What Is The Best Antibiotic To Treat Pneumonia

Is There A Vaccine For Pneumonia

There isnt a vaccine for all types of pneumonia, but 2 vaccines are available. These help prevent pneumonia caused by pneumococcal bacteria. The first is recommended for all children younger than 5 years of age. The second is recommended for anyone age 2 or older who is at increased risk for pneumonia. Getting the pneumonia vaccine is especially important if you:

• Are 65 years of age or older.
• Smoke.
• Have certain chronic conditions, such as asthma, lung disease, diabetes, heart disease, sickle cell disease, or cirrhosis.
• Have a weakened immune system because of HIV/AIDS, kidney failure, a damaged or removed spleen, a recent organ transplant, or receiving chemotherapy.
• Have cochlear implants .

The pneumococcal vaccines cant prevent all cases of pneumonia. But they can make it less likely that people who are at risk will experience the severe, and possibly life-threatening, complications of pneumonia.

Who Needs Antibiotics For Uti

While the question seems like it answers itself, treatment of UTIs is not always a straightforward affair. There are different bacteria involved, infections are discovered at different points in their pathology, and different people respond to antibiotics differently. So, while anyone suffering from a UTI will probably need to consider antibiotics, which one is the right one will vary from case to case and from person to person.

How the antibiotic is administered will also need to be determined on a case by case basis. As will the duration of treatment. These days, single-dose antibiotic treatment may also be a viable alternative.

When To Call The Doctor

You should call your childs doctor if your child:

• Has trouble breathing or is breathing much faster than usual
• Has a bluish or gray color to the fingernails or lips
• Is older than 6 months and has a fever over 102°F
• Is younger than 6 months and has a temperature over 100.4°F.
• Has a fever for more than a few days after taking antibiotics

When your child should stay home and return to school or childcare

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Types Of Antibiotics For Pneumonia

There are multiple types of antibiotics that work in slightly different ways. Some are more commonly used to treat pneumonia than others based on things like:

• The bacteria causing infection
• The severity of the infection
• If youre in a patient group at greatest risk from pneumonia

The types of antibiotics that your doctor might typically prescribe for pneumonia include the following:

Antibiotics prescribed for children with pneumonia include the following:

• Infants, preschoolers, and school-aged children with suspected bacterial pneumonia may be treated with amoxicillin.
• Children with suspected atypical pneumonia can be treated with macrolides.
• Children allergic to penicillin will be treated with other antibiotics as needed for the specific pathogen.
• Hospitalized, immunized children can be treated with ampicillin or penicillin G.
• Hospitalized children and infants who are not fully vaccinated may be treated with a cephalosporin.
• Hospitalized children with suspected M. pneumoniae or C. pneumoniae infection may be treated with combination therapy of a macrolide and a beta-lactam antibiotic .
• Hospitalized children with suspected S. aureus infections might be treated with a combination of Vancocin or clindamycin and a beta-lactam.

Choosing The Right Antibiotic

Dozens of antibiotics are available for treating pneumonia, but selecting the best drug is sometimes difficult. People with pneumonia need an antibiotic that is effective against the organism causing the disease. When the organism is unknown, “empiric therapy” is given, meaning the doctor chooses which antibiotic is likely to work based on factors such as the person’s age, health, and severity of the illness.

In adults, the choice of antibiotic therapy depends on the severity of infection and site of care. In all cases, the more quickly antibiotic therapy is started once the diagnosis is made, the better the outcomes. In most cases, the organism causing the pneumonia will not be known before antibiotic therapy is started, so the doctor must choose an antibiotic regimen based on history and symptoms. Later, the therapy may be altered when more information becomes available. To determine the appropriate antibiotic, the doctor must first answer a number of questions:

Once an antibiotic has been chosen, there are still difficulties:

• Individuals respond differently to the same antibiotic, depending on their age, health, size, and other factors.
• People can be allergic to certain antibiotics, thus requiring alternatives.
• People may have strains of bacteria that are resistant to certain antibiotics.

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How Is Pneumonia Treated

When you get a pneumonia diagnosis, your doctor will work with you to develop a treatment plan. Treatment for pneumonia depends on the type of pneumonia you have, how sick you are feeling, your age, and whether you have other health conditions. The goals of treatment are to cure the infection and prevent complications. It is important to follow your treatment plan carefully until you are fully recovered.

Take any medications as prescribed by your doctor. If your pneumonia is caused by bacteria, you will be given an antibiotic. It is important to take all the antibiotic until it is gone, even though you will probably start to feel better in a couple of days. If you stop, you risk having the infection come back, and you increase the chances that the germs will be resistant to treatment in the future.

Typical antibiotics do not work against viruses. If you have viral pneumonia, your doctor may prescribe an antiviral medication to treat it. Sometimes, though, symptom management and rest are all that is needed.

Most people can manage their symptoms such as fever and cough at home by following these steps:

If your pneumonia is so severe that you are treated in the hospital, you may be given intravenous fluids and antibiotics, as well as oxygen therapy, and possibly other breathing treatments.

Can Pneumonia Be Prevented Or Avoided

There are many factors that can raise your risk for developing pneumonia. These include:

People who have any of the following conditions are also at increased risk:

• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• asthma
• sickle cell disease

You can help prevent pneumonia by doing the following:

• Get the flu vaccine each year. People can develop bacterial pneumonia after a case of the flu. You can reduce this risk by getting the yearly flu shot.
• Get the pneumococcal vaccine. This helps prevent pneumonia caused by pneumococcal bacteria.
• Practice good hygiene. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Dont smoke. Smoking damages your lungs and makes it harder for your body to defend itself from germs and disease. If you smoke, talk to your family doctor about quitting as soon as possible.
• Practice a healthy lifestyle. Eat a balanced diet full of fruits and vegetables. Exercise regularly. Get plenty of sleep. These things help your immune system stay strong.
• Avoid sick people. Being around people who are sick increases your risk of catching what they have.

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Disease Process Leading To Pneumonia

Pneumonia-causing agents reach the lungs through different routes:

• In most cases, a person breathes in the infectious organism, which then travels through the airways to the lungs.
• Sometimes, the normally harmless bacteria in the mouth, or on items placed in the mouth or swallowed, can enter the lungs. This usually happens if the body’s “gag reflex,” an extreme throat contraction that keeps substances out of the lungs, is not working properly.
• Infections can spread through the bloodstream from other organs to the lungs.

However, in normal situations, the airways protect the lungs from substances that can cause infection.

• The nose filters out large particles.
• If smaller particles pass through, nerves along the airway prompt a cough or sneeze. This forces many particles back out of the body.
• Tiny particles that reach the small tubes in the lungs are trapped in a thick, sticky substance called mucus. The mucus and particles are pushed up and out of the lungs by tiny hair-like cells called cilia, which beat like a drum. This action is called the “mucociliary escalator.”
• If bacteria or other infectious organisms manage to avoid the airway’s defenses, the body’s immune system attacks them. Large white blood cells called macrophages destroy the foreign particles.

The above-mentioned defense systems normally keep the lungs healthy. If these defenses are weakened or damaged, however, bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites can easily infect the lungs, producing pneumonia.

How Does Pneumonia Lead To Death

The most common complication from pneumonia is a condition called pleural effusion. This is the buildup of fluid in the membranes around the lungs inside the chest cavity. It causes pain and impairs your ability to breathe. These and other complications of pneumonia can lead to a worsening of pre-existing heart and lung conditions.

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How Is Walking Pneumonia Diagnosed

Your doctor will ask you about your symptoms, how long youve had them and if any other family members or people you regularly interact with are also ill with similar symptoms. He or she will listen to your lungs with a stethoscope to check for abnormal breath sounds. Your doctor may order chest X-rays to see if there is an infection in your lungs. Your blood or mucus might be tested to determine if your pneumonia is caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae, another bacteria, virus or fungus.

What Antibiotic Treats Uti In Dogs

Antibiotics for dogs and cats, like Cephalexin or Clavamox, are the most common treatment for UTIs due to their ability to destroy and inhibit the growth of bacteria.

Some veterinarians recommend a follow-up urine culture after antibiotic treatment is complete to confirm that the infection has been eradicated.

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Best Antibiotic For Walking Pneumonia

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Occupational And Regional Pneumonias

Exposure to chemicals can also cause inflammation and pneumonia. Where you work and live can put you at higher risk for exposure to pneumonia-causing organisms.

• Workers exposed to cattle, pigs, sheep, and horses are at risk for pneumonia caused by anthrax, brucella, and Coxiella burnetii .

Inhalation or respiratory anthrax is a life-threatening infectious disease caused by inhaling the spores of the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Although the spores are dormant when breathed in, they germinate when exposed to a warm, moist environment, such as the lungs. Not all particles are small enough to pass into the alveoli, or air sacs, but those that do begin to multiply and may spread to the lymphatic system. When the spores germinate, several toxins are released. Particles illustrated are not to scale.

• Agricultural and construction workers in the Southwest are at risk for coccidioidomycosis . The disease is caused by the spores of the fungi Coccidioides immitis and Coccidiodes posadasii.
• Those working in Ohio and the Mississippi Valley are at risk for histoplasmosis, a lung disease caused by the fungus Histoplasma capsulatum. This fungus grows well in areas enriched with bird or bat droppings.

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What Are The Symptoms Of Pneumonia

Cough is a common symptom. You may also feel generally unwell and have a high temperature . Other symptoms you may notice include:

• Loss of appetite

All these symptoms are also seen in flu so it is sometimes difficult to diagnose pneumonia in the early stages. See the separate leaflet called Influenza and Flu-like Illness for further details.

Coughing up a lot of phlegm is more likely to happen in pneumonia than in flu. The phlegm may become yellow-coloured or green-coloured. It may be streaked with blood or you may cough up more significant amounts of blood.

You may become short of breath, start breathing faster than normal and develop a tight chest. A sharp pain in the side of the chest may develop if the infection involves the pleura. The pleura is the membrane between the lung and the chest wall. A doctor may hear crackles when listening to your chest with a stethoscope.

Can I Prevent Pneumonia

The routine vaccinations that most people receive as kids help prevent certain types of pneumonia and other infections. If you have a chronic illness, such as sickle cell disease, you may have received extra vaccinations and disease-preventing antibiotics to help prevent pneumonia and other infections caused by bacteria.

People should get a pneumococcal vaccination if they have diseases that affect their immune system , are 65 years or older, or are in other high-risk groups. Depending on the bugs that are likely to affect them, these people also may get antibiotics to prevent pneumonia, as well as antiviral medicine to prevent or lessen the effects of viral pneumonia.

Doctors recommend that everyone 6 months and older get an annual flu shot. That’s because someone with the flu could then come down with pneumonia. Call your doctor’s office or check your local health department to see when these vaccines are available.

Because pneumonia is often caused by germs, a good way to prevent it is to keep your distance from anyone you know who has pneumonia or other respiratory infections. Use separate drinking glasses and eating utensils wash your hands often with warm, soapy water and avoid touching used tissues and paper towels.

You also can stay strong and help avoid some of the illnesses that might lead to pneumonia by eating as healthily as possible, getting a minimum of 8 to 10 hours of sleep a night, and not smoking.

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Pneumonia Arising In Institutional Settings

• Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia. Hospital-acquired pneumonia is an infection of the lungs contracted during a hospital stay. This type of pneumonia tends to be more serious because patients in the hospital already have weakened defense mechanisms, and the infecting organisms are usually more dangerous than those encountered in the community. Hospital patients are particularly vulnerable to Gram-negative bacteria, which are resistant to many antibiotics, and staphylococci. Hospital-acquired pneumonia is also called nosocomial pneumonia.
• Ventilator-associated pneumonia . A subgroup of hospital-acquired pneumonia is VAP, a very serious infection contracted by patients on ventilators in hospitals and long-term nursing facilities.
• Nursing-home acquired pneumonia. Pneumonia acquired in a nursing home or other long-term care facility is the second most common type of infection in these facilities, and it is usually bacterial. This type of pneumonia is sometimes difficult to diagnose as older populations are less likely to report fever, chills, and chest pain. Chest radiography and physical exam are necessary. Sputum sample and antigen tests may be helpful.

The term “healthcare associated pneumonia” is also utilized for all the above types of pneumonia as a group.

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.

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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 To Look For

It is critical to know how the lungs sound to decide which treatment route to go. If the lungs sound raspy and rough, then natural treatment can be very effective. If you hear wet abscess sounds, the animal needs antibiotics. And if you hear consolidated lungs, its too late for anything. Consolidated lungs are lungs with permanently damaged areas that are compacted and can no longer inflate. Usually the worst animal is the first to catch the farmers attention.

Oftentimes the sickest calf in the group will already have serious lung damage . A consolidated lung means that air entering the lungs through the windpipe never gets effectively absorbed because the areas of diseased lung tissue are no longer functional. By listening with the stethoscope, a vet can alert the farmer as to how much permanently damaged tissue there is. These calves, if they survive, usually show respiratory problems in a couple of years when heavy in calf in the hot summer days. Aggressive antibiotic and anti-inflammatory therapy is their only hopebut the permanently damaged tissue will still be useless later on. Animals simply dont function well with less than 100 percent lung capacity .

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