What are the symptoms of pneumonia?

Written by Wang Xiang Yu
Pulmonology
Updated on September 20, 2024
00:00
00:00

Pneumonia can have many manifestations, and each person's symptoms can be different. It is highly heterogeneous, varying from mild to severe and can last for short or long durations. The main factors depend on the type of pathogen involved and the state of the body. The most common symptoms of pneumonia are coughing and producing sputum. The cough can be mild or severe and may be accompanied by sputum. The amount of sputum can vary and may be yellow, green, red, or rust-colored. Other possible symptoms include chest pain, difficulty breathing, respiratory distress, and most cases of pneumonia also involve fever. The duration and severity of the fever are somewhat related to the course of the illness. However, a small portion of patients may have atypical symptoms, especially older adults, who may not show direct respiratory symptoms but instead exhibit consciousness disturbances such as coma, confusion, fatigue, and more.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Wang Xiang Yu
Pulmonology
48sec home-news-image

Can pneumonia heal by itself?

Pneumonia is generally not self-healing; only a few pneumonia cases caused by specific pathogens, which lead to milder infections, can heal by themselves, such as pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae, which is self-limiting and can heal. However, most cases of pneumonia require standard treatment, such as pneumonia caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae and infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus. Therefore, if diagnosed with pneumonia, it is essential to seek immediate medical attention at a hospital. Relying on self-healing is unrealistic since self-healing cases are rare, and most pneumonia cases require standard treatment to recover.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Yang Feng
Pulmonology
39sec home-news-image

Symptoms of pneumonia in infants

Pneumonia is a particularly common infectious disease of the respiratory system. In infants and young children with pneumonia, the main clinical symptoms include fever, crying, vomiting, and so forth. Since infants cannot express their discomfort, it is difficult to make a diagnosis. However, when a patient presents with fever, we first need to consider the possibility of a lung infection. We can determine whether there is an infection of the lungs through listening to the chest, routine blood tests, imaging examinations, etc., and then treat the pneumonia with effective anti-inflammatory therapy.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Hu Qi Feng
Pediatrics
52sec home-news-image

How to take care of children with pneumonia

Children with pneumonia need comprehensive and general treatment, and care should be mindful of the following: First, indoor air should be circulated, with a temperature of 18~20°C and humidity at about 60%. Second, provide a nutrition-rich diet. For severe cases where the child has difficulty eating, parenteral nutrition can be given. Third, frequently change the child's position to reduce pulmonary congestion and facilitate the absorption of inflammation. Fourth, pay attention to isolation to prevent cross-infection. Additionally, it is important to monitor and supplement electrolytes and fluids, correct acidosis and electrolyte imbalances. Appropriately supplementing fluids helps moisten the airways, but care should be taken with the speed of fluid administration, as too fast a rate can increase the burden on the heart.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Chen Jian
Infectious Disease
1min 8sec home-news-image

How many days does the novel pneumonia take to develop?

After being infected with the novel coronavirus pneumonia, symptoms generally appear within three to seven days, with the shortest onset reported within one day and the longest at 27 days. However, most patients develop symptoms within two weeks, typically exhibiting respiratory symptoms post-onset. The novel coronavirus primarily attacks the lower respiratory tract, including the trachea, bronchi, and lungs. Patients often experience recurring fever, with temperatures generally ranging between 38 to 39°C, lasting over 72 hours, accompanied by significant coughing. In the early stages, there is usually no noticeable expectoration, presenting as a dry cough. Most patients also experience significant fatigue. If the condition progresses, patients may suffer from shortness of breath and decreased blood oxygen saturation, leading to apparent respiratory distress. In severe cases, patients may experience respiratory failure and even death.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Yang Feng
Pulmonology
45sec home-news-image

Are the symptoms of pneumonia severe?

Whether pneumonia symptoms are severe needs to be based on the patient's clinical presentation and the extent of infection seen in imaging studies. Through these assessments, one can generally determine the severity of the patient's infection and thus comment on the severity of the disease. Pneumonia is generally most commonly seen due to bacterial infections, but there are also instances of fungal, mycoplasma, and viral infections in clinical settings, which have become relatively more common than before. When these infections occur, it is necessary to identify the pathogen, and then choose an antibiotic susceptible to the pathogen based on bacterial culture and sensitivity tests. Generally, lung infections can be cured.