Pneumonia: what you need to know

Pneumonia can be scary, and sometimes very serious. The good news: these days most cases clear up rapidly with the right combination of drugs and common sense.

• Pneumonia is not one illness, but many. This infection of the lungs is caused by inhaling some sort of nasty organism when your immune defense system is down—usually because of a cold, the flu or a chronic disease.
• The perpetrator may be any of hundreds of strains of viruses, bacteria or other microorganisms. These germs get into your alveoli, the small air sacs deep in your lungs, causing the lungs to become inflamed and the alveoli to fill with mucus.

The symptoms of pneumonia vary widely, depending on what is causing your specific infection.

• If it’s bacterial, you'll probably have a sudden onset of illness, with fever, shaking chills, chest pain and a productive, or "wet," cough that expels sputum from your lungs.
• Viruses and organisms called mycoplasma usually cause milder symptoms, including a headache, low-grade fever, hacking ("dry") cough and general malaise. It is mycoplasma, for instance, that produces what’s called walking pneumonia, because it’s usually not severe enough to confine you to bed or the hospital.
• And when pneumonia strikes an elderly person, the signs can be very different—often just rapid breathing and, sometimes, confusion.
• If you contract pneumonia outside a hospital—formally called community-acquired pneumonia it will likely be less severe than a hospital-acquired case.

Infants, young children and adults over age 75 are much more likely to get pneumonia than the general population—as are people with compromised immune systems. It's reassuring to note that when pneumonia fatalities do occur, it's usually as the final complication of some other serious condition.

• Take antibiotics if your pneumonia is caused by bacteria.
• Get bed rest and plenty of fluids to allow your body to begin to heal itself.

• Avoid polluted air: Exposure to high levels of automobile exhaust or industrial smoke increases the risk of developing pneumonia and other cardiopulmonary diseases.
• Eat your veggies: Orange, yellow and dark-green vege­tables (and fruits), such as oranges, carrots and broccoli are rich in antioxidants that can give a boost to your immune system.
• Don't take antibiotics at the first sign of a cold: In an effort to prevent future bouts of pneumonia. Antibiotics cannot fight a viral cold, and they can also encourage development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

For more on the causes, prevention and treatment of pneumonia, contact the Canadian Lung Association (613-569-6411 or www.lung.ca).