Take Something For The Aches
If aches or fever are wearing you down, a pain reliever might help, like ibuprofen or acetaminophen. Be sure you follow the instructions on the label for how much to take and how often. Speaking of taking medicine: If your doctor gives you an antibiotic, take every dose of it, even if you start to feel good again before you use it up. When you quit too soon, the pneumonia could come back.
Things That You Can Do To Help Your Child At Home Are
- Control the fever with the proper medicine and right strength for the age of your child. Fevers lower than 101° F do not need to be treated unless the child is uncomfortable .
- Give your child plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration.
- See that your child gets lots of rest.
- Do not give over-the-counter cough medicines or other OTC medicines without asking the health provider first. The child needs to cough and bring up the phlegm. Coughing is the bodys way of clearing the infection from the lungs.
- Avoid exposing your child to tobacco smoke or other irritants in the air.
What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Pneumonia In Children
The signs and symptoms of pneumonia in children vary from child to child and also depend on your childs age, cause of the infection, and severity of their illness.
Usual symptoms include:
- Cry more than usual. Are restless or more fussy.
Adolescents have the same symptoms as adults, including:
- Cough.
- Difficulty breathing/shortness of breath.
- Chest pain.
Newborns are at greater risk of pneumonia caused by bacteria present in the birth canal. In young children, viruses are the main cause of pneumonia.
Pneumonia caused by bacteria tends to happen suddenly, starting with fever and fast breathing. Symptoms appear more slowly and tend to be less severe when pneumonia is caused by viruses.
Don’t Miss: What Pneumonia Vaccine Should I Get
Treatment And Medication Options For Pneumonia
A lot of treatment aspects, as well as outcome, depend on the person, as well as the type of pneumonia they have, says Dr. Barron. Sometimes youll be fine just resting, but if you have things like trouble breathing, you should get to a doctor right away.
Your doctor will outline a plan that’s specific to you, considering the type of pneumonia you have, the severity of the condition, your age, and your overall health. From there, you’ll know whether you can be treated at home or need to go to the hospital, and whether you require antibiotics.
Symptoms Of Atypical Pneumonia
Atypical pneumonia is most commonly caused by mycoplasma, chlamydia, or a virus. It usually appears in children and young adults. Symptoms are usually mild and often go undiagnosed and untreated. Legionnaire disease, however, is a severe form of atypical pneumonia that usually strikes adults and seniors.
The disease progresses gradually:
- General flu-like symptoms often occur first. They may include fatigue, fever, weakness, headache, nasal discharge, sore throat, earache, and stomach and intestinal distress.
- Vague pain under and around the breastbone may occur, but the severe chest pain associated with typical bacterial pneumonia is uncommon.
- People may have a severe hacking cough, but it usually does not produce sputum.
Recommended Reading: How Often Do You Need To Have Pneumonia Vaccine
Digestive Remedies: Antacids Anti
Digestive system problems range from nausea and heartburn to diarrhea and constipation. In healthy people, most of these problems clear up in a day or two. More serious stomach problems include: 1) ulcersthe breakdown of mucus membranes, usually in the stomach 2) cancers of the stomach or colon and 3) irritable bowel syndrome an incapacitating condition, usually brought on by periods of extreme emotional stress, that causes abdominal pain and severe diarrhea, alternating with periods of constipation. These disorders require prompt medical treatment.
How Soon After Treatment For Pneumonia Will I Begin To Feel Better
How soon you will feel better depends on several factors, including:
- Your age
- The cause of your pneumonia
- The severity of your pneumonia
- If you have other at-risk conditions
If you are generally healthy, most symptoms of bacterial pneumonia usually begin to improve within 24 to 48 hours after starting treatment. Symptoms of viral pneumonia usually begin to improve within a few days after starting treatment. A cough can last for several weeks. Most people report being tired for about a month after contracting pneumonia.
Also Check: Signs And Symptoms Of Pneumonia
Substances Not Under Fda Control
Some substances sold over the counter are not reviewed by the FDA. In 1976 the Proxmire Amendments stopped the FDA from limiting the potency, or strength, of vitamins and minerals contained in food supplements and from classifying high doses of vitamins as drugs. Less than twenty years later, the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act declared that herbal supplements such as St. John’s wort and ginseng were foods rather than drugs. As such, herbal and
dietary supplements are not typically regulated by the FDA unless a problem is reported.
“About 60 percent of U.S. consumers believe that dietary supplements must be approved by a government agency like the Food and Drug Administration before they can be sold to the public,” according to the Harris Poll’s Nancy Wong, as quoted in the Nutrition Action Healthletter. But that is no longer the case. The Healthletter continued: “Before DSHEA, if the FDA questioned a supplement’s safety, the manufacturer had to prove that it was safe.” Bruce Silverglade of the Center for Science in the Public Interest told the Healthletter, “DSHEA shifted the burden of proof.” He added, “hanks to DSHEA, the FDA has to prove that supplements are dangerous.”
How Is Viral Pneumonia Diagnosed
Your healthcare provider will ask about your signs and symptoms and examine you. He or she will listen to your heart and lungs. Tell him or her if you have been around anyone who is sick. You may need any of the following:
- A chest x-ray may show signs of infection in your lungs.
- A mucus sample is collected and tested for the virus that caused your pneumonia. Your healthcare provider may swab your throat or the inside of your nose to get a mucus sample. He or she may ask you to cough mucus into a cup.
- Blood tests may show signs of an infection.
Read Also: When Do You Get Pneumonia Vaccine
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.
Types Of Antibiotics For Pneumonia
Pneumonia is a respiratory infection that affects the lower part of the respiratory system, primarily the lungs or the bronchi.
The bronchi are the air passages that connect the lungs to the windpipe.
Because pneumonia causes the air sacs in your lungs fill with pus and fluid, pneumonia can make it harder to take in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide.
Pneumonia is typically caused by a virus or bacterial infection.
Sometimes fungal infections can lead to pneumonia, but that is rarer, and typically occurs in people with weak immune systems due to other diseases.
Viral pneumonia will often resolve on its own, though it still frequently requires medical care for supportive treatment.
Sometimes pneumonia occurs during or after another viral illness, like the flu or a cold.
If your pneumonia is caused by a virus, antibiotics wont help unless there is also a secondary bacterial infection.
If you have bacterial pneumonia, you will need antibiotics to prevent complications and to help your body clear the infection.
Even with antibiotics, it can still take 4-6 weeks to recover from bacterial pneumonia.
Most bacterial pneumonia that is community-acquired comes from the bacteriaStreptococcus pneumoniae.
There are several different antibiotics are effective at treating this bacterial infection.
Also Check: Pneumonia How To Treat It
Patent Medicines Are Introduced
In the nineteenth century, few laws existed in the United States to regulate what ingredients went into medicines, or what sort of medicines could be sold. Traveling salespeople could peddle “patent medicines,” which were over-the-counter drugs containing secret ingredients not listed on the label, and “tonics” and “elixirs” that promised they could cure just about anything. In those days, truth in advertising wasn’t practiced by many who were looking to make a quick buck.
Patent medicines fell into two categories: 1) Those containing drugs such as alcohol, cocaine, heroin, marijuana, morphine, and opium and 2) those containing little or no drug content at all. Many people used these medicines thinking they were effective and safe. Some even gave the products to their children and infants.
When Should You Call Your Doctor
The faster you get treatment, the faster you will get over pneumonia. This is especially true for the very young, for people older than 65, and for anyone with other long-lasting health problems, such as asthma.
911 or other emergency services immediately if you:
- Have chest pain that is crushing or squeezing, is increasing in intensity, or occurs with any other symptoms of a heart attack.
- Have such bad trouble breathing that you are worried you will not have the strength or ability to keep breathing.
- Cough up large amounts of blood.
- Feel that you may faint when you sit up or stand.
if you have:
- A cough that produces blood-tinged or rust-coloured mucus from the lungs.
- A fever with shaking chills.
- Difficult, shallow, fast breathing with shortness of breath or wheezing.
- Frequently brings up yellow or green mucus from the lungs and lasts longer than 2 days. Do not confuse mucus from your lungs with mucus running down the back of your throat from your nasal passages . Post-nasal drainage is not a worry.
- Occurs with a fever of 38.3°C or higher and brings up yellow or green mucus from the lungs .
- Causes you to vomit a lot.
- Continues longer than 4 weeks.
Also call your doctor if you have new chest pain that gets worse with deep breathing and if you have other symptoms of pneumonia, such as shortness of breath, cough, and fever.
Also Check: How Bad Can Pneumonia Get
What Over The Counter Medicine Is Good For Pneumonia
Over-the-counter remediespneumonia
Considering this, what is the best medicine for pneumonia?
Pneumonia Treatment and Recovery
- Control your fever with aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs , or acetaminophen.
- Drink plenty of fluids to help loosen secretions and bring up phlegm.
- Do not take cough medicines without first talking to your doctor.
Also Know, what should you eat when you have pneumonia? A diet rich in protein is beneficial for the people suffering from pneumonia. Foods like nuts, seeds, beans, white meat and cold water fishes like salmon and sardines have anti-inflammatory properties. They also in repairing the damaged tissues and building the new tissues in the body.
Likewise, can you treat pneumonia at home?
Mild pneumonia can usually be treated at home with rest, antibiotics and by drinking plenty of fluids. More severe cases may need hospital treatment. Unless a healthcare professional tells you otherwise, you should always finish taking a prescribed course of antibiotics, even if you feel better.
Can you get rid of pneumonia without antibiotics?
Viral pneumonia may have some of the same symptoms, but the symptoms tend to be less severe. Bacterial pneumonia requires treatment with antibiotics. Viral pneumonia does not require antibiotics unless it causes a secondary bacterial infection.
Who Is Most At Risk For Getting Pneumonia
People who have an increased risk of pneumonia include:
- People over the age of 65 and infants under age 2. The weakening immune system of older people makes them less able to fight off illnesses. Similarly, the immune system of infants is still developing and not at full-strength, making them more susceptible to infection.
- People with a health-caused weakened immune system. Examples include:
- People who are receiving chemotherapy
- Transplanted organ recipients
- People who have HIV/AIDS
- People with autoimmune disease and who are taking medications that suppress the immune system.
Read Also: Left Upper Lobe Pneumonia Causes
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.
How Is It Treated
Antibiotics are the usual treatment, because the organism may not be found. But if the pneumonia is caused by a virus, antivirals may be given. Sometimes, antibiotics may be used to prevent complications.
Antibiotics usually cure pneumonia caused by bacteria. Be sure to take the antibiotics exactly as instructed. Do not stop taking them just because you feel better. You need to take the full course of antibiotics.
Pneumonia can make you feel very sick. But after you take antibiotics, you should start to feel much better, although you will probably not be back to normal for several weeks. Call your doctor if you do not start to feel better after 2 to 3 days of antibiotics. Call your doctor right away if you feel worse.
There are things you can do to feel better during your treatment. Get plenty of rest and sleep, and drink lots of liquids. Do not smoke. If your cough keeps you awake at night, talk to your doctor about using cough medicine.
You may need to go to the hospital if you have bad symptoms, a weak immune system, or another serious illness.
Read Also: Does Pneumonia Go Away By Itself
Risk Factors For Hospital
Pneumonia that is contracted in the hospital is called hospital-acquired, or nosocomial, pneumonia. It is the most common hospital-acquired infection in the intensive care unit . It affects an estimated 5 to 10 of every 1,000 hospitalized patients every year. More than half of these cases may be due to strains of bacteria that have developed resistance to antibiotics. In fact, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and multidrug-resistant P aeruginosa are leading causes of death from hospital-acquired pneumonia. Those at highest risk are:
- Older people and the very young.
- People with long-term or severe medical conditions, such as lung problems, heart disease, nervous system disorders, and cancer.
- People who have had surgery, particularly people over age 80 years. Among the surgical procedures that pose a particular risk are removal of the spleen , abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, or operations that impair coughing.
- People who have been in the ICU. This is particularly true for newborns or patients on breathing machines . People who lie flat on their backs are at particular risk for aspiration pneumonia. Raising the person up may reduce this risk.
- People who have received sedation. Hospital patients who receive sedatives also have a higher risk of developing nosocomial pneumonia.
- People who received antibiotics within the previous 90 days.
The Growing Problem Of Dextromethorphan Abuse
The trend in experimental OTC drug use is riskier than it may sound. A twenty-year-old Texas man was found guilty of “intoxication manslaughter” after deliberately misusing an OTC drug. The man testified in court that he had taken thirty Coricidin tablets in order to hallucinate. While driving under the influence of the Coricidin, he struck and killed another driver. Beth Wilson reported in the Amarillo Globe-News that the driver was sentenced to seven years in prison and received a $7, 000 fine.
Coricidin contains dextromethorphan, a common but potentially dangerous ingredient in multi-symptom cough, cold, and flu remedies. According to the 2004 “Pulse Check” report released by the Office of National Drug Control Policy , Coricidin HBP Cough & Cold is the “particular brand contains the highest concentration of dextromethorphan, making it the most popular among users.” Cough and cold tablets like Coricidin contain 30 milligrams of dextromethorphan hydrobromide and 4 milligrams of chlorpheniramine maleate.
Abuse of products containing these substances is especially high in the southern and western parts of the United States. “Pulse Check” researchers noted that “in Tampa/St. Petersburg, , incidents are reported of adolescents taking 20 to 43 tablets at a time, sometimes in combination with another over-the-counter medication, dimenhydrinate .” In addition, according to the
You May Like: Do You Have A Fever If You Have Pneumonia