Causes, types, and treatment of pneumonia
Each year, 17 million people worldwide are diagnosed with pneumonia. Mortality from lung disease is very high, at 8-9%.
Pneumonia is an acute, usually contagious inflammation of the lungs that affects the alveoli and connective tissue.
Types of pneumonia
Depending on the origin of pneumonia can be divided into the following types:
Infectious (bacterial) – the causative bacteria: pneumococci, staphylococci, streptococci, etc .;
- viral – caused by various viruses;
- fungal – it can be caused by mold and yeast fungi, pneumocystis, etc.;
- mixed – in which case the lungs can infect two or more different pathogens at the same time.
In addition, vomiting and simple parasites can also cause pneumonia.
Depending on the course of pneumonia, there are several stages:
- acute – it lasts from 3 weeks to 2 months;
- acute – 3 – 6 weeks;
- chronic – can last from a few months to several years or even decades.
There are several types of pneumonia, depending on the location:
- focal – when a small part of the lung is affected and there is only one source of disease;
- segmental – when one or more segments of the lung are affected;
- partially – part of the lungs is affected, for example, the alveoli and adjacent areas are affected;
- joint – in this case, several separate foci of the disease appear, and then they merge into one whole;
- total – when the whole lung is affected.
Depending on which lung is affected, pneumonia can be unilateral (right or left) or bilateral.
Symptoms of common pneumonia
In the first stage, the patient’s temperature rises – from 35.5 to 39.5 ° C. Headaches, weakness, insomnia, mood swings, and excessive sweating occur.
The second stage is a cough – first dry, then wet, with a lot of rust-colored sputum. Increased chest pain on breathing.
In the third stage, there are symptoms of respiratory failure – shortness of breath and cyanosis (bruising of the skin) in the nasal region. Often these are symptoms of widespread pneumonia.
Symptoms of atypical pneumonia
It develops slowly and is dominated by secondary symptoms – dry cough, headache, muscle aches, sore throat, weakness, and discomfort. However, the radiograph shows minimal changes. This pneumonia is often caused by bacteria, fungi, and chlamydia.
