- Part Two in a two-part series including everything you need to know about

pneumonia, including how to prevent and treat its painful symptoms.

Understanding Pneumonia: Its Symptoms, Prevention, Causes and Treatments, Part

Two

Part One of this series dealt with pneumonia’s several different causes and its various
types. Part Two deals with treatment, prevention, and provides a look at pneumonia’s
worldwide significance and its place throughout history.

<b>Treating the various kinds of pneumonia.</b>

Effectively treating pneumonia depends to a certain degree upon containment: catching

the inflammation while the infection of lung tissues is still relatively small. Other factors
that bear heavily on treatment include the patient’s age and history of respiratory disease,
immune system strength, and overall physical condition. Put simply, healthy patients
have a better chance of curbing the inflammation.

The different kinds of pneumonia require different types of treatment. Antibiotic

medications will work on most kinds of bacterial and mycoplasma pneumonia, yet prove
ineffective against viral strains. Doctors often take chest X-rays to examine the extent and
severity of the pneumonia’s damage to the lungs.

Most pneumonia patients are treated at home following an initial doctor’s consultation.
Proper bed rest, a healthy diet, and staying hydrated are all important factors in resisting
symptoms and the underlying inflammation. Hospitalization may become necessary in
extreme cases of impaired breathing or immune system depression.

<b>Pneumonia presents potentially deadly complications.</b>

Pneumonia is known to result in sometimes-deadly side effects. Complications

commonly include:
- Bacteria infecting the bloodstream after passing through the lung’s air sacs,
resulting in a condition called <I>bacteremia</I>. Doctors can detect such
occurrences with blood tests;
- Fluid accumulation around the lungs, which can hamper lung movement
within the chest cavity. The fluid is often surgically drained;
- Lung abscesses, which form on the lung wall and become filled with pus.
They’re usually treated with antibiotics.

<b>Preventing pneumonia in adults and children</b>

A variety of vaccines and booster shots are available that work to resist bacterial and viral
pneumonia infections. Besides the streptococcal vaccine, an immunization against
pneumococcal pneumonia (another bacteria-based pneumonia) has also become
available. Vaccination is not recommended for pregnant women or infants under the age
of two.

Proper hygiene and health are strongly encouraged as pneumonia deterrents. Keeping
hands sanitized will reduce the possibility of ingesting bacterial or viral agents.

Experts recommend careful vigilance of any other respiratory infection to make sure
pneumonia doesn’t follow in its wake, infecting the already-weakened respiratory system.
Patients should take all prescribed medication, even after symptoms apparently subside,
in order to completely remove all irritants from the lungs. A follow-up examination may
also be necessary.

<b>Pneumonia is a worldwide health concern.</b>

According to the Mayo Clinic, more than 60,000 Americans die from pneumonia each
year. Patients being treated in hospitals for even unrelated illnesses can sometimes
contract a particularly virulent strain called <I>nosocomial pneumonia</I>. This type
typically affects patients on respirators or who have suffered some form of esophageal
reflux. It also affects those with kidney disorders, sickle cell anemia, diabetes, and some
heart diseases.

Pneumonia poses its greatest risk to extended families and families struggling with
poverty. The World Health Organization reports that one out of every three infant deaths
is attributed to pneumonia, most commonly streptococcus pneumoniae. Ninety percent of
infant pneumonial deaths take place in developing countries, where children often lack
access to preventative or thereapeutic medications.

Men are more likely to contract pneumonia than women, and blacks are more susceptible
than whites. Smokers and those with a history of alcoholism are also at increaed risk.
Men and women over 65 years of age are more likely to develop pneumonia than others.

<b>The history of pneumonia as a disease and its famous victims</b>

Pneumonia as a respiratory disorder was first diagnosed by no less than Hippocrates, the
father of all Western medicine, more than 2500 years ago. Prior to the introduction of
antibiotics in the1930s, pneumonia was the leading cause of death in the United States.
Extensive advances in antibiotic medications and vaccines, such as the ones mentioned
above, have made prevention and treatment vastly more manageable. Nonetheless,
pneumonia continues to pose a serious public and individual health threat.

In American history, a mixture of pneumonia and laryngitis struck down George

Washington, the country’s first president, after he spent several hours in damp, freezing
temperatures but did not change from his wet clothes upon returning home. William
Henry Harrison, the nation’s 9th president, served for just thirty-one days (the shortest
term of any U.S. president) before falling victim to pneumonia in 1841. It’s believed he
caught sick while standing in the rain during his outdoor inauguration.
Other famous Americans to die from pneumonia include Muppets creator Jim Henson,
“the godfather of soul” James Brown, and movie star Fred Astaire.

Michael Kabel is senior staff writer for www.cornerstorkbabygifts.com. Stop by for parenting
and baby resources, unique baby gifts, baby gift baskets and baby shower favors.