Symptoms And Symptoms Of Pneumonia - 1516 Words

Introduction Pneumonia is a lung infection that can be a mild to severe illness for all ages. It is caused by bacteria, virus, or fungi. Pneumonia was the leading cause of death in the U.S. About 2 million people in the U.S get pneumonia each year, only causing about 60,000 deaths. Pneumonia is the leading cause of child death worldwide. It is accountable for 15% of children’s’ deaths under five years old, killing around 922,000 children in 2015 (WHO 2015). Pneumonia affects everyone worldwide but mostly in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. History Pneumonia had been recorded throughout history. It is among one of the oldest diseases, having been mention appearing during the early Greek civilization. Hippocrates (460 BC – 370 BC)†¦show more content†¦One with pneumonia, breathing becomes difficult as oxygen cannot get through. The inflammation of the lung tissue and air sacs filled up with mucus causes the lungs to work harder to intake oxygen and to exhale carbon dioxide. If carbon dioxide builds up in the body, it becomes dangerous as it is a waste product in the blood (Ferrara 2010). Overview Pneumonia can affect anyone, but more importantly who and what qualifies as being at risk? There two age groups that are at greater risk of developing pneumonia: infants, 2 years old and younger and adults, 65 years old and older (NIH 2011). The reason, pneumonia tends to affect people with a weak immune system. Conditions and factors that increase your risk are organ transplant, lung diseases such as asthma, AIDS, HIV, diabetes, heart failure, tuberculosis, sickle cell anemia, and any other serious illness (NIH 2011). People who are hospitalized and placed on ventilators are at a higher risk, for it affects those who’s natural defenses are down. Hospital-acquired pneumonia is very common and it is fatal compared to cases acquired outside the hospital (Ferrara 2010). We can define what pneumonia is and who it affects, but what happens to those with pneumonia? Depending on the type of pneumonia, symptoms vary. Bacterial pneumonia causes high fever, chills, rapid breathing, cough, chest pain when breathing and coughing, nausea, tiredness, and other symptoms. Those with atypical or mycoplasma pneumonia, symptoms include dry