This topic focuses on community-associated pneumonia. Symptoms of pneumonia in otherwise healthy people often start during or after an upper respiratory infection , such as the flu or a cold.
Symptoms may include:. Older adults may have different, fewer, or milder symptoms, such as having no fever or having a cough with no mucus a dry or nonproductive cough.
The major sign of pneumonia in older adults may be a change in how clearly they think confusion or delirium or when a lung disease they already have gets worse. After you've been infected with a pneumonia-causing organism, it takes as little as 1 to 3 days or as long as 7 to 10 days for symptoms to appear. How severe pneumonia is and how long it lasts depend on:. In healthy people, pneumonia can be a mild illness that is hardly noticed and clears up in 2 to 3 weeks.
In older adults and in people with other health problems, recovery may take 6 to 8 weeks or longer. If your pneumonia is caused by a virus or bacteria, you may spread the infection to other people while you are contagious.
How long you are contagious depends on what is causing the pneumonia and whether you get treatment. You may be contagious for several days to a week. If you get antibiotics, you usually cannot spread the infection to others after a day of treatment. The faster you get treatment, the faster you will get over pneumonia. This is especially true for the very young, for people older than 65, and for anyone with other long-lasting chronic health problems, such as asthma.
Call or other emergency services immediately if you:. Also call your doctor if you have new chest pain more than just discomfort when you cough that gets worse with deep breathing and if you have other symptoms of pneumonia, such as shortness of breath, cough, and fever.
Watchful waiting is a wait-and-see approach. If you get better on your own, you won't need treatment. If you get worse, you and your doctor will decide what to do next.
The need for more tests often depends on how severe your symptoms are, your age, and your overall health. This is especially true for older adults and infants. One example of a test you may have is the arterial blood gas test. If you are very ill, have severe shortness of breath, or have a condition that increases your risk such as asthma or COPD , your doctor may test your mucus.
Tests include a Gram stain and a sputum culture. This test can identify some bacteria that cause pneumonia. This can help guide treatment for pneumonia. This fungus often causes pneumonia in people who have AIDS. If you have severe pneumonia, you may need other tests , including tests to check for complications and to find out how well your immune system is working.
Doctors use antibiotics to treat pneumonia caused by bacteria, the most common cause of the condition. Antibiotics have a high cure rate for pneumonia. Your doctor will choose your antibiotic based on a number of things, including your age, your symptoms and how severe they are, and whether you need to go to the hospital.
The number of days you take antibiotics depends on your general health, how serious your pneumonia is, and the type of antibiotic you are taking. Most people see some improvement in symptoms in 2 to 3 days. Unless you get worse during this time, your doctor usually will not change your treatment for at least 3 days. Getting started on antibiotics soon after getting pneumonia may help recovery. If there is no improvement or if your symptoms get worse, you may need a culture and a sensitivity test.
These tests help identify the organism that is causing your symptoms. These tests also help your doctor find out whether the bacteria is resistant to the antibiotic. If you do not need to go to the hospital for pneumonia, it is not usually necessary to identify the organism causing the pneumonia before starting treatment.
If you do go to the hospital, you will probably have some testing to identify the bacteria. Pneumonia also can be caused by viruses, such as those that cause the flu and chickenpox varicella. Antibiotics do not work to treat pneumonia caused by a virus.
In most cases pneumonia is a short-term, treatable illness. But frequent bouts of pneumonia can be a serious complication of a long-term chronic illness, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD. If you have a severe long-term illness, it may be hard to treat your pneumonia, or you may choose not to treat it. You and your doctor should discuss this. This discussion may include information about how to create an advance directive.
Children get the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine PCV as a routine vaccination. Two different pneumococcal shots are recommended for people ages 65 and older. Some people who have long-term chronic conditions also need the pneumococcal vaccine. The pneumococcal vaccine may not prevent pneumonia. But it can prevent some of the serious complications of pneumonia, such as infection in the bloodstream bacteremia or throughout the body septicemia , in younger adults and those older than age 55 who have a healthy immune system.
Home treatment is important for recovery from pneumonia. The following measures can help you recover and avoid complications:. Your doctor may want to see you after a week of treatment to make sure you are getting better. Be sure to contact your doctor if you do not feel better, your cough gets worse, you have shortness of breath or a fever, you feel weak, or you feel faint when you stand up. Be careful with cough and cold medicines.
They may not be safe for young children or for people who have certain health problems, so check the label first. If you do use these medicines, always follow the directions about how much to use based on age and weight.
Always check to see if any over-the-counter cough or cold medicines you are taking contain acetaminophen. If they do, make sure the acetaminophen you are taking in your cold medicine plus any other acetaminophen you may be taking is not higher than the daily recommended dose. Ask your doctor or pharmacist how much you can take every day. Doctors use antibiotics to treat pneumonia that is caused by bacteria.
Although experts differ on their recommendations, the first antibiotic used is usually one that kills a wide range of bacteria broad-spectrum antibiotic. There are many types of antibiotics. Your doctor will decide which antibiotic will work best for you. In most cases, a doctor will prescribe antibiotics without first identifying the exact organism causing the illness. If you don't get better with your first antibiotic, your doctor may add a second antibiotic to cover other bacteria that are not being treated with the first one.
Or you may have more testing to identify the specific organism that is causing the pneumonia. More and more bacteria are becoming resistant to certain antibiotics, making them less effective. An example of this is MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus , which is resistant to many types of penicillin. To help fight antibiotic resistance, ask your doctor how to take your antibiotics correctly , such as always finishing your prescription.
In most cases of pneumonia in young, otherwise healthy people with strong immune systems , treatment can be done at home. Antibiotics, rest, fluids, and home care are all that you need in order to recover. But people who are having trouble breathing or have other lung problems may need more treatment. Sometimes you may need oxygen or medicines you breathe using an inhaler or nebulizer to help shortness of breath and wheezing symptoms.
If home treatment does not help, if symptoms get worse, or if signs of complications of pneumonia develop, you may have to go to the hospital. Hospital treatment for pneumonia may include:. Author: Healthwise Staff. Medical Review: E. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated, disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. Learn how we develop our content. To learn more about Healthwise, visit Healthwise.
Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. Updated visitor guidelines. You are here Home » Pneumonia. Top of the page. Topic Overview What is pneumonia? What causes pneumonia? Germs called bacteria or viruses usually cause pneumonia. What are the symptoms? Symptoms of pneumonia may include: Cough. You will likely cough up mucus sputum from your lungs.
Mucus may be rusty or green or tinged with blood. Fever, chills, and sweating. Fast breathing and feeling short of breath. Chest pain that often feels worse when you cough or breathe in. Fast heartbeat. Feeling very tired or very weak. When you have less severe symptoms, your doctor may call this "walking pneumonia. How is pneumonia diagnosed? How is it treated? How can you prevent pneumonia? Health Tools Health Tools help you make wise health decisions or take action to improve your health.
Actionsets are designed to help people take an active role in managing a health condition. Cause Viruses, bacteria, a fungus, or in rare cases parasites or other organisms can cause pneumonia.
In most cases, the specific organism such as bacteria or virus cannot be identified even with testing. Many types of bacteria may cause pneumonia. Pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae is sometimes less severe and called "walking pneumonia. How do you get pneumonia? You may get pneumonia: After you breathe infected air particles into your lungs. After you breathe certain bacteria from your nose and throat into your lungs.
During or after a viral upper respiratory infection , such as a cold or influenza flu. So, how long will it take for your child to recover completely from pneumonia?
Pneumonia often appears as a secondary infection, which means that it sneaks in when the immune system is focused on battling another infection. Children might develop pneumonia at the end of a bout of the flu, or even after a simple cold. The main symptoms are a fever and coughing. It can be difficult to tell when the symptoms of the first infection end and the second one begins. You might not realise that your child has pneumonia at first. Pneumonia is a term that we use to describe an infection deep inside the lungs.
Pneumonia can be caused by several different types of bacteria and viruses. The type of pneumonia your child has can affect the symptoms and how long they last. Other factors can also affect the recovery time for pneumonia in children, including:. However, for most children the symptoms of pneumonia will last for about weeks. Some people are more likely to catch pneumonia or to be badly affected if they do. Treatment for pneumonia depends on the type of pneumonia you have, how sick you are feeling, your age, and whether you have other health conditions.
The goals of treatment are to cure the infection and prevent complications. It is important to follow your treatment plan carefully until you are fully recovered. Take any medications as prescribed by your doctor. If your pneumonia is caused by bacteria, you will be given an antibiotic.
It is important to take all the antibiotic until it is gone, even though you will probably start to feel better in a couple of days. If you stop, you risk having the infection come back, and you increase the chances that the germs will be resistant to treatment in the future. Typical antibiotics do not work against viruses.
If you have viral pneumonia, your doctor may prescribe an antiviral medication to treat it. Sometimes, though, symptom management and rest are all that is needed. If your pneumonia is so severe that you are treated in the hospital, you may be given intravenous fluids and antibiotics, as well as oxygen therapy , and possibly other breathing treatments. It may take time to recover from pneumonia. Some people feel better and are able to return to their normal routines within a week.
For other people, it can take a month or more. Most people continue to feel tired for about a month. Adequate rest is important to maintain progress toward full recovery and to avoid relapse. Don't rush your recovery! Talk with your doctor about when you can go back to your normal routine. While you are recovering, try to limit your contact with family and friends, to help keep your germs from spreading to other people.
Cover your mouth and nose when you cough, promptly dispose of tissues in a closed waste container and wash your hands often. If you have taken antibiotics, your doctor will want to make sure your chest X-ray is normal again after you finish the whole prescription.
It may take many weeks for your X-ray to clear up.
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