Pneumonia

[eastofeden]

Hi! I tried to use google but it tired me out with so much conflicting stuff and links and ads so maybe some practical experience would be better....

Anyone ever had it? What did you do to get better the quickest? I have two different antibiotics and what I hope is the damn cough will subside and I can just get past it QUICK....no experience with it so I need some advice...

Any good remedies? Suggestions?

 

[Benvolio]

I have never had it . But, when I have a health problem and use google, I usually find that Wikipedia has the most comprehensible explanation.

 

[jensu846]

I had double pneumonia when I was 27. It was hell. All I did was lay in bed for 2 weeks and sleep and take antibiotics and cough syrup. lost a lot of weight too. I coughed constantly and it hurt so bad, and when I would breathe in, you could hear my lungs crackle. They were going to put me in the hosp but said since I was young enough to fight it, that I could stay in my own bed. After 2 weeks or so, I finally got better. My recommendation is to sleep as much as possible and when coughing try to get that crap out of you. I was spitting up this neon green gunk constantly. *sorry, I know its gross. hope you get better soon!

 

[KaraBulut]

Anyone ever had it? What did you do to get better the quickest? I have two different antibiotics and what I hope is the damn cough will subside and I can just get past it QUICK....no experience with it so I need some advice...

Any good remedies? Suggestions?

There are different types of pneumonia. Did your doctor give you a specific diagnosis? Did he do a chest xray?

The treatments are designed to treat the symptoms and at the same time, keep the lungs clear. For example, you want to reduce the coughing but at the same time, you do need to cough to clear secretions from your lungs. Using room humidifier (especially in the winter when air tends to be dry) can help.

As tempting as it is to stay in bed, it's not the best thing for getting full expansion of the lungs and to avoid mucus build-up, so you should try to get out of bed periodically, even if that means just sitting in a chair and watching television for a while.

As with any respiratory infection, drink lots of fluids and eat a healthy diet. You may way to avoid dairy products since some people feel like it makes their phlegm more difficult to cough up.

If after 2-3 days of antibiotics, you're not improving, you should followup with your doctor.

 

[eastofeden]

I have never had it . But, when I have a health problem and use google, I usually find that Wikipedia has the most comprehensible explanation.

I did read the wiki on pneumonia but what I wanted wasn't there

I had double pneumonia when I was 27. It was hell. All I did was lay in bed for 2 weeks and sleep and take antibiotics and cough syrup. lost a lot of weight too. I coughed constantly and it hurt so bad, and when I would breathe in, you could hear my lungs crackle. They were going to put me in the hosp but said since I was young enough to fight it, that I could stay in my own bed. After 2 weeks or so, I finally got better. My recommendation is to sleep as much as possible and when coughing try to get that crap out of you. I was spitting up this neon green gunk constantly. *sorry, I know its gross. hope you get better soon!

OH wow..that sounds horrible, Does the double pneumonia mean both lungs? I am glad you were able to fight it off! Do you get the pneumonia shots now?

There are different types of pneumonia. Did your doctor give you a specific diagnosis? Did he do a chest xray?

The treatments are designed to treat the symptoms and at the same time, keep the lungs clear. For example, you want to reduce the coughing but at the same time, you do need to cough to clear secretions from your lungs. Using room humidifier (especially in the winter when air tends to be dry) can help.

As tempting as it is to stay in bed, it's not the best thing for getting full expansion of the lungs and to avoid mucus build-up, so you should try to get out of bed periodically, even if that means just sitting in a chair and watching television for a while.

As with any respiratory infection, drink lots of fluids and eat a healthy diet. You may way to avoid dairy products since some people feel like it makes their phlegm more difficult to cough up.

If after 2-3 days of antibiotics, you're not improving, you should followup with your doctor.

I did get the x rays and the doctor said it is in the bottom of one side of my lung. I am not sure what kind it was...I had the paper when I went to get my prescription and I think I might have left it there..can't find it. I am not sure but I thought it might have said "unspecified" ....

So far....the antibiotics seem to have improved it from a few days ago. After reading this last night I did use the humidifier and also I drank more fluids...so thanks!

I was also wondering...does a cold turn into pneumonia?...or is pneumonia something you catch from someone else? I am unclear on that. I guess I want to know if I can give anyone else pneumonia? I have been avoiding everyone.

Thanks guys for the input! I appreciate it...

 

[KaraBulut]

...I was also wondering...does a cold turn into pneumonia?...

Not directly. There are viruses that can cause lower respiratory infections that in extreme cases, can turn into a pneumonia. But generally, we would expect to the bronchi ("bronchitis") and multiple areas of the lungs to be affected.

..or is pneumonia something you catch from someone else? I am unclear on that. I guess I want to know if I can give anyone else pneumonia? I have been avoiding everyone.

There's different types of pneumonia- some are caused by bacteria, others by viruses, and there are a group of fungi that can cause pneumonia. There's also types of pneumonias that are not an infection and are caused by damage to the lungs, like in the cause of chemical exposure.

Because you've described the pneumonia as affecting only part of your lung (a "lobar" or "lobular" pneumonia), then it is likely to be a bacterial pneumonia and it is likely to have been community-acquired. It is contagious although most of the bacteria that cause pneumonia are quite common. Sometimes the bacteria affect the throat or the sinuses but occasionally, the infection can spread to the lungs. There are some people who are more at risk for pneumonia- like people who are smokers- but we don't have a clear explanation why some bacterial infections can affect the lungs and result in a pneumonia.

Since it does sound like bacterial, the antibiotics are the key piece of the treatment (viral pneumonia and fungal pneumonia don't respond to antibiotics).

 

[eastofeden]

Not directly. There are viruses that can cause lower respiratory infections that in extreme cases, can turn into a pneumonia. But generally, we would expect to the bronchi ("bronchitis") and multiple areas of the lungs to be affected.


There's different types of pneumonia- some are caused by bacteria, others by viruses, and there are a group of fungi that can cause pneumonia. There's also types of pneumonias that are not an infection and are caused by damage to the lungs, like in the cause of chemical exposure.

Because you've described the pneumonia as affecting only part of your lung (a "lobar" or "lobular" pneumonia), then it is likely to be a bacterial pneumonia and it is likely to have been community-acquired. It is contagious although most of the bacteria that cause pneumonia are quite common. Sometimes the bacteria affect the throat or the sinuses but occasionally, the infection can spread to the lungs. There are some people who are more at risk for pneumonia- like people who are smokers- but we don't have a clear explanation why some bacterial infections can affect the lungs and result in a pneumonia.

Since it does sound like bacterial, the antibiotics are the key piece of the treatment (viral pneumonia and fungal pneumonia don't respond to antibiotics).

Thanks for the info! I was thinking that the lady at my favorite Chinese Restaurant may have given me the virus because I got it the day after she was telling me she shouldn't have come to work and her voice was almost gone because of her sore throat and she helps make my soup for me because she knows what I like as she likes the same thing....and if she did I don't blame her (and the soup was especially good that night) but it made me wonder how contagious it is because I always heard things like colds or the flu can "turn into pneumonia" and wasn't quite sure how or even if it happened.

 

[KaraBulut]

Thanks for the info! I was thinking that the lady at my favorite Chinese Restaurant may have given me the virus because I got it the day after she was telling me she shouldn't have come to work and her voice was almost gone because of her sore throat and she helps make my soup for me because she knows what I like as she likes the same thing....and if she did I don't blame her (and the soup was especially good that night)

Your pneumonia is probably bacterial based upon the antibiotics and your description of the x-ray.

Very few people with bacterial pneumonia have the energy to be working, so it's more likely that the lady at the restaurant had a cold or the flu.

...but it made me wonder how contagious it is because I always heard things like colds or the flu can "turn into pneumonia" and wasn't quite sure how or even if it happened.

The most common cause for viral pneumonia is influenza. The population most at risk are children and the elderly which is one of the reasons that we recommend that everyone get the flu shot: the flu might mean a week of illness for a healthy person but for someone who is elderly, it can result in a pneumonia and can result in death.