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Pneumonia

WHAT IS PNEUMONIA?
Pneumonia is an infection which causes the normal air-containing spaces within the lungs (called the alveoli) and the smaller bronchial tubes to become inflamed and to fill with fluid. Special white blood cells then travel to the lungs to fight off the infection. This all leads to impairment of the lungs’ main function, which is to get oxygen from the air into the bloodstream and then around the whole body.

WHAT CAUSES PNEUMONIA?
Many different germs can cause the infection that results in pneumonia. Although some are common and easy to identify, in quite a few people with pneumonia the germ causing the problem is never discovered. 

Some germs, particularly viruses, are breathed into the lungs because they are present in the air, especially if someone nearby has an infection and is coughing or sneezing. 

WHO GETS PNEUMONIA AND HOW COMMON IS IT?
Anyone can get pneumonia - even the young and fit. However, it is more common (and usually more serious) in the very young, the very old, people who smoke and in anyone weakened by long-term illness, especially if it interferes with the body’s normal defenses against infection. 

SYMPTOMS
People with pneumonia usually feel ill, feverish and off their food. They nearly always have a cough (often with mucky sputum) and they may be short of breath with a feeling of tightness in the chest. Sometimes a sharp pain in the side, worsened by breathing, can occur if the infection also involves the lining of the lung. This condition is called pleurisy.

How to prevent pneumonia?
Avoidance of smoking is most important since cigarette smokers are at increased risk of pneumonia. A flu vaccination at the beginning of the winter is recommended for anyone with long-standing lung problems, as sometimes flu can lead onto pneumonia, especially in the old or poorly. . There is also now a vaccine available to protect against the commonest cause of pneumonia, called pneumococcal pneumonia, and this vaccine is also recommended for anyone with lung or heart problems.