Pneumonia
Lacie Grindstaff
What is Pneumonia?
Pneumonia is an infection that inflames one or both air sacs in one or both lungs. The air sacs may fill up with fluid or pus, causing people to cough and making it harder for them to breath.
Types of pneumonia
The types of pneumonia are air-borne and viral. Air-borne can be contracted be children when they sneeze or cough. Viral can be contracted when you have the flu or the chickenpox.
What is the Diagnosis and symptoms?
Some one with pneumonia may have many symptoms. Here are some:
- Fever
- Sweating
- Shaking chills
- Coughing
- Shortness of breath
- Chest pain
- Fatigued
- Nauseated and vomiting
Pneumonia pictures and information
Airway with Pneumonia
This picture shows a healthy, clean airway and an airway that is infected with pneumonia.
Symptoms of pneumonia
This shows some symptoms you may have if you are infected with pneumonia.
X-ray of the lungs
This is a picture of an x-ray of someones lung that has pneumonia. It shows the fluid in and around the lungs.
How is the disease transmitted?
Pneumonia can be transmitted in may different ways. The bacteria is normally found in a child's nose or throat, it can be infected if inhaled. They may also spread via air-borne droplets from a cough or a sneeze.The viral pneumonia can be contracted when a person has had the flu or the chickenpox.
What is the course/treatment of the disease?
People who contract air-borne pneumonia are treated with antibiotics. Sometimes, more that one antibiotic is prescribed depending on the severity of the pneumonia. Most people see improvement with their symptoms within 2 to 3 days. Unless you get worse, your doctor will not change your medication for at least 3 days. The sooner your get started on your medication when you are diagnosed, the better off you are. The people who have the viral pneumonia can't be treated with antibiotics, they will be treated with an antiviral medication.
What is the possible complications?
There are many complications that pneumonia has. One of them is that bacteria could get into your bloodstream. Bactria can get into your blood stream from your lungs and spread the infection to other parts of your body. Also, you may get a lung abscess if pus in a cavity in the lung. You may be treated with antibiotics or surgery to help drain the fluid out. Fluid accumulation around the lungs is another complication. Pneumonia may cause fluid to build up in the thin space between layers of tissue that line the lungs and chest cavity. Having difficulty breathing is also another big complication of having pneumonia. Pneumonia will make it very difficult for people to be able to get oxygen in and out of their airway's making it hard for them to breath.
Target Audience
The target audience is everyone. If people were to read this it were to target the adults.