The first symptoms of pneumonia in adults

Pneumonia (pneumonia) is an acute inflammatory infectious process localized in the lung tissue. Pneumonia can be typical or atypical, and if not treated correctly, it can become chronic or even fatal. Every year, pneumonia claims the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, and the main reason for this is the lack of timely treatment.

Pulmonologists at the Yusupov Hospital Therapy Clinic rely on many years of experience working with the most severe pathologies, including cases of pneumonia, which guarantees individually selected, high-quality treatment.

The first signs of pneumonia in adults

There are the following symptoms, the presence of which indicates the development of pneumonia:

fever (up to 40 degrees);
chills (muscle tremors);
squeezing pain in the chest;
cough of various types;
headaches, dizziness;
pale skin;
decreased appetite;
cyanosis (blue nose);
wheezing when breathing;
convulsions;
nausea, vomiting;
diarrhea;
shortness of breath;
shortness of breath;
increased sweating;
general weakness and decreased ability to work.

If you discover several of the above symptoms, you must immediately consult a doctor, explaining to him your complaints, including the signs of inflammation in the lungs. In adults, pneumonia develops very rapidly, and if treated improperly, it can lead to even more serious pathologies, sometimes even death. In this case, it is very important to find an experienced and competent doctor who can make the correct diagnosis and prescribe treatment that suits the specific clinical picture.

Causes of pneumonia

Almost always, an inflammatory reaction in the lung tissue is caused by an infection. Pneumonia can be caused by many microorganisms - bacteria (most often), viruses, fungi and even some types of protozoa. In the vast majority of cases, the cause of pneumonia is:

streptococcus pneumoniae - pneumococcus;
chlamydia;
haemophilus influenzae - hemophilus influenzae;
respiratory syncytial virus is the most common cause of viral pneumonia
other types of streptococci;
staphylococci;
mycoplasma.

Sometimes pneumonia can also be non-infectious and be caused by:

toxic lesions of lung tissue;
allergic reactions;
autoimmune diseases;
exposure to extreme temperatures;
penetrating radiation (cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy to the lungs).

What are the symptoms of pneumonia in adults?

The number and intensity of primary symptoms may vary, but there are a number of the most common cases of pneumonia:

lobar form of pneumonia. The clinical picture of this type of illness, as a rule, at the beginning of its development is similar to the manifestations of a common cold or flu. The patient's temperature rises sharply to 38-39 degrees, chills, weakness begin, and headaches are possible. Later, these symptoms are accompanied by a cough - dry or with little sputum, shortness of breath and pain in the chest area. This form of the disease can last up to 3 weeks;
focal pneumonia. It is characterized by a slight increase in temperature (up to 37-38 degrees), associated with a dry cough, which later turns into a wet cough with sputum. This type of disease is also characterized by weakness, pain in the right side in the chest area and headache;
atypical pneumonia. It may occur with mild symptoms or even with a complete absence of a visible clinical picture. There is no cough with pneumonia in adults, as well as fever. The patient may complain of general malaise and minor chest pain. This form of the disease is usually detected accidentally on a fluorographic or x-ray.
chronic form of pneumonia. Most often it is a consequence of improper treatment of acute forms, or occurs with constant contact with an external irritant. The chronic form periodically flares up, but during periods of calm it manifests itself only as a dry cough. During an exacerbation, all the above-described symptoms of any type of pneumonia appear. Cough with pneumonia in adults is wet, with the release of mucous sputum, sometimes mixed with purulent clots. This disease most often affects smokers or chemical workers.

How to detect pneumonia - main symptoms

14.08.2020

Many people do not notice seasonal illnesses and continue to live their normal lives. But ARVI and influenza are extremely dangerous diseases that can cause pneumonia .

What is pneumonia?

Pneumonia is a disease of the main respiratory organ - the lungs. Usually the complication occurs due to viruses, but ordinary bacteria can also cause the disease. It has already been proven that pneumonia can be caused by bacteria that are constantly in the upper respiratory tract of a person. The appearance of pneumonia is due to a decrease in immunity , usually after an acute respiratory viral infection, when it seems to the patient that the disease has receded. Therefore, few people think about the development of inflammation, which leads to sad consequences.

When is emergency help needed?

During inflammation of the lung tissue, the lungs cannot cope with saturating the body with oxygen. The heart and brain begin to suffer from this first . Therefore, it is important to remember when an urgent call to the doctor :

the appearance of rapid breathing, when inhalation cannot last more than two seconds;
a drop in upper (systolic) pressure below 90 mm Hg;
a drop in lower (diastolic) pressure below 60 mm Hg;
the appearance of hallucinations, a slow reaction to what is happening, slow answers to questions and poor spatial orientation.

With these symptoms, you should not hesitate under any circumstances; the sooner medical care is provided to the patient, the higher the chances of saving a life.

What are the common symptoms of pneumonia?

Pneumonia often develops as a complication after ARVI or influenza . Initially, all the body’s forces are thrown into the fight against influenza or ARVI, but bacteria and viruses easily hide in the lungs. The body is confident that it has coped with the disease, cough, runny nose , fever and headache disappear. However, the infection continues to operate in the lung tissue. After a couple of days, the immune system notices this and rushes to fight with the remaining forces.
High temperature , usually more than 40°C. If with the flu the temperature can reach 39 degrees, and with ARVI about 38, then with pneumonia the figures are higher. As a rule, when the temperature is high, the patient also begins to experience severe chills. The body begins to produce a lot of sweat to cool the body. Therefore, heavy sweating is also a sign of pneumonia .
Lack of appetite. Reluctance to eat can occur due to various illnesses, but colds and flu usually do not cause lack of appetite. When the body throws all its strength into fighting an infection, it partially shuts down the gastrointestinal tract, so the desire to eat food disappears. Saving on the digestive process allows the body to get additional energy to fight pneumonia .
Frequent cough. With pneumonia , the cough intensifies, initially it is dry. The cause of cough is irritation of the lung tissue and respiratory tract. The cough is deep, this is noticeable, since everything is fine the throat Alveoli are small air bubbles filled with moisture or pus; when you cough, the contents of the alveoli fly out. This is how the body tries to get rid of unnecessary contents. Usually, with advanced pneumonia, a yellowish or greenish liquid appears during coughing, sometimes with traces of blood .
in the chest . The pain can be sharp and occurs when coughing or taking a deep breath. This indicates swelling of the lung tissue; due to the enlargement of the lungs, the organ puts pressure on the nerve endings, which first causes discomfort and then pain.
The occurrence of shortness of breath. When the body lacks oxygen, shortness of breath begins. This is manifested by rapid breathing, not only during active walking and exercise. Shortness of breath may even occur when a person gets out of bed to go to the toilet.
Cardiopalmus. A healthy adult's heart rate should range from 60 to 100 beats per minute. You need to measure your pulse constantly to know your normal rate. If previously the pulse was 80 beats per minute, then with pneumonia the figure can easily exceed a hundred. The heart receives additional stress, the organ actively pumps blood throughout the body to deliver more oxygen.
Fatigue and bluish tint of lips. Due to lack of oxygen, organs and tissues begin to limit their activity. Data is transmitted to the brain , it does not want to waste energy. In addition to the lips, fingernails and toenails .

What to do if you have the above symptoms?

If more than half of the symptoms are present, you need to contact your local therapist or pulmonologist . There is no need to be afraid or panic; perhaps these are simple complications after an acute respiratory viral infection or the flu. Children under 2 years of age and elderly people over 60 need to be careful. At risk are people with chronic diseases and weak immunity , as well as smokers.

Published in Pulmonology Premium Clinic

What is the cough associated with pneumonia in adults?

Cough with pneumonia in adults is one of the factors that helps determine the type of disease and even its causative agent. The main types of cough include:

wet or dry - the most common types of cough, often found in both adults and children;
spastic - cough accompanied by whistling sounds and spasms in the chest area. May be present regardless of the time of day, but is most obvious during wakefulness;
barking is a rare type of cough that usually occurs with the development of complications from other organs of the pulmonary system;
whooping cough is a paroxysmal cough that brings the human body to extreme exhaustion. May also injure the larynx or throat area;
cough with syncope - paroxysmal cough associated with sudden fainting;
bitonal - a cough that sounds alternating between low and high tones. This type of cough most often indicates a foreign body entering the respiratory tract;
staccato - dry, ringing cough;
hoarse - as a rule, does not form during pneumonia, but is a side symptom of it, indicating insufficient treatment.

Breathing exercises to speed up rehabilitation

Breathing exercises are necessary after suffering from pneumonia. It will restore the respiratory and circulatory systems, return the normal respiratory cycle and strengthen the overall tone of the body. During the recovery period, it is necessary to devote time to breathing training to improve pulmonary circulation and strengthen the pulmonary muscles. Breathing exercises are the first step to a normal healthy life after pneumonia; it is with them that the body begins to train and adapt to normal stress. In fact, without breathing exercises, returning to a productive, full life after pneumonia will be much more difficult and much less effective.

There are many types of breathing exercises. Everyone can choose breathing exercises after consultation with a doctor, from inflating balloons to complex Strelnikova gymnastics.

Today, most people who have recovered from pneumonia prefer to do breathing exercises with an “assistant”, whose role is played by a breathing simulator. Through breathing training with the Samozdrav simulator, exudate will be absorbed, sputum separation will be facilitated, the airways will be cleared, lung tissue will remain healthy and elastic, tissue metabolism will be normalized and intoxication that accompanies the acute stage of the disease will be eliminated. Healthy breathing and normal inhalation volume will be restored, shortness of breath will go away due to the normalization of oxygen levels in the body. Recovery will be faster, and once you get into the habit of breathing correctly, your body will get sick less often.

Prevention of pneumonia

To avoid developing pneumonia, you should regularly follow these recommendations:

observe the rules of personal hygiene - do not eat or touch your face and mouth with unwashed hands;
Perform light physical activity every day, do exercises, or walk a lot in the open air;
eat food enriched with fiber, vitamins and minerals (especially during an epidemic);
rest regularly, avoid stress if possible, maintain a daily routine;
ventilate the room several times a day;
harden the body (just not during any illness);
get rid of bad habits, especially smoking, as this bad habit increases the risk of developing pneumonia;
during seasonal epidemics, it is necessary to avoid public places with large crowds of people;
do not overcool or overheat the body;
Get vaccinated if possible.

Timely contact with a competent specialist guarantees the absence of secondary diseases in the future. Pulmonologists at the Yusupov Hospital will ensure a quick recovery for the patient, protecting him as much as possible from the development of complications. You can see a doctor by first scheduling a consultation on our clinic’s website or by calling.

Is it possible to go to the bathhouse after pneumonia?

If the patient wanted to go to the bathhouse throughout his illness and recovery, then after consulting with a doctor, you can think about a steam room. Conditions for visiting the steam room for those who have suffered pneumonia should be gentle. The time spent in the steam room should not exceed 10 minutes; you should not enter the steam room more than three times. No alcohol, even the lightest. You should not use contrasting procedures (douches, cold pool after steam room, wiping). It is better to use a coniferous broom, but you should steam at low temperatures until the body fully recovers from the illness.

A bathhouse is a test for the body, and it is better for those who have suffered pneumonia to visit it with extreme caution and only if the body is accustomed to bath procedures. Negligent attitude towards yourself while visiting the bathhouse can cause serious complications, relapse of pneumonia and resumption of treatment.

How does the virus progress?

The entry points for infection are the mucous membranes of the respiratory system and eyes. The virus attaches to them, begins to multiply and only then begins to circulate in the blood. There are 3 options for the development of events.

The first one is the most favorable. In young people, children and other people with a strong immune system, the virus may be present in the body, but the protective forces will be sufficient to contain and neutralize it. Therefore, even during the period of fighting the disease, there may be no symptoms. There will also be no changes in the lungs on CT.

The second variant of the course of COVID-19 is asymptomatic pneumonia. The person also does not have typical symptoms such as cough, fever, shortness of breath, but computed tomography (CT) images in such people can reveal foci of compaction of the lung tissue with a “frosted glass” effect, characteristic of pneumonia due to coronavirus. In this case, mild symptoms of malaise, weakness and other mild changes may bother you.

The frequency of this form of infection can be judged by the situation that happened on the Diamond Princess cruise ship. It turned out that 73% of passengers were asymptomatic. At the same time, 54% of them showed changes in the lungs characteristic of COVID-19. Even with this asymptomatic variant, changes in the lungs are possible, which will make themselves felt later. But there are no such statistics yet, since not much time has passed yet.

The third option is the absence of manifestations during the incubation period. It can last up to 2 weeks. During this time, the person will consider himself completely healthy, but then the first symptoms of ARVI will appear such as fever, cough, body aches, and weakness. Possible decrease in blood oxygen saturation and shortness of breath. Here, the development of the disease can follow the classical scenario.

During the incubation period, there are no symptoms of coronavirus.

List of scientific literature used:

Lai CC, Shih TP, Ko WC, Tang HJ, Hsueh PR Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19): The epidemic and the challenges. International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents. March, 2020, 55 (3): 105924.
Marchello CS, Ebell MH, Dale AP, Harvill ET, Shen Y., Whalen CC Signs and Symptoms That Rule out Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Outpatient Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. April, 2021, 32 (2): 234–247.
Metlay JP, Waterer GW, Long AC, Anzueto A, Brozek J, Crothers K, et al. Diagnosis and Treatment of Adults with Community-acquired Pneumonia. An Official Clinical Practice Guideline of the American Thoracic Society and Infectious Diseases Society of America. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. October, 2021, 200(7): e45–e67.
Pneumonia. Mayo Clinic Staff. Patient Care & Health Information. Mayo Clinic. Last reviewed: August, 2, 2021.
Who Is at Risk for Pneumonia? US Department of Health & Human Services. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Last reviewed: March 3, 2021.
Pneumonia. News bulletin. World Health Organization. July 25, 2021.
Chuchalin A.G., Sinopalnikov A.I., Kozlov R.S., Avdeev S.N., Tyurin I.E., Rudnov V.A., Rachina S.A., Fesenko O.V. Russian Respiratory Society (RRO). Interregional Association for Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (IACMAC). Clinical guidelines for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of severe community-acquired pneumonia in adults. Pulmonology. 2014, (4): 13-48.

Treatment of bone metastases

Unfortunately, secondary tumor foci in the bones are very difficult to treat. Usually, the main efforts of doctors are aimed at slowing the growth of the tumor, as well as improving the patient’s condition through palliative therapy. The drugs used allow:

reduce the likelihood of sudden bone fractures;
reduce the intensity of pain;
enhance the effect of traditional chemotherapy for breast cancer.

In addition, in some cases, radiation treatment of metastases, hormonal therapy and surgical interventions are indicated.

Bronchial asthma

Bronchial asthma is a chronic disease characterized by inflammation of the airways. The cause is an allergic reaction. Allergens can be various irritants: pollen, animal hair, food, dust, gases, fumes (including from hazardous industries) and much more.

Symptoms of bronchial asthma

When this disease develops, the following symptoms are observed:

difficulty breathing - short inhalation and difficult exhalation;
the appearance of wheezing when exhaling;
dry cough (usually protracted and painful);
swelling of the bronchial mucosa (diagnosed by a doctor).

Symptoms may appear periodically when the patient comes into contact with an allergen. For example, during the spring flowering period if you are allergic to pollen.

Treatment of bronchial asthma

Treatment methods are selected individually, depending on the nature of the disease and its causative agents. The patient is given basic medications that must be taken constantly: they help avoid recurrent attacks. If an attack occurs, symptomatic treatment is indicated. In rare cases (in an infection-dependent form), antibiotics are prescribed.

Standing body bends

Stand facing the wall at a distance of 20-25 cm from it, stretch your arms up, press your palms tightly against the wall. Lean your body forward slightly, opening your chest, and relax your lower back. Gently lean your body to the left, bending your left arm, and with your straightened right arm, describing a semicircle along the wall. Then just as smoothly lean to the right, bending your right arm and describing a semicircle along the wall with your left. This is one repetition. Perform 5-10 repetitions of the exercise.

While doing gymnastics, observe your sensations. If your health allows, you can increase the number of repetitions. If you feel weak, reduce it.

Who's in danger

Regardless of the reason for the absence of symptoms in an infected person, all people around him, especially those at risk, are at risk. Let's look at it with an example.

Even if an infected person has no symptoms, all the people around him are still at risk.

A young man “caught” the virus at work and brought it home. His children may get sick in a mild/asymptomatic form, but elderly parents and relatives with chronic diseases, especially diabetes, obesity, heart and vascular diseases have every chance of getting a detailed picture of the disease with serious consequences.

Infection can occur even if the older generation lives alone. They just brought their grandchildren for the weekend. In appearance, the children are completely healthy, so grandparents do not suspect anything that during hugs and games, children release viral particles into the air with saliva.

Therefore, it is so important to remember that the incubation period lasts 2-3 weeks. With an asymptomatic course, the release of the virus from the body when talking, coughing, sneezing can also last up to several weeks.

It is important to follow the rules of wearing a mask and washing your hands, even for seemingly healthy people. So they care first of all not only about themselves, but also about others.