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Pneumonia: Treatments and Prevention
It just can�t be emphasized enough: pneumonia is a potentially life-threatening disease. It�s essential that you follow your personal health care practitioner�s advice as well
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as
taking any medication she may prescribe for you.
Choosing in addition to this some alternative and complementary
treatment is great � but pneumonia is not a disease tht you should
consider treating on your own.
Your health
care practitioner has several options at her disposal to help you fight this
infection in your lungs. First,
it your pneumonia is caused by a bacteria, then it�s very likely that your
health care practitioner will prescribe antibiotics.
Antibiotics
may also be administered if you have mycoplasma pneumonia. This is a form of pneumonia that is usually
community-acquired. As such,
its symptoms appear slowly. Don�t expect recovery to occur very quickly
however. You may very well be plagued with a lingering fatigue long after
the infection has cleared. Sadly,
many instances of this type of pneumonia actually go undiagnosed and,
therefore, untreated. Many people never develop any signs worse than a bad
chest cold. These individuals
never realize they should seek treatment.
If you
haven�t used antibiotics lately, then you may not recall the importance of
taking the entire prescription. Taking antibiotics is not like taking
aspirin or a pain reliever. When
we try to relief ourselves from pain, we take the over-the-counter
medication until the symptoms are gone.
When you take antibiotics you need to take the entire prescription,
even if the symptoms have disappeared.
Antibiotics
are not given to relieve the symptoms of the illness as much as they are to
kill the bacteria. The bacteria
may have all been killed by the time the you are feeling better. But the easing of your cough or other signals is really not
an accurate reflection of the number of bacteria left in your system.
Stopping
the medication too soon may prompt a re-emergence of your pneumonia.
Not taking a full prescription of the antibiotics also helps to
create bacteria that become resistant to antibiotics.
Your personal
health care practitioner won�t prescribe antibiotics if she knows for a
fact that the cause of your pneumonia is due to a virus.
Some forms of viral pneumonia can be treated with antiviral
medications, the general treatment in this instance is more than likely the
same as for the flu � plenty of fluids and plenty of rest.
If a fungus is
the cause of your pneumonia, then your health care practitioner will treat
you with an antifungal medication.
These may not
be the only measures your health care practitioner takes in battling the
pneumonia though. She may
recommend that you take several over-the-counter medications intended to
reduce your fever as well as treat your aches and pains.
She may also have you take cough syrup.
Usually though the last thing you want to do is to actually suppress
your cough. The cough is your
system�s way of clearing you lung of phlegm collecting in your lungs.
Pneumonia:
Prevention
Pneumonia is
not contagious. You can�t
contract the illness because you�ve been near someone else you has it.
You can
develop this serious respiratory illness, though, if your immune system is
weakened temporarily. Very
often you�ll never know exactly why you�ve developed it, either.
That makes it
a difficult disease to prevent. But
there are some preventive measures you can take to keep your system as
healthy as possible. This could
at least lower the risk of you being susceptible to developing it.
There�s now
a pneumonia vaccine. While it
may not be necessary for everyone to get inoculated, check with your health
care practitioner if you believe you�re at risk for developing it.
Most medical experts agree that anyone older than 65 years of age
should get one. Other risk
factors which may warrant the vaccine include having a weakened immune
system, having had your spleen removed.
You should
also consider this vaccine if you have a chronic illness � especially that
deals with your lungs. Those
individuals with health conditions like cardiovascular disease or diabetes
may also want to consider this vaccine.
Usually all an
individual needs is one dose of the vaccine.
However, a second dose may be recommended if you�re 65 years or
older and received your first dose prior to your turning 65.
You may also
want to consider the pneumonia vaccine if you smoke cigarettes.
If you�re
concerned about your young child developing pneumonia, there�s also a
vaccine called pneumococcal conjugate.
This is recommended for children younger than the age of two or for
those older than two who are at risk of pneumococcal disease.
Those children who would fall into this category would be those with
an immune system deficiency, cardiovascular, sickle cell anemia or cancer.
You really
don�t need to worry about side effects from this vaccine, medical
specialists say. They are few
and usually mild. Side effects are normally limited to a mild tenderness or
swelling at the site of the shot.
You should
also think about getting a second dose if you have a weakened immune system,
have had an organ or bone marrow transplant, kidney disease or if your
spleen has been removed.
If you and
your health care practitioner have decided that you don�t need a vaccine
to protect you from pneumonia, think at least about getting one for the flu.
Very often pneumonia occurs as a complication of the flu.
So getting yourself protected from the flu may be a great way to
achieve some protection from pneumonia at the same time.
There are
other, practical steps you can take to protect yourself from the flu.
Get into the habit of washing your hands.
Think about it. They�re
in almost constant contact with germs that have the potential to cause
pneumonia. These germs gain entrance into your system when you touch
your eyes, or rub the inside of your nose.
If you wash your hands thoroughly and often you can help to
substantially reduce your chances of developing pneumonia.
Yes, there are
times when washing your hands just isn�t practical.
It would be a good idea to carry an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with
you, either in your car, briefcase or purse.
This method may actually be more effective in destroying the bacteria
and viruses that can cause the illness.
If you smoke,
stop! There are plenty of good
reasons to kick the habit. This
is just one more. Smoking
damages your lungs� natural defenses to fight respiratory infections. Just by quitting, you can go a long way to decreasing your
odds of getting pneumonia.
Complementary
and Alternative Treatments
Make no mistake about it.
Pneumonia is a serious � even fatal � illness.
So it�s imperative that you follow your personal health care
practitioner�s advice.
That being said, there are
also plenty of ways you can aid in the recovery of your pneumonia.
A major step toward a full recovery is the establishment of a healthy
diet. This is also a marvelous
time to reinforce your good eating habits with a few more nourishing
practices.
You can accomplish this best
through a series of steps. First,
try � to the best of your ability � to remove all known food allergies
from your diet. Then you need
to make a conscious effort to drink plenty of fluids, especially fresh
juices. Pear juice is
particularly effective at loosening up congestion in the lungs.
In fact, drink a variety of juices especially those of the green and
yellow fruits and vegetables.
These are extremely
beneficial in your recovering from this illness. Other foods that will help improve your recovery time
include fresh garlic, cayenne pepper and chili peppers.
By contrast, if you have
pneumonia or are recovering from it, you should avoid eating dairy products,
as well as processed foods.
Whether you change your diet,
there are certain other methods you can use to ensure that you recover as
quickly as possible from your bout of pneumonia.
Be sure to get plenty of
rest. This is no time to think
that the family or the office can�t live without you.
They�ll take care of themselves.
You just concentrate on re-building your energy and restoring your
health. Keep in mind that one
day of feeling a little better doesn�t constitute a total recovery.
Once you start moving about, be very careful not to over extend your
self. You may yourself right
back into bed!
Don�t stop taking that
medication! Your health care
practitioner no doubt has warned you! If
you need to take the entire prescription of a medication � take it.
If you stop taking it too soon it can cause a relapse in your
pneumonia. Not only that, but
by not taking the full dose of prescribed antibiotics, the bacteria may grow
resistant to the medication. This
can contribute to the development of an antibiotic-resistant strain of
bacteria.
If you have a follow-up
appointment with health care practitioner, keep it. Pneumonia is not the type of disease to treat lightly.
You may feel better, but that doesn�t necessarily mean the
infection in your lungs has totally cleared.
It�s vitally important that your doctor monitor your progress.
Note: Some statements in this article may not be
approved by the FDA. This article is for informational purposes only and
should not be taken as professional medical advice.
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