Sluggish pneumonia is an inflammation of the lung tissue. The most dangerous - the disease is lethargic, mild, so there are practically no vivid symptoms. Sluggish pneumonia is a special type of pneumonia that is provoked by viruses and bacteria. We will talk in more detail about how dangerous this disease is, how and how to treat it.
Causes
Sluggish pneumonia usually develops as a second infection after a person has had a respiratory illness. Less commonly, the disease appears after the flu as a complication of tracheobronchitis.
Usually, the disease is diagnosed during mass epidemics of influenza (autumn and winter). Influenza greatly reduces the immune system, so pathogenic microflora easily penetrate the respiratory tract. It is for this reason that complications appear in the form of purulent otitis media, peritonitis and whooping cough.
Signs of sluggish pneumonia can occur in people who are prone to pneumonia or chronic diseases. The most dangerous among them are diabetes and oncology.
Rarely, but sluggish pneumonia occurs in bedridden patients. This is mainly due to the fact that the ventilation of the lungs is disturbed and stagnation appears.
Symptoms
With sluggish pneumonia, the symptoms are mild, there are practically no signs of the disease.
The patient does not have a high fever up to 40 ° C, there is no cough with sputum or blood. Slow intoxication occurs in the body. Moreover, the patient has no unbearable headache, vomiting and nausea. There is no pain even in the muscles, which is characteristic of pneumonia and flu.
Signs of sluggish pneumonia in adults are difficult to identify, the disease can last for decades.
Basically, pneumonia affects the focus of lung tissue, practically does not go beyond. This nature of the lesion (focal) is caused by the activation of the immune system. It protects healthy tissue and prevents the spread of the disease.
Sluggish pneumonia develops in three ways:
- as a complication of ARVI and bronchitis;
- as a continuation of acute pneumonia;
- as an independent disease.
The main symptoms are:
- the temperature rises to 37.5 ° C;
- difficulty breathing; shortness of breath during exercise;
- general malaise;
- decreased performance.
In adults, wheezing and whistling in the lungs appear , when coughing - separation of sputum is greenish.
Temperature is the first sign of sluggish pneumonia that disappears after 4-5 days. After this, the disease develops secretly.
During the course of this type of inflammatory disease, remissions occur. The patient's condition improves, and with relapses, a general malaise again appears.
Risk group
Sluggish pneumonia in adults is more common than in children. However, there is a category of patients who are most prone to this disease. So, at risk are:
- Persons whose professional activities are associated with the regular contact of harmful substances. For example, at risk are builders, painters, cleaners, sanitation workers. At risk are also smokers, drug addicts who constantly inhale toxic substances. When inhaling harmful toxins, the mucous membrane of the upper respiratory tract atrophies. In addition, an additional negative factor is reduced immunity.
- Patients suffering from chronic bronchitis, tracheitis, laryngitis, rhinitis, sinusitis and tonsillitis. With these diseases, the larynx, bronchi, trachea and sinuses become inflamed. Against the background of one of the listed diseases, sluggish pneumonia may develop.
- Those who lead a sedentary lifestyle. Especially this factor applies to adults and the elderly. With a lack of physical activity, lung volume decreases. Consequently, stagnation arises in them. In bedridden patients, the following symptoms occur: shortness of breath, wheezing, sputum when coughing. The likelihood of such pneumonia occurs even if the patient has obesity and cardiovascular disease.
- With a decrease in immunity and HIV infection. Every day, a huge number of pathogens enter the lungs along with inhaled air. With normal immunity, lung health is maintained. And if the immunity is weakened, then the risk of pneumonia increases at times.
Symptoms of sluggish pneumonia in adults are more likely to occur if people are drug addicts, alcoholics and do not have a specific place of residence.
Negative factors
This disease is formed and proceeds against a background of negative factors. With sluggish pneumonia, symptoms in adults provoke such external components:
- hypothermia;
- viral, bacterial or fungal infection;
- complication after surgery on the chest cavity or abdominal part;
- cardiovascular diseases;
- diseases associated with problems of the endocrine system.
Most often, the disease affects the alveoli of the lungs and bronchi. If not treated in a timely manner, then it can go into the chronic stage. Accordingly, this form of the disease is more difficult to cure.
If symptoms of sluggish pneumonia in adults occur, immediate treatment is required. Otherwise, death is possible. More often this applies to patients older than 65 years.
Chronic pneumonia
With improper treatment of pneumonia, there is a threat of the transition of the disease into a sluggish form. Usually this happens if the patient stopped taking the medication before the prescribed time or was self-medicating. An exacerbation of the chronic form of pneumonia occurs:
- during smoking (when inhaling toxic harmful substances);
- during a decrease in immunity (due to another disease);
- during pregnancy;
- with trauma and blood loss;
- with age-related aging of the body.
Quite common cases when patients had acute pneumonia in middle age, and subsequently suffered from exacerbations of a chronic form to old age.
Therefore, if after treatment for pneumonia the cough does not go away or reappears, then you should immediately consult a doctor. Only with timely treatment can the healing process be accelerated.
Diagnostics
Only a physician with experience can diagnose sluggish pneumonia. However, only guided by the study of the lungs (auscultation). Using this method, the doctor can hear wheezing and pleural friction. Patients usually have hard breathing.
If it is necessary to clarify the diagnosis, the doctor directs the patient to an x-ray or computed tomography. The last examination method allows you to determine even small inflammatory foci.
Be sure to give the patient a blood and urine test.
Based on the results of these analyzes, the doctor will be able to assess the general condition of the patient's body. In some cases, an ultrasound of the pleural cavity of the lungs and bronchoscopy are prescribed.
Treatment
If the doctor has diagnosed sluggish pneumonia, treatment is carried out with the help of antibacterial drugs. If it is not possible to identify the causative agent of the disease, then the doctor prescribes systemic drugs of the penicillin group, cephalosporin and fluoroquinalone.
The duration of treatment is at least 10 days.
If the doctor prescribes antibiotics, then not in tablets, but intravenously or intramuscularly.
To eliminate the symptoms of sluggish pneumonia in the treatment, the following drugs are used:
- anti-inflammatory drugs;
- antipyretic drugs;
- expectorant drugs;
- in especially advanced forms of pneumonia - corticosteroids;
- vitamin complexes;
- immunomodulators.
If the patient has heart problems, the doctor must prescribe heart drugs. After treatment for the acute stage of the disease, chest massage is recommended.
What can not be done
Many patients self-medicate with sluggish pneumonia. This is not recommended. Because with improper treatment, the disease can become more complicated.
Mustard must not be used in the acute period of the disease. Also, you can not visit the bath, sauna. Many patients believe that all bacteria will leave in the bath, and the disease will be completely removed. However, this is a big mistake. A person's condition can only worsen, especially with chronic heart disease.
Mustard plasters can be set only during normal body temperature. If it is increased, then this method of treatment is contraindicated. This procedure must be agreed with the attending physician.
It is strictly forbidden to carry the disease on the legs. Bed rest is a prerequisite for treatment.
Complications
Modern medicine classifies two types of complications after sluggish pneumonia:
- lung complications;
- extrapulmonary complications.
With complications in the lungs, the tissue of the respiratory organs is disturbed. Subsequently, lung tissue can turn into an airless, densified tissue, forming a scar.
If there is a high activity of white blood cells in the blood, then the risk of a lung abscess increases.
Extrapulmonary complications are observed when exposed to infections. If inflammation occurs in the lymphatic vessels, then the development of diseases in the abdominal cavity, purulent formations in the brain and joints are possible.
If respiratory function is impaired, then a fatal outcome is possible. Basically, this phenomenon occurs in patients who are addicted to alcohol. Death can also occur with a severe form of the disease.
Forecast
The most dangerous microorganism that harms the lungs is pneumococcus.
Sluggish pneumonia is especially dangerous for the elderly. Most often, the disease comes with candidiasis of the oral cavity.
Folk remedies are strictly forbidden to use before a doctor makes a diagnosis.
If the treatment is done in a timely manner, then the prognosis is quite positive. A full recovery can be expected in 14 days.
Prevention
As a prophylactic, it is recommended to lead a healthy lifestyle. The guarantee of recovery from sluggish pneumonia is that treatment should be carried out only under the supervision of a doctor.
The risk of relapse may appear within a few months after treatment. You must carefully listen to your body. Do not supercool. Take a complex of vitamins. Physiotherapy classes are recommended.
Within a month after treatment, you can not sunbathe, vaccinate and load the body with increased physical activity.
If a relapse occurs, then the patient must seek the help of an immunologist. Perhaps the problem lies in the immune system. It is necessary to restore the protective properties of the body. With a weakened immune system, focal pneumonia, diseases of the bronchi and throat quickly develop.
It is important to pay attention to the symptoms after recovering from respiratory viral infections and flu. Self-medication is contraindicated.