1. shaking chills
2. fever
3. cough (dry or with spitum)
4. rapid breathing and heartbeat
5. shortness of breath
6. fatigue
7. high temperature
8. muscle ache

Those are the symptoms pointing to a case of pneumonia.

Pneumonia is a general term for lung infection. It is a very serious disease, sometimes with lethal ending and easy to get, especially after another respiratory sickness. Every year in the Unated States of America over 3 000 000 people are registered to have pneumonia and about 5% of them die as a result. Before the usage of antibiotics become popular, the death rate was as high as 33%. Today, pneumonia is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States of America. You can see the figures for world statistic in the table.

Number of Deaths	59834 deaths per year
Cause of Death Probability	1 in 40~~2.5%
Rate of Death	20.6 deaths per 100 000 people per year
DALY	279705 life years lost per year
DALY rate	96.1 life years per 100 000 people per year

*DALY stands for Disability-Adjusted Life Years. This measures the time spent in non-healthy condition in years. If 365 people were sick for 1 day, this would give DALY of 1 and would mean that 1 year of healthy life was lost due to the sickness.

• What Are Pneumonia Symptoms?

Pneumonia symptoms may look close to those of a regular cold at first with sneezing, cough, sore throat and overall weakness. This is followed by high temperature, because of the infection process. With time those symptoms become more and more severe. The cough has colorless spitum, sometimes with blood in it. The temperature goes above 40 C. The ill may feel pain in the muscles or may find it hard to breath. In certain cases, the skin color can change, becoming more pale.

In the table bellow you can see reasons for patients visits followed by pneumonia diagnosis.

	Male	Female	All
Cough	34%	41%	38%
Fever	23%	20%	21%
Nasal congestion	10%	12%	11%
Shortness of breath	7.6%	12%	9.9%

Only when the infection develops in the outer parts of the lungs and affects its surface the ill would feel pain. This chest pain is strong and sharp, increasing at the moment of inhaling. As the disease develops, the sick may experience vomiting, abdominal pain and blood in sputum. Elderly people may feel disoriented and confused as a result of pneumonia.

The symptoms are harder to observe in babies and small children, as well as older people.

• How Do You Diagnose Pneumonia?

A physical exam can define whether some or all of the pneumonia symptoms are present. A doctor should check the breathing of the patient with a stethoscope and listen for coarse breathing and cracklng sounds, pointing that a respiratory problem exists. A discussion with the patient about his condition may provide additional information about the sickness. However, this is usually not enough to be sure of a pneumonia diagnoses. It must be confirmed with further exams. A chest X-ray is the most reliable method to diagnose pneumonia. It also shows very clear which lung is affected, what part of it is already affected and indicate how serious the patient’s condition is. Then a blood test is needed to define what is the cause of the pneumonia – viruses, bacteria or something else. This will define what treatment should be started.

Whenever suspicion of pneumonia exists it is necessary to take immediate action. The kind of pneumonia should be identified in a hospital and then the appropriate treatment must start. Hospitalization is sometimes necessary to avoid complication, especially with elderly people and children.

Due to the large variety of causes of pneumonia, there is no certain way to prevent it. Nothing can guarantee that one will not get pneumonia. However there are a few things you can do to lower the chances of having a lung infection.

If you want to know more about pneumonia, see the video bellow to get a more detailed idea on the processes connected with the illness.

• Vacination

Vaccination is an effective way to keep away some major causes of pneumonia. It can be used for both children and adults.

There is a vaccine against Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria, which is found in 50% of  all  cases of pneumonia. It is highly recommended to elderly people (above age of 65). It may also be given to children to strengthen their resistance to the bacteria. Five years after the first shot another one may be given to ensure the effect. In general, all people with weak immune system are at high-risk of getting pneumonia and a vaccine should be concidered. Your immune system is weak if you have been trough a long lasting illness; if you have taken immunesupreessant medications such as coricosteroids (such are given  to prevent transplant rejection); if you have HIV; if you have any chronic condition like heart disease or lung disease; smokers.

Of common use are different types of Influenza vaccines.  A little known fact is that by vaccinating yourself against flu highly decreases your chances of developing pneumonia. This is because very often pneumonia appears as a result of another respiratory disease.

• Personal Hygiene

Keeping good personal hygiene is a key point to avoiding all kinds of diseases and pneumonia is a good example. Wash your hands often and use soap. It doesn’t necessarily be antibacterial, just regular soap. It is sufficient to keep you clean of dangerous germs. Streptococu Pneumonae – like many other bacteria – live inside your nose, mouth, throat, Keep those places clean to stop the bacteria from overgrowing and spreading. Don’t eat unwashed fruits and vegetables – those are a huge source of all kinds of microorganisms, some of which are harmful. Don’t leave and open wounds, treat them appropriately and take care of them. An open wound is a gateway for bacteria and viruses. Trough the blood they can reach any of your organs. Don’t underestimate any sickness you have and treat it with the needed attention and responsibility. Even a common cold may lead to very bad complications if not treated accordingly.

• Healthy Living

Don’t smoke. Smoking is a bad habit which has a very negative effect on the immune system. It also hurts the lungs and makes them susceptible to pneumonia. Keep your body in good condition with regular exercises. Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, include them in your menu. Lower the fats. Take some time to rest and relax in a way  that makes you feel good to release the stress. If you catch a cold, stay at home as much as you can. Stay away from sick people. Take a lot of fluids.

• Is Pneumonia Contagious?

Pneumonia is a respiratory disease caused by bacteria and viruses and as such it is indeed contagious. A sick person would spread the bacteria, virus or whatever caused the pneumonia when coughing. The droplets would remain in the air thanks to their light weight, moving around. The closer you are to the sick person and the longer you remain near him, the higher the risk to inhale those droplets, letting the bacteria or virus right into your own lungs where the microorganism would start multiplying and eventually cause infection. That said, pneumonia is considered to be much less contagious than most respiratory diseases. Many of the bacteria causing pneumonia normally live in your nose or throat. From time to time they spread to your lungs and the immune system is used to killing them. Even when in contact with a sick person, your immune system should be ready to protect you at first. This is less viable for people with weak immune system, smokers, alcoholics or who recently recovered from a disease.