How to recognize viral pneumonia - symptoms and treatment

Pathogenic microorganisms affecting the lower respiratory tract cause pneumonia. Viral pneumonia occurs at any age and can lead to serious consequences, especially when untimely treatment.

• What is viral pneumonia?
• Symptoms of the disease
• The incubation period
• How is it transmitted
• Diagnostics
• How to treat viral pneumonia
• Treatment in adults
• Treatment in children
• Consequences and complications
• Prevention

What is viral pneumonia?

Viral pneumonia is an acute form of inflammation. It is characterized by intoxication and dysfunction of the respiratory system. It often happens in young patients.

Among pneumonia, bacterial forms predominate. Their difference is in the pathogen. Bacterial pneumonia develops with pneumococcal, staphylococcal, streptococcal infection.

In viral infection, the alveoli become inflamed - small vesicles responsible for gas exchange in the lungs. It is difficult for a person to breathe, pain occurs when breathing in and coughing.

Know! With neglected forms of the disease, attacks of suffocation are observed, acute hypoxia of organs and tissues develops.

Symptoms of the disease

The difference between viral and usual pneumonia is in the following features:

• atypical clinical picture;
• Ineffectiveness of standard antibacterial treatment.

Viral pneumonia in the early days is difficult not only to diagnose, but also to be suspected. In the clinical picture, it resembles ARVI and proceeds with the following symptoms:

• headache;
• shortness of breath;
• at first dry, then wet cough;
• body aches and general weakness;
• increased body temperature, chills;
• pain in the chest;
• nasal congestion or runny nose;
• sometimes diarrhea, vomiting.

The disease is characterized by a high temperature (38-39⁰C), which lasts long enough. But viral pneumonia can also occur with erased symptoms - without fever and with an insignificant cough. More often such a clinical picture is observed in elderly patients.

Important! Smoothed flow without specific symptoms is typical for atypical viral pneumonia! The onset of the disease can be confused with a common cold, but the prognosis for health is much more serious.

Viral pneumonia in children has characteristic features. In infants you can see:

• a sharp increase in body temperature;
• labored breathing;
• anxiety when sucking a pacifier or breast;
• cyanosis of the nasolabial triangle;
• vomiting;
• convulsions.

Symptoms in children are more pronounced than in adults. You can see the cyanosis around the lips, which is formed due to deficiency of oxygen - hypoxia.

The incubation period

The period of the incubation period depends on such factors:

• pathogenicity of the virus (ability to cause disease);
• state of immunity;
• age of the patient and concomitant diseases.

The incubation period is usually 1-3 days. But in some cases, the first symptoms can be observed and much later.

How is it transmitted

Many people are worried about the question: is viral pneumonia contagious? The diagnosis only indicates the localization of the focus of inflammation. The virus that is the causative agent of the disease is contagious. Contact persons can develop pharyngitis, otitis, bronchitis, or a common SARS.

Attention! The infection spreads by airborne droplets with particles of saliva and nasal mucus.

More often the pathogens of inflammation in the respiratory organs are such microorganisms:

• influenza A and B;
• adenoviruses;
• enteroviruses;
• syncytial virus;
• herpes virus;
• cytomegalovirus.

The frequency of viral pneumonia directly depends on the epidemiological seasonal outbreaks of ARVI. Their growth can be traced in the cold season.

However, children are also characterized by other ways of transmitting microbes-contact-household ways in joint games.

Diagnostics

Determine the nature of the origin of pneumonia can only a doctor. Usually, collecting an anamnesis, examining and listening to a patient with a stethoscope is not enough for an accurate diagnosis.

To clarify the form of pneumonia, a comprehensive examination is carried out. It includes:

1. General blood analysis. Leukocytosis, accelerated ESR and an increase in the number of lymphocytes indicate the viral nature of the disease.
2. Sputum analysis. Due to the study of the chemical composition of mucus, the stage of the disease, the pathogen (with bacterial form), complications (hemorrhages) is determined.
3. Radiography. It is included in the list of mandatory studies for pneumonia. Only the picture confirms the diagnosis.
4. MRI and CT diagnostics. Carried out with a dubious diagnosis, concomitant lesions.

How to treat viral pneumonia

Before setting a course of treatment, the etiology of pneumonia should be established. Folk remedies for pneumonia are ineffective and are used only in combination with antibiotics or antiviral agents.

Important! Bacterial pneumonia can be treated with antibiotics! But when the pathogen is virus they are useless!

The main treatment in this form is antiviral therapy and the fight against the main symptoms - fever, intoxication, respiratory failure.

Treatment in adults

Inadequate treatment exacerbates the pathological condition, so therapy should be comprehensive.

When pneumonia is prescribed:

• bed rest;
• abundant warm drink;
• reception of antipyretics and expectorants.

Depending on the specificity of the pathogenic flora, agents are prescribed for the elimination of the pathogen:

1. If pneumonia is caused by the flu, the doctor will prescribe oseltamivir (Tamiflu).
2. If there is a cytomegalovirus infection, Ganciclovir should be taken.
3. If pneumonia provoked the herpes virus, the course of Acyclovir or Valaciclovir will be recommended.

Antibiotics are prescribed when a secondary bacterial infection joins and complications develop. They can be suspected of purulent sputum during expectoration, a constant cough. Sometimes pneumonia initially has a mixed character - bacterial-viral. In this situation, antibiotics can not be avoided. In addition, a course of inhalations, oxygen therapy, dietary nutrition, intake of vitamin complexes.

Treatment in children

When pneumonia is diagnosed in a child, the doctor's main tasks are to eliminate unpleasant symptoms, get rid of the virus, and prevent dangerous complications.

Treatment of children is complex. Assign:

• complete peace;
• exclusion of physical activity;
• reception of antipyretic;
• medicinal inhalations through a nebulizer with bronchial obstruction;
• antiviral drugs and antibiotics;
• expectorants.

Attention! A popular pediatrician pediatrician Eugene Komarovsky claims that pneumonia is not a cause for serious concern to parents! According to him, full compliance with the treatment schedule appointed by the doctor, is able in a short time to save the child from the disease and its consequences. But this is true for the mild and moderate form of bacterial pneumonia. When viral - the forecast is more serious, the treatment is complicated.

Consequences and complications

Pneumonia is considered a dangerous pathology. Delayed or misdiagnosed treatment can lead to very serious consequences, up to the patient's death.

Complications after pneumonia include:

• meningitis;
• sepsis;
• pleurisy;
• abscess of the lungs;
• pulmonary edema;
• severe respiratory failure with suffocation.

As soon as the first symptoms occur, you need to immediately seek help from a doctor. This is the only way to avoid complications.

Prevention

Children and adults, doctors recommend in the autumn and winter to take vitamin complexes, monitor personal hygiene, try to avoid a large crowd of people and communicate with patients.

It is necessary to control the body's water balance. For this, you need to drink clean water, teas, juices, compotes more often. Smokers should give up the bad habit. If the work is connected with a large number of people, it is advisable to fall ill from the flu in the fall. Preventing viral pneumonia is much easier than getting rid of it.