Maybe you’ve heard of it, but do you really know it? Pneumonia is a very common, yet highly
treatable infection of the respiratory tract.
● Pneumonia
is one of the most common conditions which affects the respiratory tract, easily
spreading through airborne particles. You
can be exposed to pneumonia at school, work or even at the hospital. In fact,
there is a type of Pneumonia, known as hospital-acquired pneumonia which
commonly affects patients in intensive care or the those which are using
breathing machines.
● Pneumonia
is the world’s leading cause of death among children younger than five years of
age.
● It can
be caused by bacteria, virus or fungi. Depending
on the cause, there are several types that are well documented. The most common type is bacterial pneumonia,
which is also considered the most dangerous.
● Many
people suffer from pneumonia without being aware of its presence.
● Pneumonia
is commonly mistaken for a cold. This is
because of the similarity in the present symptoms. The most prevalent symptoms for both pneumonia
and the common cold are cough, fever and trouble breathing. Each condition has characteristic symptoms
that a trained professional will recognize and imploy treatment for.
● Most
commonly diagnosed by performing a chest x-ray.
● Pneumonia
is a highly treatable condition. The
type of the treatment depends on the cause for the condition, as well as the
severity of present symptoms. Generally it
is treated by antibiotics, especially for bacterial pneumonia. Tertiary treatment includes natural remedies
known to have positive effects on the disease.
● Risk
factors and catalysts include smokers, people over 65 years of age, children
under two and patients suffering from certain chronic medical conditions.
● Two of five
children who die from pneumonia are living in undeveloped and poor communities.
● The
antibiotics needed to treat pneumonia cost approximately one dollar per
dose. Even with the low cost of
antibiotics, people are still at life-threatening risk when the disease goes
untreated.
● Only one
in five children receive antibiotics in order to treat pneumonia.
● Good
health habits decrease the risk of pneumonia. You can ask your doctor for advice on how to protect yourself from pneumonia.
● There
are available vaccines developed that you can get during flu seasons in order
to inoculate yourself from the disease.
● Breastfeeding
in the first six months is considered a way to protect children not only
against pneumonia, but a wide range of other medical conditions.
●
Pneumonia can be fatal. Up to 30% of people diagnosed with pneumonia
are confined to an intensive care unit.
All that separates us from the complications and fatal nature of this
condition, is the conveyance of information.
By shedding light on signs, symptoms and treatment options, we hope to
bring an informed opinion to a disease that has effected most people in their
lifetimes, and will continue to be a burden for future generations.
