Pneumonia: symptoms, treatment, signs, causes
The term "pneumonia" is a collective name for a group of diseases that cause inflammation of the lung tissue.
For each type of pneumonia the characters have their own developmental features, symptoms and course of the disease.
To date, pneumonia is a common disease and, in some cases, dangerous to human life.
For example, according to some statistics, pneumonia mortality averages about 10% of cases per year, but the likelihood of a lethal outcome directly depends on the patient's age, type of pneumonia and the time when a person asked for medical help.
The main cause of pneumonia development is the negative impact on the human lungs of pathogens, namely streptococci, pneumococci, staphylococci, viruses, chlamydia, legionella, etc.
Bacteria and viruses penetrate the lungs in most cases air-by drip, much less often through medical manipulation, blood or lymph. A person with adequate protective forces is able to successfully counteract infections. But in the case of the development of the disease, acute bronchitis and bronchiolitis first appear.
Without effective treatment, the infection can penetrate into the lung tissue, which causes pneumonia. When the lungs are inflamed, the alveoli, which directly saturate the capillaries with oxygen, fill with liquid, which makes it difficult or completely blocks the gas exchange. Thus, oxygen and respiratory insufficiency develops.
As already mentioned, a healthy person is able to resist the effects of viruses and infections. The likelihood of infection with the further development of pneumonia increases in children, the elderly and people with low immunity.
In addition, we can identify the factors predisposing to the development of pneumonia, that is, risk factors, namely:
Each type of pneumonia is noted for its specific symptoms, but, nevertheless, there are common clinical manifestations of the disease. In an adult suffering from pneumonia, weakness and fatigue are observed, which leads to permanent drowsiness.
The patient's performance is drastically reduced and not restored until the treatment has had the desired effect. It is possible to disturb sleep due to general poor health, and very often there is a decrease in appetite or a complete lack of it, which prevents the patient from recovering the spent energy.
Increased body temperature is a common symptom for all forms of pneumonia. The temperature is kept within 38.5-40.0 ° C, which greatly undermines the person's well-being. Against this background, there may be sweating, chills and confusion.
Practically from the first days of the disease a strong cough develops. It can be dry, which is a sign of SARS, but most often the cough is "wet", that is, with a profuse separation of purulent sputum green or rusty.
Shortness of breath occurs when the lungs start to fill with fluid. A person is haunted by a feeling of "lack of air", which is especially noticeable in everyday loads, for example, when walking or climbing a ladder. Against the background of lack of air, the rapidity of breathing and palpitation can be increased.
Often there is pain in the chest, which can give in the stomach or back.
Sometimes there are additional symptoms of pneumonia in adults, such as: sore throat, runny nose, otitis, pain from the kidneys, headaches, vomiting, diarrhea, manifestations of herpes, pain in the muscles and joints. The emergence of additional symptoms associated with intoxication of the body or the attachment of secondary infection on the background of a decrease in human immunity.
Thus, we can distinguish several first signs characteristic of pneumonia( pneumonia), namely:
In case of suspected pneumonia, a specialist consultation is urgently needed. The doctor for diagnostic purposes will collect an anamnesis of the disease and will conduct an examination, which includes mandatory listening to the lungs with a phonendoscope for rales. After this, taking into account the collected information about the disease, it is already possible to appoint an adequate treatment.
But in most cases, you need data from a general blood test and a biochemical blood test that confirms the presence of an inflammatory process and gives an idea of the condition of a person. An important diagnostic value is chest radiography, which fully shows the presence of pathological processes in the lungs and helps confirm the diagnosis of "pneumonia."
In the case of a severe course of the disease or lack of response to treatment, an additional set of diagnostic actions is carried out, namely:
Treatment of pneumonia in adults always means taking antibiotics. The choice of antibiotics depends on the microorganisms that caused pneumonia. In the case of secondary infection, additional antibiotics may be prescribed, taking into account the maintenance of the microflora of the gastrointestinal tract of therapy.
In the presence of productive cough, that is, coughing with sputum, prescribe drugs that dilute sputum and help her expectorate. If the patient due to pneumonia develop shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, then use bronchodilators.
In addition to the above, adequate against the background of antibacterial therapy will be the appointment of immunomodulating drugs that will restore the body's defenses. Very often, physiotherapy is used to treat lungs.
Since pneumonia is a serious condition for the body, a person in most cases requires symptomatic therapy, which allows you to remove the main and additional symptoms of the disease, which facilitates the patient's condition. In addition, detoxification treatment may be necessary.
The prognosis of pneumonia depends heavily on the age, health status of the patient, the time for seeking medical help, from concomitant diseases, etc.
But in most cases with an effective treatment the prognosis is favorable. Unfortunately, sometimes there is a possibility of developing quite serious complications against the background of pneumonia.
The appearance of complications is almost always associated with late treatment of a person for medical help.
The most common complications are:
All of the above complications can be avoided with timely access to a doctor who will prescribe an effective treatment.
Preventative measures to help protect against pneumonia include:
As a preventive measure, the vaccine is used from the most common type of pneumonia - pneumococcal. The vaccine is mandatory for people over 65 and for those with chronic heart, lung or immunodeficiency diseases.
Everyone can get vaccinated, and the most optimal time for this is the period from September to mid-November. After this period, vaccination is not recommended, since there is a high probability that human immunity against the background of the winter period can not give a normal immune response to the vaccine.
The effectiveness of vaccination is proven by research and practical application. Thus, the frequency of pneumonia in the cohesive teams( labor, army, etc.) after vaccination is reduced by 3 times. The vaccine protects not only from pneumonia, but also from acute bronchitis and otitis.
For each type of pneumonia the characters have their own developmental features, symptoms and course of the disease.
To date, pneumonia is a common disease and, in some cases, dangerous to human life.
For example, according to some statistics, pneumonia mortality averages about 10% of cases per year, but the likelihood of a lethal outcome directly depends on the patient's age, type of pneumonia and the time when a person asked for medical help.
Causes and risk factors for
The main cause of pneumonia development is the negative impact on the human lungs of pathogens, namely streptococci, pneumococci, staphylococci, viruses, chlamydia, legionella, etc.
Bacteria and viruses penetrate the lungs in most cases air-by drip, much less often through medical manipulation, blood or lymph. A person with adequate protective forces is able to successfully counteract infections. But in the case of the development of the disease, acute bronchitis and bronchiolitis first appear.
Without effective treatment, the infection can penetrate into the lung tissue, which causes pneumonia. When the lungs are inflamed, the alveoli, which directly saturate the capillaries with oxygen, fill with liquid, which makes it difficult or completely blocks the gas exchange. Thus, oxygen and respiratory insufficiency develops.
As already mentioned, a healthy person is able to resist the effects of viruses and infections. The likelihood of infection with the further development of pneumonia increases in children, the elderly and people with low immunity.
In addition, we can identify the factors predisposing to the development of pneumonia, that is, risk factors, namely:
- hypothermia, which activates the activity of pathogenic microorganisms;
- chronic diseases of the nasopharynx;
- immunodeficiency states;
- chronic lung diseases;
- heart failure and acquired heart disease;
- endocrine diseases;
- taking medications that depress immunity;
- surgical and diagnostic operations;
- smoking;
- old age.
Symptoms of pneumonia in adults
Each type of pneumonia is noted for its specific symptoms, but, nevertheless, there are common clinical manifestations of the disease. In an adult suffering from pneumonia, weakness and fatigue are observed, which leads to permanent drowsiness.
The patient's performance is drastically reduced and not restored until the treatment has had the desired effect. It is possible to disturb sleep due to general poor health, and very often there is a decrease in appetite or a complete lack of it, which prevents the patient from recovering the spent energy.
Increased body temperature is a common symptom for all forms of pneumonia. The temperature is kept within 38.5-40.0 ° C, which greatly undermines the person's well-being. Against this background, there may be sweating, chills and confusion.
Practically from the first days of the disease a strong cough develops. It can be dry, which is a sign of SARS, but most often the cough is "wet", that is, with a profuse separation of purulent sputum green or rusty.
Shortness of breath occurs when the lungs start to fill with fluid. A person is haunted by a feeling of "lack of air", which is especially noticeable in everyday loads, for example, when walking or climbing a ladder. Against the background of lack of air, the rapidity of breathing and palpitation can be increased.
Often there is pain in the chest, which can give in the stomach or back.
Sometimes there are additional symptoms of pneumonia in adults, such as: sore throat, runny nose, otitis, pain from the kidneys, headaches, vomiting, diarrhea, manifestations of herpes, pain in the muscles and joints. The emergence of additional symptoms associated with intoxication of the body or the attachment of secondary infection on the background of a decrease in human immunity.
Thus, we can distinguish several first signs characteristic of pneumonia( pneumonia), namely:
- a strong cough;
- fever, fever;
- chest pain;
- shortness of breath.
Diagnosis of pneumonia
In case of suspected pneumonia, a specialist consultation is urgently needed. The doctor for diagnostic purposes will collect an anamnesis of the disease and will conduct an examination, which includes mandatory listening to the lungs with a phonendoscope for rales. After this, taking into account the collected information about the disease, it is already possible to appoint an adequate treatment.
But in most cases, you need data from a general blood test and a biochemical blood test that confirms the presence of an inflammatory process and gives an idea of the condition of a person. An important diagnostic value is chest radiography, which fully shows the presence of pathological processes in the lungs and helps confirm the diagnosis of "pneumonia."
In the case of a severe course of the disease or lack of response to treatment, an additional set of diagnostic actions is carried out, namely:
- computed tomography of the chest;
- blood culture for the determination of the pathogen;
- bronchoscopy;
- lung biopsy.
Treatment of pneumonia
Treatment of pneumonia in adults always means taking antibiotics. The choice of antibiotics depends on the microorganisms that caused pneumonia. In the case of secondary infection, additional antibiotics may be prescribed, taking into account the maintenance of the microflora of the gastrointestinal tract of therapy.
In the presence of productive cough, that is, coughing with sputum, prescribe drugs that dilute sputum and help her expectorate. If the patient due to pneumonia develop shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, then use bronchodilators.
In addition to the above, adequate against the background of antibacterial therapy will be the appointment of immunomodulating drugs that will restore the body's defenses. Very often, physiotherapy is used to treat lungs.
Since pneumonia is a serious condition for the body, a person in most cases requires symptomatic therapy, which allows you to remove the main and additional symptoms of the disease, which facilitates the patient's condition. In addition, detoxification treatment may be necessary.
Forecast
The prognosis of pneumonia depends heavily on the age, health status of the patient, the time for seeking medical help, from concomitant diseases, etc.
But in most cases with an effective treatment the prognosis is favorable. Unfortunately, sometimes there is a possibility of developing quite serious complications against the background of pneumonia.
Possible consequences of an incomplete pneumonia
The appearance of complications is almost always associated with late treatment of a person for medical help.
The most common complications are:
- pleural inflammation;
- lung abscess;
- acute respiratory failure;
- sepsis due to intoxication of the body;
- anemia;
- myocarditis( inflammation of the heart muscle), endocarditis( inflammation of the internal tissues of the heart);
- meningitis( inflammation of the meninges), encephalitis( inflammation of the brain tissue).
All of the above complications can be avoided with timely access to a doctor who will prescribe an effective treatment.
Prophylaxis for pneumonia
Preventative measures to help protect against pneumonia include:
- the elimination of supercoolings that can trigger the growth of pathogens;
- timely treatment of colds( see how to treat Orvi);
- quitting;
- performance of actions aimed at strengthening immunity;
- Avoiding contact with a sick person.
As a preventive measure, the vaccine is used from the most common type of pneumonia - pneumococcal. The vaccine is mandatory for people over 65 and for those with chronic heart, lung or immunodeficiency diseases.
Everyone can get vaccinated, and the most optimal time for this is the period from September to mid-November. After this period, vaccination is not recommended, since there is a high probability that human immunity against the background of the winter period can not give a normal immune response to the vaccine.
The effectiveness of vaccination is proven by research and practical application. Thus, the frequency of pneumonia in the cohesive teams( labor, army, etc.) after vaccination is reduced by 3 times. The vaccine protects not only from pneumonia, but also from acute bronchitis and otitis.