Pneumonia

Pneumonia refers to the acute inflammation of the lungs. It is one of the most serious infectious disease. There are basically two types of pneumonia, called lobar pneumonia and broncho- pneumonia They, however, run into each other and are treated in the same way. The disease becomes more serious if both the lungs are affected. It is called double pneumonia in common parlance.

Symptoms

Most cases of pneumonia begin with a cold in the head or throat. The patient generally feels chill, shivering, difficulty in breathing and sharp pain in the chest. This may be followed by a cough with pinkish sputum which may later become brownish. The patient usually suffers from fever and headache. In more serious cases of pneumonia, the sputum may be of rusty color. In your children, the disease may cause delirium and convulsions. Most patients feel very miserable and sweat profusely. The temperature may rise to 105 o F and pulse may go up to 150 beats per minutes. A common complication of all kinds of pneumonia is pleurisy.

Causes

Pneumonia is caused by various types of germs such as streptococcus, staphylococcus and pneumoconiosis variety. At times, certain viruses are also responsible for the disease. Other causes of diseases are fungal infection, irritation by worms, inhaling foreign matter, irritant dust or noxious gases and vapors such as ammonia, nitrogen dioxide or cadmium.

The real cause of pneumonia , however, is the toxic condition of the body, especially of the lungs and air passages, resulting from wrong feeding and faulty life style. Persons with healthy tissues and strong vital force are unlikely to catch pneumonia. It is only when the system is clogged with the toxic matter and the vitality is low that the germs of pneumonia invade a person.