin.
• Fluoroquinolones - Ciprobay, Avelox, Moxifloxacin.
• Lincosamides - Clindamycin, Linkomycin.
• Aminoglycosides - Amikacin, Gentamicin or Kanamycin.
• Carbapenems - Meronem, Tienam, Meropenem.

The basis of etiotropic therapy of a viral origin are antiviral agents, fungal - antifungal.

Symptomatic treatment is also prescribed, which includes:

• Mucolytics and expectorants( Lazolvan, ACC) for liquefaction and excretion of sputum.
• Antipyretic drugs to reduce body temperature.
• Antihistamines for removing allergy and blockade of histamine receptors.
• Detoxication therapy to eliminate symptoms of intoxication.
• Immunomodulators for stimulating the body's defenses.
• Corticosteroids for the removal of inflammation.
• Vitamin Complexes.

After normalization of body temperature, physiotherapy can be prescribed: inhalation, electrophoresis, UHF and UHF, UFO, ozocerite, pneumomassage, therapeutic gymnastics( LFK), paraffin therapy.

Home treatment

The use of folk methods is allowed only as a supplement to the basictreatment. For outdoor procedures, mustard must be used, medical jars placed on the lung area from the back for 10 minutes.

To treat pneumonia at home, you can use medicinal herbs( oregano, Siberian waste, meadow, violet tri-color) and herbal collection, which includes plantain, medinitsa medicinal, sagebrush, sage and gold-thousander.

A good folk remedy in the treatment of pneumonia is honey:

• 1 teaspoon dissolve in 200 milliliters of warm water and drink every 4 hours.
• 300 grams of honey mixed with 100 milliliters of water, add there finely chopped aloe leaf. Put the mixture on a low heat and cook for 2 hours. Take 10 milliliters 3 times a day, pre-shaking the mixture.
• 50 grams of lime flowers and 150 grams of birch buds pour 500 milliliters of water and put on a steam bath for no more than 2 minutes. Broth strain and add to it 500 grams of honey, 200 grams of crushed leaves of aloe and 200 milliliters of olive oil. All thoroughly mix and consume 10 milliliters 3 times a day.

In addition, it is useful at the first symptoms of the disease to take ¼ teaspoon of native sulfur per day. Wash down the sulfur with warm water.

Child

Factors that increase the risk of developing the disease in young children:

• Immunodeficiency of a hereditary nature.
• Congenital malformations of the lung or cardiac muscle.
• Intrauterine asphyxia or fetal hypoxia.
• Hypotrophy.
• Cystic fibrosis.
• Pneumopathy.
• Injuries in the process of severe childbirth.

In teens:

• Earlier smoking.
• Caries.
• Chronic foci of infection in the sinuses of the nose, nasopharynx.
• Acquired heart disease.
• Cystic fibrosis.
• Weakened immunity due to what often recurring bacterial and viral infections.

On the inflammatory process in the lung tissue at the initial stage of a typical pneumonia shows a general malaise. This symptom is additionally accompanied by increased sweating and weakness. Also signs of intoxication are - impaired appetite and dizziness. The first manifestations of pneumonia in a child are often accompanied by increased respiration even in the absence of cough, an increase in body temperature above 38 degrees, shortness of breath.

Atypical pneumonia begins with a runny nose, a sore throat and a dry cough. Against the background of a fever, intoxication syndrome develops, there is a lack of appetite and vomiting. Babies become more likely to regurgitate, stop breastfeeding, there may be convulsions, loss of consciousness.

Intrauterine pneumonia in the newborn has the following features:

• The first cry of the infant is absent or very weak.
• Skin covers of a cyanotic shade.
• Noisy breathing with wet rales.
• Decrease in all reflexes, the kid practically does not react to stimuli.
• Limb edema is possible.

Depending on the pathogen of the pneumonia and the stage of the disease, the doctor prescribes treatment that includes the use of antibacterial, antifungal or antiviral drugs, immunomodulating agents, antipyretic drugs( Panadol, Nurofen, Cefekon), expectorants and antihistamines, etc.

pregnancy

Pneumonia in women waiting for a child is an acute infectious disease that poses a serious danger to the mother and baby. Inflammation of the lungs in pregnant women does not differ either by clinical signs or by the nature of the pathogen. It can develop at any period of pregnancy and in the postpartum period.

Prevention

• Strengthening the body's defenses.
• Hardening.
• Avoidance of subcooling.
• Timely treatment of caries.
• Abandonment of bad habits( smoking and drinking).
• Treatment of chronic foci of infections.
• Avoid contact with allergens.
• Fighting dust.
• Change of place of business if it is associated with harmful production.