Can You Have A Dry Cough With Pneumonia

Why Does My Dry Cough Make Me Vomit

Severe coughing can trigger vomiting. Vomiting in this situation is uncommon and should be evaluated by a medical professional. Chronic coughs like cough-variant asthma, gastroesophageal reflux , and post-nasal drip usually do not cause vomiting. A cough from a severe cold or a severe string of coughs from some irritant can cause vomiting.

Things You Should Know About Pneumonia

• By Stephanie Watson, Executive Editor, Harvard Women’s Health Watch

Pneumonia is an infection that causes the air sacs in the lungs to fill up with fluid or pus, which makes it harder to breathe. The most common symptoms are cough that may be dry or produce phlegm, fever, chills and fatigue. Other symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and pain in the chest. and shortness of breath. Signs that indicate a more severe infection are shortness of breath, confusion, decreased urination and lightheadedness. In the U.S., pneumonia accounts for 1.3 visits to the Emergency Department, and 50,000 deaths annually.

With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to affect people around the world, pneumonia has become an even larger health concern. Some people infected with the COVID-19 have no symptoms, while others may experience fever, body ache, dry cough, fatigue, chills, headache, sore throat, loss of appetite, and loss of smell.

The more severe symptoms of COV-19, such as high fever, severe cough, and shortness of breath, usually mean significant lung involvement. The lungs can be damaged by overwhelming COVID-19 viral infection, severe inflammation, and/or a secondary bacterial pneumonia. COVID-19 can lead to long lasting lung damage.

Here are other important facts you should know about pneumonia:,

Is Pneumonia Cough Dry Or Wet

The symptoms of viral pneumonia usually develop over a period of several days. Early symptoms are similar to influenza symptoms: fever, a dry cough, headache, muscle pain, and weakness. Within a day or two, the symptoms typically get worse, with increasing cough, shortness of breath and muscle pain.

Read Also: Can Vaping Give You Pneumonia

When Can I Return To Work School And Regular Activities If I Have Pneumonia

You typically can resume your normal activities if your symptoms are gone, mild or improving and you do not have new or worsening:

• Shortness of breath or tiredness
• Chest pain
• Mucus, fever or cough

If you are generally healthy, most people feel well enough to return to previous activities in about a week. However, it may take about a month to feel totally back to normal.

Why Is Pneumonia Cough Worse At Night

Some people find pneumonia cough especially worse at night. Some possible reasons for pneumonia cough worsening at night are:

There are no clear-cut ways to help reduce pneumonia cough at night. Sometimes, keeping your head higher with a propped pillow may help. If you have increased mucus, an antihistamine such as Benadryl may help. If you have other symptoms of acid reflux, you can try an OTC acid reducer. Call your doctor if your symptoms worsen.

In conclusion, coughs are a very important defense against pneumonia. You need to regularly cough to keep your airways clear so that you can recover from pneumonia. In certain situations, too many coughs can cause problems. There is no clear-cut solution to help pneumonia cough. Try a few options and see what helps you.

Also Check: When Should I Get Pneumonia Shot

S To Prevent Walking Pneumonia

Since walking pneumonia is often spread by coughing and sneezing, you can help prevent the transmission of germs by covering your mouth when coughing or sneezing, whether with a tissue or your upper sleeve.

In order to stay healthy, you should also:

• Wash your hands regularly with soap and water or use hand sanitizer.
• Dont smoke .
• Take steps to help boost your immune system by getting adequate sleep, eating a healthy diet, and exercising regularly.
• Avoid exposure to others who are sick.

In particular, people who have underlying lung disease should be careful and have a heightened awareness of what steps to take to prevent walking pneumonia, notes McClune.

This article originally appeared on Sharecare.com.

What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Bacterial Versus Viral Pneumonia In Adults

Symptoms of pneumonia can range from mild sometimes called walking pneumonia to severe. How serious your case of pneumonia depends on the particular germ causing pneumonia, your overall health, and your age.

Bacterial pneumonia: Symptoms of bacterial pneumonia can develop gradually or suddenly. Symptoms include:

• High fever
• Tiredness

Additional symptoms appearing about a day later include:

• Higher fever
• Shortness of breath

You May Like: Symptoms Of Walking Pneumonia In The Elderly

What Other Problems Can Pneumonia Cause

Sometimes pneumonia can cause serious complications such as:

• Bacteremia, which happens when the bacteria move into the bloodstream. It is serious and can lead to .
• Lung abscesses, which are collections of pus in cavities of the lungs
• Pleural disorders, which are conditions that affect the pleura. The pleura is the tissue that covers the outside of the lungs and lines the inside of your chest cavity.
• Respiratory failure

What Are The Symptoms Of Pneumonia

Pneumonia symptoms can vary from so mild you barely notice them, to so severe that hospitalization is required. How your body responds to pneumonia depends on the type germ causing the infection, your age and your overall health.

The signs and symptoms of pneumonia may include:

• Cough, which may produce greenish, yellow or even bloody mucus
• Fever, sweating and shaking chills
• Sharp or stabbing chest pain that gets worse when you breathe deeply or cough
• Loss of appetite, low energy, and fatigue
• Nausea and vomiting, especially in small children
• Confusion, especially in older people

Read Also: Pneumonia Shot Cost Without Insurance

When Should I See My Doctor

Pneumonia can be life-threatening if left untreated, especially for certain at-risk people. You should call your doctor if you have a cough that wont go away, shortness of breath, chest pain, or a fever. You should also call your doctor if you suddenly begin to feel worse after having a cold or the flu.

How To Prevent Dry Cough

Recommended Reading: Do You Have A Dry Cough With Pneumonia

How Bronchitis And Pneumonia Are Treated

Treatments for both bronchitis and pneumonia depend on the underlying cause, such as whether its bacterial or viral.

Bacterial pneumonia and acute bronchitis are both treated with antibiotics. For viral cases, your doctor may prescribe an antiviral drug. However, theyll likely suggest you get a few days of rest and drink plenty of fluids while you recover.

If you have chronic bronchitis, your doctor may prescribe a breathing treatment or steroid drug that you inhale into your lungs. The medicine helps to reduce inflammation and clear mucus from your lungs.

For more severe cases, your doctor might also prescribe supplemental oxygen to help you breathe. Its also important to avoid smoking or exposure to the substance that caused your bronchitis.

Regardless of the cause, follow these tips to speed up your healing time:

• Get plenty of rest.
• Drink plenty of fluids to loosen up the mucus in your lungs. Water, clear juices, or broths are the best choices. Avoid caffeine and alcohol, which can be dehydrating.
• Take an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory to reduce a fever and soothe body aches.
• Turn on a humidifier to loosen up the mucus in your lungs.
• Ask your doctor about using an over-the-counter cough remedy if your cough is keeping you up at night or making it hard to sleep.

Causes Of Walking Pneumonia

Walking pneumonia can be caused by viruses or bacteria. According to the American Lung Association, most cases are caused by M. pneumoniae, a common type of bacteria that usually affects children and adults under the age of 40. M. pneumoniae infections tend to peak in summer and early fall but can happen throughout the year.

Chlamydophila pneumoniae can also cause walking pneumonia. Infections from this type of bacteria are common in all four seasons. It often spreads in crowded environments, like college dorms and long-term care facilities.

Adults and children can also contract walking pneumonia from viruses. Respiratory syncytial virus is a frequent cause of walking pneumonia in young kids, while adults tend to get the viral form of the disease from the influenza virus.

Recommended Reading: How Often Do You Need To Have Pneumonia Vaccine

What Is The Commonest Cause Of Cough

How Can I Help Myself Feel Better

If your doctor has prescribed medicine, follow the directions carefully.

You may feel better in a room with a humidifier, which increases the moisture in the air and soothes irritated lungs. Make sure you drink plenty of fluids, especially if you have a fever. If you have a fever and feel uncomfortable, ask the doctor whether you can take over-the-counter medicine such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen to bring it down. But don’t take any medicine without checking first with your doctor a cough suppressant, for example, may not allow your lungs to clear themselves of mucus.

And finally, be sure to rest. This is a good time to sleep, watch TV, read, and lay low. If you treat your body right, it will repair itself and you’ll be back to normal in no time.

Recommended Reading: How Often Should Seniors Get Pneumonia Shots

Could Your Persistent Cough Be Walking Pneumonia

4 min Read Time

You might expect that if you had pneumonia, youd know it. Its reasonable to assume that a severe lung infection would likely stop you in your tracks and cause hard-to-miss symptoms like a wet cough, difficulty breathing, fever and chills.

But if you have some minor cold-like symptoms, such as a low-grade fever, along with a persistent dry, hacking cough that just wont quit, you could actually have a form of the infection called atypical or walking pneumonia that can be mild.

Walking pneumonia can last longer, and you may not feel as sick, as symptoms are less pronounced, explains James McClune, MD, an HCA Healthcare interventional pulmonologist in critical care. People who have walking pneumonia may think they have a common cold, as symptoms are not as severe as what people assume with traditional pneumonia.

What Can I Do To Feel Better If I Have Pneumonia

• Finish all medications and therapies prescribed by your doctor. Do not stop taking antibiotics when you start feeling better. Continue taking them until no pills remain. If you dont take all your antibiotics, your pneumonia may come back.
• If over-the-counter medicines to reduce fever have been recommended , take as directed on the label. Never give aspirin to children.
• Drink plenty of fluids to help loosen phlegm.
• Quit smoking if you smoke. Dont be around others who smoke or vape. Surround yourself with as much clean, chemical-free air as possible.
• Use a humidifier, take a steamy shower or bath to make it easier for you to breathe.
• Get lots of rest. Dont rush your recovery. It can take weeks to get your full strength back.

If at any time you start to feel worse, call your doctor right away.

Also Check: How Do I Know If I Have Pneumonia

Telltale Signs Of Walking Pneumonia

Walking pneumonia symptoms typically come on slowly and include sore throat, headache, malaise and low-grade feverwhich tend to be less severe than they are with pneumonia. In fact, symptoms of walking pneumonia may be so mild that they dont affect your ability to carry out your day-to-day routine.

A wet or dry cough usually follows these early symptoms. Some people may also experience chest pain caused by inflammation in the lining of the lungs, which gets worse when they take a deep breath.

There are several possible reasons why people may develop a chronic cough, but if you have walking pneumonia, you may find yourself coughing so much that your chest becomes sore. And unlike a cold that resolves in a matter of days, the nagging cough associated with walking pneumonia could persist for weeks. Over time, symptoms could get worse. You might develop a higher fever. Your dry cough could also become wet, causing you to cough up discolored phlegm.

With a virus, symptoms typically run their course in about three to four daysfive days at the most. Then you start to notice that symptoms improve, explains Dr. McClune. However, with walking pneumonia, symptoms linger.

Symptoms Of Acute Bronchitis

You may have various problems with breathing, such as:

• Chest congestion, where your chest feels full or clogged
• Coughing — you may cough up a lot of mucus thatâs clear, white, yellow, or green
• Shortness of breath
• Wheezing or a whistling sound when you breathe

You may also have some of the typical cold or flu symptoms, such as:

• Body aches

Even after the other symptoms are gone, the cough can last for a few weeks as your bronchial tubes heal and the swelling goes down.

Also Check: Side Effects Of Pneumococcal Pneumonia Vaccine

Can A Person With Pneumonia Have A Dry Cough

Depending on the type of pneumonia and other factors, you can have a dry cough or a chesty, sputum-producing one. People that have a typical bacterial pneumonia will more frequently have a phlegmy kind of a cough, explains Dr. Glatt. The mucus they cough up is dirtier, thicker, and ugly, he says.

Is Pneumonia Contagious

You don’t catch pneumonia, in fact you catch the germs that cause it.

You can encounter the germs that cause pneumonia in the most common of places, and the environment you frequent on a daily basis may contribute to how susceptible you are to the disease.

For example, children in school or day care facilities can easily catch viruses from one another, which makes them more prone to viral pneumonia.

In general, viral pneumonia is more likely to spread from person to person than pneumonia caused by a bacteria or fungus.

Some types of pneumonia spread only in certain environments.

For example, Legionnaires’ disease, which is caused by the bacteria Legionella pneumophila, may only pose a threat to people exposed to a contaminated air conditioning system. It has also been linked to inhaling droplets from whirlpools, spas, or fountains.

If you catch germs that cause pneumonia, your chance of developing the disease depends on your age, health, and lifestyle.

Also Check: Pneumonia Shot How Often Do You Need It

How Do The Lungs Work

Your lungs main job is to get oxygen into your blood and remove carbon dioxide. This happens during breathing. You breathe 12 to 20 times per minute when you are not sick. When you breathe in, air travels down the back of your throat and passes through your voice box and into your windpipe . Your trachea splits into two air passages . One bronchial tube leads to the left lung, the other to the right lung. For the lungs to perform their best, the airways need to be open as you breathe in and out. Swelling and mucus can make it harder to move air through the airways, making it harder to breathe. This leads to shortness of breath, difficulty breathing and feeling more tired than normal.

Who Is At Risk

Some adults are more at risk of getting pneumonia than others. At-risk groups include:

• people older than 65 years
• heavy drinkers
• people who have chronic conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes
• people taking acid-reducing medicines for conditions such as heartburn and
• people with weakened immune systems.

Also Check: Does Pneumonia Make You Cough

Questions To Ask Your Doctor

• I have a chronic condition. Am I at higher risk for pneumonia?
• Do I have bacterial, viral, or fungal pneumonia? Whats the best treatment?
• Am I contagious?
• How serious is my pneumonia? Will I need to be hospitalized?
• What can I do at home to help relieve my symptoms?
• What are the possible complications of pneumonia? How will I know if Im developing complications?
• What should I do if my symptoms dont respond to treatment or get worse?
• Do we need to schedule a follow-up exam?
• Do I need any vaccines?

How Can I Tell If I Have Pneumonia Versus The Common Cold Or The Flu

Do I have a cold or could it be the flu or even pneumonia? Its tough to tell the difference but critical to know when to seek medical care

Watch for these ongoing symptoms that occur in pneumonia:

• Serious congestion or chest pain.
• Difficulty breathing.
• A fever of 102 or higher.
• Coughing that produces pus.

Pneumonia symptoms last longer than cold and flu. If your symptoms arent severe, its okay to try such home remedies as getting more rest, drinking more fluids and taking some over-the-counter medicines and see what happens. But if you dont see improvement in your symptoms after three to five days, or if you are experiencing more serious symptoms such as dizziness or severe difficulty breathing, see your healthcare provider. Dont let it go. Pneumonia-like symptoms in very young children or in adults older than 65 are a cause for concern. Also, pneumonia can cause permanent lung damage if left untreated for too long. And always seek immediate care if you experience chest pain or have breathing difficulties.

Recommended Reading: Do You Have A Fever When You Have Pneumonia