Bacterial Pneumonia
Lauren Parks
What Is Bacterial Pneumonia?
Bacterial pneumonia or Streptococcus pneumoniae is a disease that produces inflammation in one or two of the lungs.
How It Attacks and Spreads
Particularly, the way Bacterial pneumonia can attack is usually after severe a cold or the flu. Bacterial pneumonia is mainly caused by the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae, which is a bacteria that comes in pairs and has a shape of a lancet. Nextly, the air sacs or the alveoli in the lungs are the parts that are infected from Bacterial pneumonia. To start with, the air sacs are built up with a fluid or pus that can lead to the result of again coughing, fever, producing chills, difficulty breathing, vomiting, or muscle aches.
Common symptoms
These are common symptoms to notice of this disease: If you have a high fever, chest pain when you breathe, a cough with phlegm (mucous), or uneasiness with breathing from doing daily activities. Conversely, if it were an infant, it would be rare to notice the infection in them unless they seem to be unenergized, vomiting, or feverish.
Infected Victims
The people who are mostly at risk are:
- Adults over 65 years old
- Children or infants
- People that are ill or damaged immunization
- If you are a smoker
- Patients who have Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) who take inhaled steroid hormones for a long period of time
- Those who use immunosuppressant drugs for a long period of time
Effective Treatment
According to treatment, it mainly depends on the severeness of the diseases. Usually pneumonia can be treatable at home, which in this case it can. Naturally for pneumonia, a general treatment would align with taking prescribed medications as well as a chest X-ray to check if the treatment was successful. Bacterial pneumonia on the other hand must be accorded with antibiotics and they have to be taken precisely. To reach to successful treatment, the antibiotics need to remain from one to three days. Otherwise if you do not take it as directed, the pneumonia could appear again.
Sources
- "Learn About Pneumonia." American Lung Association. American Lung Association, 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
- "Pneumonia." Healthline. Healthline Media, 2005-2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
- "Streptococcus Pneumoniae." Microbe Wiki. Kenyon College, 29 Apr. 2011. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
- "Pneumococcal Disease (Streptococcus Pneumoniae)." Pneumococcal Disease (Streptococcus Pneumoniae). U.S Department of Health & Human Services, 08 May 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
- "What Is Pneumonia?" - NHLBI, NIH. Department of Health & Human Services, 1 Mar. 2011. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
- "Pneumonia." Causes. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 1998-2016. Web. 01 Apr. 2016.
- Rajeev, Loveleena. "Walking Pneumonia Signs and Symptoms." Buzzle. Buzzle.com, n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2016.
- "Pneumonia - Adults." New York Times. The New York Times Company, n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2016.
Additional Information - Facts
- This disease can cause the death of children under the age of 5 mostly than other diseases
- Pneumonia can claim a young life every 20 seconds
- A complete process of breastfeeding in the first six months gives a simple and important way to help protect children from pneumonia