Pneumonia Causes, Symptoms

The lungs are made up of alveoli. Alveoli are extremely small sacs that get filled with air during the process of breathing. When they are filled with air, the alveoli help with gas exchange that is to remove carbon dioxide from the blood and replace it with oxygen from the air that is breathed in. this process happens millions of times during the life of an individual. Pneumonia is a condition that causes an inflammation to occur in the lungs, specifically in the alveoli. During the course of this condition, the alveoli may fill up with fluid which worsens the symptoms. There is no specific cause for pneumonia, it could occur as a result of viral, bacterial or fungal infections. Pneumonia manifests itself through several symptoms that may affect an infected person. The symptoms are somewhat similar to those experienced by a person who is suffering from a common cold or common flu. Symptoms such as fever and a phlegm filled cough are common for both conditions. However, in the case of pneumonia, the fever tends to be very high and is often accompanied by chills and shivering.  If the fever lasts for a long time and is extremely high, it could cause disorientation and loss of normal mental function. In many cases, because of the similarity to flu, pneumonia is not diagnosed at the initial stage when the infection sets in. If flu like symptoms are persistent and extreme, a doctor’s opinion should be sought immediately to confirm or rule out pneumonia.

Symptoms for Pneumonia

• Cold in the head or throat
• Feeling chilly, shivering, difficulty breathing and sharp pain in the chest followed by a cough with pinkish sputum, which might later on turn brownish.
• Fever and headache
• Rusty-coloured sputum in the later stage
• Miserable feeling and a lot of sweating
• Body temperature going up to 105 degree F and pulse rate to 150 beats per minute
• Distressing cough in bacterial pneumonia followed by breathlessness and systemic symptoms

Causes of Pneumonia

• Germs like streptococcus, staphylococcus and pneunococcus
• Viruses
• Fungal infections
• Irritation by worms
• Inhalation of foreign matter
• Irritant dust or noxious gases
• Vapours like ammonia, nitrogen dioxide and cadmium
• Toxic conditions present in the body especially the lungs and air passages due to wrong dietary habits and lifestyle choices. If you have healthy tissues and strong vital force, you will not catch pneumonia. Only when your system is clogged with unhealthy matter and vitality is low that the germs will affect you.

Pneumonia treatment can be administered once the condition has been diagnosed. Based on the symptoms and a chest x-ray, a diagnosis of pneumonia can be made. Treatment of pneumonia is also similar to the treatment that one might use for common flu. Treating pneumonia would therefore include bed rest, administration of plenty of fluids, cool baths (when the fever is high) and the administration of electrolyte drinks. The medical treatment for pneumonia is based on the administration of anti-biotic drugs. This is, of course, after consultation with a trained doctor and should be used if a doctor’s opinion has not been sought. For these reasons, most pneumonia natural cure can be done at home and most of the patients are treated successfully using these general home treatment solutions. Pneumonia could lead to many complications, particularly in people with other conditions or people who are extremely young or old. For people with already weak respiration, pneumonia can be deadly and must be treated in a hospital environment itself.