- Infantile community pneumonia
- Symptoms of community-acquired pneumonia
- Treatment for community-acquired pneumonia
- Treatment of community-acquired pneumonia in the elderly
Community pneumonia is a serious lung infection, which is caught outside the hospital or in the first 48 hours of hospitalization, causing symptoms such as high fever and chest pain.
According to the Ministry of Health, this disease is difficult to transmit, but the patient should avoid direct contact through kisses or hugs, for example.
Community pneumonia is curable and can be treated by taking antibiotics or antivirals at home.
Infantile community pneumonia
Pneumonia is one of the main infections in children, causing symptoms such as high fever, coughing with phlegm, difficulty breathing, poor appetite and excessive tiredness.
Typically, the cause of pneumonia can be difficult to identify, but depending on the age of the child, the chances can be reduced, as bacterial pneumonia is more common in babies under 3 months and viral pneumonia is more common in children over 4 months.
Treatment is started with the use of antibiotic remedies, such as Ampicillin or Erythromycin, which can be changed after diagnosis of the cause.
Symptoms of community-acquired pneumonia
Symptoms include:
- Fever higher than 38ºC; Cough with phlegm; Chills; Chest pain; Weakness and easy tiredness.
When the individual presents these symptoms, he / she should seek a pulmonologist in the first 48 to start the appropriate treatment, avoiding serious complications, such as generalized infection or coma.
In cases of severe community-acquired pneumonia, the symptoms are more severe, including difficulty in breathing and fever above 40ºC, with hospital admission being recommended.
Treatment for community-acquired pneumonia
Treatment usually takes about 14 days and is started with the use of antibiotics, such as azithromycin, ceftriaxone or levofloxacin, because the most common cases are bacterial pneumonia. However, after blood or sputum tests, treatment may be switched to an antiviral drug, such as zanovir and rimantadine, if the pneumonia is caused by a virus.
The improvement of symptoms appears around the 3rd day, but if there is an increase in fever or in the amount of secretions, it is important to inform the pulmonologist to adjust the treatment after performing blood and phlegm tests.
Pneumonia can be treated at home, however, in some cases, such as severe pneumonia, in patients with heart failure, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, treatment can be carried out in the hospital, being complemented with physical therapy to remove infected secretions and improve breathing.
During treatment in patients over 50 years of age who are smokers or who do not improve their symptoms, it may be necessary to perform additional tests, such as chest x-rays, to observe the evolution of the infection in the lungs.
Treatment of community-acquired pneumonia in the elderly
In this case, treatment is done with the use of antibiotic remedies that depend on some factors such as: patient's age, location where the infection was acquired, possibility of aspiration of pharyngeal secretions, or gastric content.
It is very important to maintain good hydration, nutrition and oxygen supply, and the treatment for the elderly is done mainly in the hospital.
