There are many types of this common infection and all of them, if left untreated, can lead to serious complications and even death.
Pneumonia is a lower respiratory lung infection that causes inflammation in one or both lungs.
Air sacs in your lungs called alveoli can then fill up with fluid or pus, causing flu-like symptoms that persist for weeks and often don’t respond to conventional treatment.
Pneumonia comes in different forms and is caused primarily by bacteria or viruses, and less commonly by fungi and parasites.
The type of germ determines who gets pneumonia, how serious the illness can become, and how pneumonia is treated.
Prevalence
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than one million Americans are hospitalized each year due to pneumonia, making it the third most frequent cause of hospitalizations in the country.
Although pneumonia generally responds well to treatment, 15 percent of the cases are fatal, the CDC reports.
In the United States, pneumonia and the flu rank as the ninth-leading causes of death.
Pneumonia Risk Factors
Young children and people older than 65 are the most vulnerable to pneumonia.
You’re also at higher risk for pneumonia if you have any of the following conditions:
- Asthma
- Cystic fibrosis
- COPD
- A weakened immune system due to HIV or cancer
People who smoke are also at much higher risk for pneumonia, regardless of their age, and the condition is more likely to afflict men and African Americans.
The majority of the germs that cause pneumonia are spread from person to person through droplets from coughing or talking.
People who are frequently in close contact with others — such as college students and military personnel — are also more susceptible to the disease.
Types of Pneumonia
The severity of the infection depends on many factors, including your age and overall health.
Determining the cause of your lung infection is important for you to know which type of pneumonia you have, how you got it, and how to treat it.
Here’s what you need to know about the different types of pneumonia:
Community-acquired pneumonia, of CAP, is the most common form of pneumonia because you can catch it in public places such as at school or work.
You can also develop CAP after you get a common viral infection, such as a cold or the flu.
It can be caused by bacteria, viruses, or fungi, but up to 60 percent of all CAP cases are caused by bacteria called Streptococcus pneumoniae, also known as pneumococcal pneumonia, which can be treated with antibiotics.
Bacterial CAP is usually more serious than other types and is more common among adults. Atypical pneumonia, often called walking pneumonia, is a milder form of the illness.
Various types of bacteria are responsible for the illness. In most cases, the bacteria will enter the lung during inhalation, but it can also go through the bloodstream if other parts of the body are infected.
The illness ranges from mild to serious and, if left untreated, can lead to respiratory failure or death.
Pneumococcal pneumonia causes up to 175,000 hospital admissions a year in the United States.
But you can also have a pneumococcal infection without having pneumonia. For example, pneumococcal infections also cause more than three million ear infections in children every year.
Risk factors for bacterial CAP include:
- Having an underlying lung disease like asthma or COPD
- Having a systemic disease like diabetes
- Having a weakened immune system
- Being very young or very old
- Being disabled
- Abusing alcohol
- Smoking
Depending on how sick you are and whether or not you have any other health conditions, your doctor may treat your bacterial pneumonia with antibiotics either at home or in the hospital.
Viral CAP, particularly the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), is the most common cause of pneumonia in children younger than two years old.
Although viral pneumonia is generally less severe than bacterial pneumonia, viral infections caused by certain flu viruses, such as sudden acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), can be very serious.
Antibiotics are ineffective against viral pneumonia. Your doctor will most likely treat the symptoms: fever, cough, and dehydration.
You or your child may need to be hospitalized if your viral pneumonia symptoms become severe.
Fungal CAP is most common in people with an underlying health problem or a weakened immune system, including those with HIV/AIDS and people undergoing treatment for cancer. It’s treated with antibiotic or antifungal medication.
Getting vaccination against pneumococcal pneumonia reduce your risk for CAP.
Hospital-acquired pneumonia, as the name suggests, develops during a hospital stay for a different health problem. Healthcare-associated pneumonia is the kind of infection that develops in someone being cared for in a healthcare facility, such as a hospital or nursing home.
In fact, 2.3 percent of all nursing home residents were diagnosed with healthcare-associated pneumonia in 2010.
People who are on machines to help them breathe are particularly prone to developing hospital-acquired pneumonia.
If you’ve been hospitalized or admitted into a long-term nursing or rehab facility, you may be at risk for more deadly forms of pneumonia.
Symptoms of this type of pneumonia are more serious and may include shortness of breath, high fever, and chest pain.
Hospital-acquired pneumonia usually needs to be treated in the hospital with intravenous antibiotics.
Aspiration pneumonia can develop after a person inhales food, liquid, gases, or dust.
A strong gag reflex or cough will usually prevent aspiration pneumonia, but you may be at risk if you have a hard time swallowing or have a decreased level of alertness.
Chemical- or toxin-related pneumonia can be seen in older people with poor swallowing mechanisms, such as stroke victims who actually can inhale the acidic contents of their stomachs, causing aspiration pneumonia.
This causes inflammation without bacterial infection. These pneumonias can sometimes be difficult to treat, especially because the patients are sicker to begin with.
Once your lungs have been irritated by breathing in food or stomach contents, a bacterial infection can develop.
Some conditions that may put you at risk for aspiration pneumonia include:
- Overuse of drugs or alcohol
- Seizure
- General surgery
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- Various neurological diseases
- Chronic lung disease such as COPD
Symptoms of aspiration pneumonia include cough, increased sputum, fever, confusion, and shortness of breath.
Treatment may include breathing assistance and intravenous antibiotics given in the hospital.
You can prevent complications by not eating or drinking before surgery, working with a therapist to learn how to swallow without aspirating, and avoiding heavy use of alcohol.
Finally, pneumonia that develops in people with a weakened immune system is often referred to as opportunistic pneumonia.
You’re more at risk for this type of pneumonia if you have a chronic lung disease, have HIV/AIDS, or have had an organ transplant.
