Treatment of Pneumonia & Risk Factors Involved

Written by Gary Grey on his blog on Pneumonia

Treatment for pneumonia will depend on the type of pneumonia one has, and how severe it is. The decision of the final treatment can be determined by a simple physical examination and history of the patient.

Approach for treatment of pneumonia will depend on the following factors:

Deciding whether the patient has severe or mild pneumonia and whether he/she can be treated at home or needs to be taken to hospital.

Deciding whether a patient needs antibiotics. Whether the patient has been living in community or alone. Whether patient is old or young specifically if patient is an infant less than one year old needs to be admitted immediately.

Patient may be considered serious if following risk factors are involved:

Kidney failure Heart failure Poor immune system Liver disease

Other factors of treatment will depend on the physical examination and X-ray findings of the patient such as:
If patient is less responsive Fast breathing If temperature is more than 104 F Heart rate is more than 120 beats/minute Low oxygen in blood Low sodium level in body Improper kidney function

Doctors usually give antibiotics if pneumonia has occurred due to bacteria, which is its most common cause. Choice of antibiotics depends on the age of patient and severity of the symptoms. The number of days for which that antibiotic has to be taken will depend on your general health, how fast you are improving and the kind of antibiotic that you are taking. Antibiotics are prescribed to treat bacterial pneumonia and other medications are given to improve

breathing and reduce symptoms of viral and bacterial pneumonia. Medication options include Antibiotics, Antiviral, fever reducers and cough medicines. People normally start to show signs of improvement in 2-3 days. If there is no improvement during this time then you need a culture and sensitivity test which will help to identify the organism causing pneumonia and whether the bacteria is resistant to any particular antibiotic or not. If you go to hospital you may have tests to identify the bacteria.

One need not go to the hospital unless you are:

You are older than 65 years Have other health problems like asthma, diabetes, heart failure and liver failure Have severe chest pain Have shortness of breath If you are not able to eat or take fluids through veins Virus can also cause pneumonia and in such cases Antibiotics do not work to cure the illness. Home treatment like taking lot of rest, taking fluids and taking precautions to get rid of the cough are the only remedies to get rid of viral pneumonia. If pneumonia is to be treated at home, then treatment will include antibiotics tablets/syrups, pain relieving medicines and Paracetamol. In most cases pneumonia is treatable but if it is not cured properly then it can lead to other complications of long-term chronic illness like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Pneumonia may take several days to fully recover, cough will remain until the lungs do not get cleared of sputum, fatigue and weakness may also be experienced during the recovery process.

If pneumonia is severe for hospitalization, the treatment may be given from 5-8 days until all symptoms start to fade away. Temperature, respiratory rate, heart rate and blood pressure are some of the variables checked to find stability of pneumonia symptoms. Chest therapies like incentive spirometry and rhythmic inhalation are given to the patient to loosen mucus from lungs. Treatment of pneumonia differs from patient to patient depending upon the virus that causes pneumonia. The type of pneumonia inflicted on the patient can be ascertained by testing a sample of mucus or blood. Most cases of pneumonia can be treated at home with various antibiotics, rest and liquid diet. However when people have this disease coupled with other problems like breathing troubles or any other medical problems then the patient needs more advanced treatment. And such treatment does not provide relief then the patient needs to be hospitalized.

Viral pneumonia
This type of pneumonia is treated with antiviral medicines. Antibiotics are not used as they cannot fight bacteria. Attacks of viral pneumonia can be treated without the use of medicines provided the patient takes proper bed rest, eats healthy food and is on liquid diet. If still some complications arise then doctor should be contacted as bacterial pneumonia is a possibility.

Bacterial pneumonia
This type of pneumonia can be treated with antibiotics in contrast with viral pneumonia. The choice of antibiotics can be made depending upon the type of bacterium causing the pneumonia, the most common pneumonia causing bacteria depending upon the local geographical conditions, the immunity system of the individual and other factors. The duration of the treatment varies from about three to seven days. But normally a three day course is sufficient. Treating bacterial pneumonia is not easy due to antibiotic resistance. It is recommended to complete the course of antibiotics early because when stopped in between the antibiotic causes the bacteria to mutate and become resistant to the drug. Both mycoplasma and chlamydia pneumonia can be treated with use of antibiotics.

Aspiration pneumonia
If any infection occurs in aspiration pneumonia, the antibiotics treatment will depend upon various factors. For treating aspirational pneumonia use of corticosteroids is recommended. The type of treatment to be catered to an individual depends upon the certain points: 1. Whether the treatment can be given at home or the patient needs to be hospitalized.

2. Whether or not antibiotics are needed and what type of medicines should be given. 3. What type of care is needed.

Treatment of pneumonia at home:

1. The patients should lots of liquid. 2. Any cough should not be subdued as coughing is the reflex system in pneumonia to clear the lungs. 3. Mild pain can be treated with prescribed medicines by the doctor. 4. For severe pain, stronger pain reliever may be prescribed but such use should be regularly monitoring. 5. Chest therapy should be regularly practiced.

Treatment of pneumonia at hospital:

In most cases patients need not be hospitalized and can be successfully treated at home. Patients having mild to moderate pneumonia can be treated successfully without being admitted. This determination can be made simply by a diagnosis and examining the patients history. If patient is treated in the hospital then the patient shall be treated by prescribing the fluids and oxygen supply in blood, proper antibiotics and giving the patient proper breathing exercises. Also if the patient is very young or above 65 years is suffering from pneumonia then the patient has to be admitted.