{"id":2794,"date":"2017-12-17T00:25:04","date_gmt":"2017-12-16T18:55:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthool.com\/?p=2794"},"modified":"2022-01-12T13:24:01","modified_gmt":"2022-01-12T07:54:01","slug":"is-pneumonia-contagious","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthool.com\/is-pneumonia-contagious\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Pneumonia Contagious ?"},"content":{"rendered":"
The inflammation of airspaces in the lungs is medically known as pneumonia. It is caused by bacterial, viral, and fungal infection. Although the latter is extremely rare.<\/p>\n
People of any age can have pneumonia, but the elderly population is the most susceptible, especially those with weakened immune system. In the United States, around 50,000 people die every year because of pneumonia. (1, 6<\/strong>)<\/sup><\/p>\n Picture 1: A comparison image between a healthy airway and an airway with pneumonia. Image 2: A normal alveoli and an alveoli with pneumonia. Photo 3: An x-ray image of a patient with bacterial pneumonia. Can you catch pneumonia from someone who has it? Is pneumonia contagious to babies? Who are at risk?<\/em><\/strong><\/span> Bacterial pneumonia is usually not contagious, but there is a possibility that the bacteria can be spread from one person to another.<\/p>\n However, those susceptible are people with a weak immune system. Bacterial pneumonia that is highly contagious is the one caused by Mycoplasma pneumonia<\/strong>. The disease can be spread through droplets. A person with pneumonia who coughs and sneezes in front of other people can spread the disease. The contagious period if usually one to two days<\/strong>, but it can also last for weeks<\/strong>. (7, 8, 9<\/strong>)<\/sup><\/p>\n Once the patient is put on antibiotics, the contagious period subsides. The person with bacterial pneumonia is no longer contagious after 48 hours on antibiotics<\/em><\/strong>. For viral pneumonia, the patient will be no longer contagious if the symptoms have improved, usually if the patient no longer has a fever.<\/p>\n Babies and young children may get pneumonia from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) such as pneumonia acquired at birth. For young children, pneumonia can be acquired through exposure to virus or bacteria. (4, 10<\/strong>)<\/sup><\/p>\n Can you treat pneumonia? If yes, then what are the treatment remedies? The treatment depends on the type of pneumonia, the severity of the condition, and the overall health condition of the patient. Depending on the cause of pneumonia, the doctor will prescribe antibiotic, antiviral drug, and antifungal medications.<\/p>\n Fortunately, most cases of pneumonia can be treated at home provided prescription drugs are taken religiously. For the management of related symptoms such as fever and flu-like symptoms, over the counter medications can be used such as aspirin, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen. (4, 9, 10<\/strong>)<\/sup><\/p>\n If the symptoms are severe and the patient feels weak and helpless, a hospitalization might be warranted. The doctor will put you on strict medications and healthcare regimen to significantly improve your condition.<\/p>\n The treatment includes the following:<\/p>\n The patient has a positive prognosis if all the necessary treatment is given. For people with severe pneumonia, too young or too old patient, there could be some complications. Severely infected people that failed to receive the necessary treatment could eventually die.<\/p>\n As with the recovery period, it depends on the type of pneumonia and how well your body cope with the infection. A normal healthy person can go back to his usual self after a week of religious treatment. Some people may take longer to recover. (8, 9, 10<\/strong>)<\/sup><\/p>\n References:<\/strong><\/p>\n The inflammation of airspaces in the lungs is medically known as pneumonia. It is caused by bacterial, viral, and fungal infection. Although the latter is extremely rare. People of any age can have pneumonia, but the elderly population is the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[46,360],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthool.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2794"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthool.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthool.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthool.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthool.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2794"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/healthool.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2794\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3027,"href":"https:\/\/healthool.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2794\/revisions\/3027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthool.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthool.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthool.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n
\nImage Source: my.clevelandclinic.org<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\nPhoto Source: images.medicinenet.com<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\nPicture Source: img.medscapestatic.com<\/p>\nTypes of pneumonia<\/h2>\n
\n
Classifications of pneumonia<\/h2>\n
\n
Other classifications of pneumonia<\/h2>\n
\n
What are the clinical manifestations?<\/h2>\n
\n
How long is pneumonia contagious ?
\n<\/b><\/h2>\nWho is at risk for pneumonia?<\/h2>\n
\n
What is the cause of pneumonia?<\/h2>\n
\n
Is pneumonia curable?<\/h2>\n
Home remedies for pneumonia<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
Recovery time and outlook<\/h2>\n
\n