What is pneumonia?
Pneumonia is an infection deep in your lungs. The infection involves the small air sacs in your lungs (alveoli). Pneumonia is different from infection of the air passages (bronchi) in your lungs. Infection of the air passages is called bronchitis Acute Bronchitis Your bronchi are the tubes that carry air into your lungs. Bronchitis is when the bronchi become swollen and irritated. Acute bronchitis starts suddenly, usually over a few days. Acute bronchitis... read more .
With pneumonia:
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You usually cough up mucus and have a fever
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You may have chest pain, chills, or trouble breathing
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Your symptoms can be very mild (sometimes called "walking pneumonia") or very serious
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Symptoms are often worse in young children, older people, and people with other lung problems such as COPD Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) COPD is a disease in your lungs that makes it hard to breathe. It's hard to push air out of your lungs. Difficulty pushing air out is called chronic airflow obstruction. Smoking cigarettes is... read more
(chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) -
Most people recover, but pneumonia can be fatal
Every year, about 60,000 people in the United States die from pneumonia.
What causes pneumonia?
Pneumonia can be caused by many different types of germs, including:
Usually, the germs are passed from one person to another. If you touch something that has germs on it, the germs can get in your mouth, nose, or throat. Usually, your body fights off the germs. But sometimes the germs get in your lungs and cause an infection.
What are the risk factors for getting pneumonia?
Anyone can get pneumonia, but it's more likely if you have a weakened immune system because you are:
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Very young or very old
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Taking certain drugs (such as corticosteroids or chemotherapy drugs)
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Weakened by having other serious illnesses (such as diabetes Diabetes Diabetes is a disease in which your blood sugar (glucose) levels are too high. You get diabetes if your body's normal way of controlling blood sugar isn't working right. There are 2 types of... read more or heart failure Heart Failure Your heart pumps blood to carry oxygen and nutrients to the rest of your body. Heart failure is when your heart doesn’t pump blood as well as it should. It doesn’t mean your heart has stopped... read more )
Other risk factors for pneumonia include:
What are the symptoms of pneumonia?
How can doctors tell if I have pneumonia?
How do doctors treat pneumonia?
How can I keep from getting pneumonia?
If you smoke, stop smoking Smoking Cessation While often very challenging, quitting smoking is one of the most important things smokers can do for their health. Quitting smoking brings immediate health benefits that increase over time... read more .
Get a yearly flu vaccine Influenza Vaccine The influenza virus vaccine helps protect against influenza. Two types of influenza virus, type A and type B, regularly cause seasonal epidemics of influenza in the United States. There are... read more (shot), because having the flu can lead to pneumonia.
Ask your doctor whether you also need a pneumonia vaccine Pneumococcal Vaccine Pneumococcal vaccines help protect against bacterial infections caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococci). Pneumococcal infections include ear infections, sinusitis, pneumonia, bloodstream... read more , which is recommended for:
