Symptoms of Pneumonia

The diagnosis of pneumonia often is
associated with feelings of uncertainty and fear for a number of
reasons. Many cases of upper respiratory infections can transform into
lower respiratory infections leading to bronchospasm or bronchitis. If
left untreated, bronchitis may turn into pneumonia. The

symptoms of pneumonia

vary by individual although there are many classic symptoms. Children,
adults, and elderly patients are all susceptible to pneumonia and must
be monitored for symptoms. It is very important to recognize that there
are two types of pneumoniaseparated by significant differences. Viral
pneumonia and bacterial pneumonia are treated differently due to the
source of infection. Viral pneumonia cannot be treated with antibiotics
because the source of the infection is a virus. Bacterial pneumonia is
treatable by antibiotics. Understanding the difference in symptoms is
critical to help make a prompt diagnosis and begin the best treatment
option. In severe cases, patients may need to be hospitalized for
treatment and observation.

The most common symptoms of viral
pneumonia include a previous respiratory infection, low grade fever,
productive cough, and general fatigue. Manypatients with viral pneumonia report feeling flu-like symptoms.Additional symptomsinclude sore
throat, chestpain, body weakness, and chills. Bacterial pneumonia tends
to be associated with a more dramatic productive cough with mucus that
is thick and often green in color. Patients frequently complain of
difficulty breathing, coughing that hurts, chest pains, problems taking a deep breath, and a higher fever than patients with viral
pneumonia.Bacterial pneumonia symptomsare usually worse than viral pneumonia symptoms and the patients may also report abdominal pain. Patientswith other
medical conditions including asthma, allergies, chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease, and cardiac conditions need to be extremely
carefulwith pneumonia symptoms.If youhave ahistory of pre-existing medical conditions and you are
experiencing pneumonia symptoms, seek medicalattentionimmediately.The
longer it takes to receive aconfirmeddiagnosis of pneumonia results a
delayed treatment plan.