Pneumonia is a disease that today affects almost one in ten people, by its nature it is infectious.
Everyone should know the main symptoms of the disease, so that going to a medical institution is more immediate.
Treatment depends on the nature of the infection, at what age and condition the patient is.
Signs of pneumonia in adults
Signs of pneumonia in an adult depend on what type of infection develops. The main provoking factor is hypothermia of the body, at the moment of which the upper respiratory tract is affected. In people of advanced age, the disease usually goes into a pathological form. There are many signs of inflammation in an adult.
Signs of SARS
The disease proceeds without any special symptoms characteristic of pneumonia. Inflammation of this nature is typical primarily because it is too late to treat, at a time when complications are already developing. All pulmonary manifestations in this case go by the wayside, the patient is worried about the general intoxication of the body. When examining on an X-ray, there are no changes in the airways. The signs of such inflammation are as follows:
1. Cough dry.
2. Severe headache and muscle pain.
3. General weakness of the whole organism.
After infection, the first signs will begin to appear after 5-10 days, while changes in the lungs will occur much later.
Signs of Viral Pneumonia
The disease always causes a lot of viruses, the first place can be attributed to the flu. At first, a general malaise of the body is noticed for three to five days. After this, the patient's condition worsens, shortness of breath, chest pain occurs. Signs of viral pneumonia are as follows:
1. Body temperature rises to 39 degrees.
2. Fatigue.
3. Pain in the muscles and head.
In this case, a diagnosis can only be made after a thorough examination.
Signs of bacterial pneumonia
The main cause of inflammation is staphylococcus, streptococcus. The disease begins with a sharp increase in temperature to 41 degrees, it lasts several days in a row and is difficult to stray. The main sign of such pneumonia is sputum discharge, tachycardia, breathing becomes difficult.
Signs of fungal pneumonia
The most dangerous type of inflammation is fungal. The thing is that pneumonia does not make itself felt and patients do not even know that they are sick. The diagnosis is made at a later date. The causative agent of the fungus is candida. Initially, the patient may have a fever, cough, shortness of breath. After some time, along with the cough, pus will be released, which is what allows you to make an accurate diagnosis.
Unfortunately, signs of pneumonia in adults do not always appear early, so it is difficult for specialists to make a diagnosis in a timely manner.
Symptoms of pneumonia in adults
Colds and flu should not bother anyone for more than one week. If after a week the patient's condition worsens, this is the first signal that the airways are very inflamed. The main symptom of pneumonia in an adult is a severe shortness of breath and pallor of the skin. If they are present in the common cold, while the general condition is weakened, excessive sweating, loss of appetite is observed, then this indicates intoxication of the body with pneumonia.
Fever with inflammation
With SARS, body temperature can rise to about 38 degrees, but sometimes to 40. Not a single antipyretic will work. Therefore, if you are unable to bring down such a temperature, then we can safely assume that you have pneumonia.
It is much more dangerous when the pathology proceeds without an increase in temperature, the patient is unaware of the disease, while his condition worsens.
Cough for pneumonia
In the early days of the development of the disease, a dry cough is noted. He constantly worries the patient and can be safely called obsessive. But inflammation will progress, and the symptom will change slightly. Sputum will gradually begin to recede, its color will depend on the infection, for example, with purulent, it is rusty. A cough that does not go away within 10 days should alert and become a reason for a visit to the doctor.
Trembling voice
A doctor can recognize pneumonia by trembling in his voice. The patient needs to pronounce the words with the letter p, and the doctor at this time puts his hand on his chest, thereby determining trembling. With pneumonia, the entire lung or a small part of it will become denser. An experienced doctor will definitely notice this, because the trembling in the voice will intensify.
Danger of disease
Adult pneumonia is a common cause of death. According to statistics, approximately 5% of mortality is from this disease. That is why doctors are still worried about the symptoms of pneumonia at the time of treatment of their patients.
Most mortality in our country is observed in men of working age. In people over 60, this figure reaches about 30%, especially if the disease is burdened with bad habits and an antisocial lifestyle. A common phenomenon ending in death - the patient came to the hospital at a time when the disease caused many complications.
Below are some signs of pneumonia that increase the negative outcome of a disease:
1. Patients are men.
2. Before the development of the disease, the body was hypothermic.
3. Patients are disturbed by a strong and frequent shortness of breath.
4. There are some changes in the psyche.
5. Chronic diseases - diabetes, oncology and more.
6. Blood pressure is greatly reduced.
7. Despite the inflammatory process in the body, body temperature is lowered.
Important, so that patients, especially in adulthood, know how pneumonia manifests itself and what its signs are most dangerous. It is believed that if people were more knowledgeable, then mortal danger would not threaten so often. But this is only if the patient contacted a medical facility in a timely manner.
Diagnosis of diseases
The diagnosis can be suspected based on the patient's complaints. An important point is listening to the respiratory tract using a phonendoscope. But in the event that the focus is located deep enough or its size is small, then the doctor will not hear anything. Two types of diagnostics are distinguished: instrumental and laboratory.
Instrumental methods
The main study in which you can accurately make a diagnosis is radiography. It is necessary to do it in a hospital on a special apparatus.
In the event that the patient is in a serious condition, radiography is done on a mobile device.
If there is a suspicion of pneumonia, magnetic resonance imaging can be performed, the information is exactly the same, but this service costs much more.
Laboratory diagnostics
Such diagnostics are carried out as follows:
1. A blood test is taken, it allows you to see how strongly the inflammatory process is expressed.
2. Sputum analysis, a specialist will determine what exactly leaves: pus, mucus or blood.
3. Bacteriological examination of sputum, its results will be known only on the 5th day. As a result, it will be known which bacteria caused inflammation, as well as which drugs they are sensitive to.
4. Serological analysis of urine or blood.
5. If the patient has a disease in the fall or winter, then it is necessary to take a flush from the nasopharynx.
These are the main activities aimed at identifying the disease and confirming the diagnosis.
Treatment of pneumonia in adults
After an X-ray examination and confirmation of the diagnosis, therapy should begin in the first hours. The first medications prescribed by doctors are antibiotics with a wide spectrum of action.
Antibiotic therapy is prescribed for at least 7 days, if necessary, drugs can be replaced with others if 72 hours have passed since they were taken, and the patient's condition has not improved.
If pneumonia occurred during the flu epidemic, then Oseltamivir must be drunk to confirm the diagnosis. If necessary, the drug can be replaced by Viferon or Laferon.
Oxygen therapy - indications for use: severe shortness of breath. Performed using nasal cannula or mask. With severe hypoxia, the patient is transferred to artificial lung ventilation, since in this case this is the only chance to save his life.
With bronchospasm, bronchodilating medications are prescribed, for example, Ventolin, Teofedrin. Mandatory inhalation with Eufillinum, sputum will begin to liquefy.
In exceptional cases, bronchoscopic sanitation is repeated. When a patient is on a ventilator, a bronchoscope must be inserted through an endotracheal tube.
In the event that, after all the measures taken, the patient’s life is still in danger, then it is necessary to carry out another procedure - oxygenation of the blood, oxygen enters the blood through a special apparatus, thus, the gas exchange process is completely eliminated.
It is no secret to anyone that the best treatment is primarily prevention. Pneumonia in an adult is no exception.
Throughout your life you need to strengthen your immunity, drink various decoctions and teas from medicinal herbs.
Try to avoid contact with sick people, because even when you sneeze, harmful bacteria and microorganisms will get on you, which means inflammation is unlikely to be avoided.
