“Inflammation of the lungs” is a bridge phrase between doctors and non-doctors. It helps to simply explain the complex mechanisms of the disease. The average person does not need to know what is happening in the body at the current time. To assess the danger and begin treatment, it is enough to hear from the doctor only two words: "pneumonia." This article will help you figure out how to treat pneumonia in adults and children.
Pneumonia
In the medical environment, this phrase is not used, it is replaced by a completely familiar and well-studied pneumonia. Morphologically, this is inflammation of the lung tissue involving bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa or saprophytic microflora of the lungs themselves. The process itself is accompanied by all the characteristic symptoms: pain, swelling, redness (we do not see it, but it is there), fever and impaired function. In addition, sweating of the fluid from the focus to the pleural space is often observed.
Classification
As is usually the case in medicine, there are several categories by which all types of pneumonia can be grouped:
- By localization:
- focal, when inflammation occupies a small area of the lung parenchyma, sometimes involving the bronchus;
- segmental - the infiltrate has reached the size of one or more segments;
- lobar - a whole fraction is involved in the pathological process;
- drainage, when several foci are connected, forming a larger one;
- total - applies to all lungs or both. - Lung damage:
- one-sided;
- bilateral. - By origin:
- primary - is an independent disease;
- secondary - develops against the background of another disease or prolonged stay in strict bed rest. - For infection:
- out-of-hospital, that is, ordinary pneumonia;
- hospital, nosocomial or nosocomial, i.e., developed after the person enters the medical institution. - By pathogen:
- bacterial;
- viral;
- fungal;
- aspiration;
- toxic.
Transmission ways
The main way to get an infection of the respiratory system is through the airborne droplet. People cannot help breathing, which means that a terrible mixture of gases, bacteria, viruses, pollutants and solid particles is floating in the air. But, in addition to gas exchange with the external environment, the lungs also communicate with the internal environment of the body through the blood and lymph vessels. Therefore, it is impossible to exclude the path of infection from another inflammatory focus, which is the primary spread of bacteria.
Pathogenetic picture
When the pathogen enters the upper respiratory tract, it moves with an air current deep into the bronchial tree. It is here that the bacteria stop and begin to form a colony, causing acute bronchitis of varying degrees of complexity and severity.
When a colony of microorganisms passes from the bronchial cavity to the pulmonary parenchyma, doctors talk about pneumonia. If measures are not taken, then the disease spreads further to healthy tissues and foci of elimination appear in other organs. With the progression of the disease, intoxication, oxygen deficiency, and in some cases heart failure increase. The right lung is more often affected, since its main bronchus is shorter and wider than the left.
Clinical manifestations
As a rule, it is quite difficult to immediately distinguish pneumonia from bronchitis. Both of these diseases are manifested by fever, cough, sputum. But after a short time, when intoxication increases, a fever appears with strong temperature drops in the morning and evening, pain during breathing, sputum becomes purulent and unpleasant smell.
Objectively, the disease is manifested by harsh breathing, moist rales and crepitus, a decrease in sound conduction (vocal trembling, bronchophony), as well as the appearance of a shadow on a panoramic radiograph of the lungs.
In any case, do not immediately after a slight cough, run for a medical guide and see the section “Inflammation of the lungs. Symptoms in adults. " How to treat this disease, consider below.
Other types of pneumonia
- Atypical. It is called so because its course is completely unlike the "classical" manifestations of pneumonia. The beginning is smooth, with a slight dry cough. Patients complain of a predominance of headache and muscle pain, nausea, and weakness. In the pictures of the chest, there may not be any changes at all.
- Secondary It is divided into several subspecies.
- aspiration - after inhalation of foreign bodies, gastric contents or chemicals (acid, alkali);
- septic, with a predominance of acute sepsis;
- hypostatic when the patient adheres to strict bed rest for a long time or is on mechanical ventilation;
- immunodeficiency, opportunistic infection caused by a general decrease in the body's resistance to infections;
- post-traumatic - the focus of inflammation coincides with the site of injury.
How to treat pneumonia, if it is secondary? It is necessary to get rid of what caused the disease. This will be the most effective tactic in this case, as symptomatic therapy may be ineffective in this situation.
Diagnostics
The main research methods for patients with a preliminary diagnosis of pneumonia are:
- general blood test, which will show a picture of acute inflammation (increased ESR, a shift of the leukocyte formula to the left to young forms, anemia);
- biochemical analysis of blood (acute phase indicator, dysproteinemia, increased levels of immunoglobulins);
- blood gas composition (pulse oximetry), shows the degree of respiratory failure;
- sputum culture on solid media to determine the pathogen;
- Gram stain of bacteria;
- chest x-ray in several projections;
- CT, MRI (if necessary).
Additional research methods, mainly affecting the diagnosis of complications, include lung and pleura biopsies, bronchoscopy, angiopulmonography, and other invasive procedures. They resort to them quite rarely, since for the patient this is associated with uncomfortable sensations, and with the development of modern visualization technology these manipulations can be avoided.
Pneumonia treatment
Doctors today often ask: “How to treat pneumonia?”, And not because they studied poorly at the institute or, in the wake of innovations in their industry, forgot how to do it. On the contrary, diverse approaches to solving this problem, a wide range of etiotropic drugs and auxiliary agents expand the possibilities of selecting the right therapy.
The only, but significant minus remains that the townsfolk, who have a vague idea of what pneumonia is, are trying to act as an esculap. Usually this happens as follows: a person notices alarming, in his opinion, symptoms, and immediately rushes ... no, not to the clinic, but to the computer to enter a request, such as "pneumonia, symptoms." How to treat this disease will tell him a good uncle Google already just like that, as a bonus.
After that, our man runs to the pharmacy, buys antibiotics, such as to make it clear, and quickly, in a couple of days, removes all the symptoms. On this his mission is completed. Medicines helped, you can go back to work, to battle. But the disease has not disappeared, she sits and waits for any opportunity to return, and the bacteria and viruses that caused her are now more resistant to treatment.
Let's figure out how to do the right thing.
Non-drug methods
1. Mode
With a typical development of the disease, the question of where pneumonia is treated is not even raised on the agenda. Of course in the hospital! There you can create optimal conditions for recovery. This bed rest, a varied balanced diet, plentiful alkaline drink and adequate sleep. About physical activity is out of the question. After a complete clinical and laboratory recovery, it should take about two to three months before the patient is allowed to attend physical education or to do it on his own.
2. Home Care
If you still decide on such a step as treating pneumonia at home, then all endurance and patience in caring for the patient will be required. First of all, the room temperature should not be higher than 18-22 degrees Celsius. Less is possible, but no longer desirable, since during a fever, already overdried air will irritate the mucous membranes and aggravate inflammation. The second is wet cleaning. The ideal option is twice a day, but if this is not possible, then at least once a day. It is not recommended to use disinfectants, as they can also affect the bronchial tree.
Expectorant drugs
Since one of the symptoms of pneumonia is a cough, it is necessary to take this into account when prescribing therapy. It is advisable to determine the type of cough: dry or wet, and only then choose the medicine. According to the treatment protocols, in the presence of a dry cough, it is necessary to transfer it to wet in order to begin sputum separation, and for a wet cough, choose a mucolytic, for better expectoration of mucus.
There are situations when a cough only interferes with recovery, exhausting the patient, but without bringing significant relief. In this case, drugs that affect the cough center are used. The goal of therapy is to stop the discomforting symptoms.
Antibiotic therapy
Global question: "How to treat pneumonia with antibiotics?" It occupies the minds of not only practicing doctors, but also scientists who perfectly understand the threat from uncontrolled antibiotic therapy. Due to improper selection of drugs, bacteria become resistant to ongoing treatment, they produce substances that neutralize the effect of drugs. When there are many such bacteria, this is already a serious problem, because it is becoming increasingly difficult to eliminate them from the body.
But before you panic and run away from the hospital, you should still listen to what the doctor will tell you. Believe me, he knows a little better than treating pneumonia than your mother, mother-in-law, neighbor, and even the Internet.
First, the specialist will take the necessary tests, then, as a trial approach, he will prescribe a broad-spectrum antibiotic, usually of the penicillin series. And for three days he will observe the dynamics of the state of health of his patient. If there are positive changes, then everything is going fine, and there is no need to change the drug. If after three days the situation has not changed or worsened, it makes sense to think about changing the leading drug to a stronger one. In any case, the results of a microbiological study should come in a week, which will show the sensitivity of microorganisms to available types of drugs.
Atypical pneumonia can sometimes be observed - symptoms without fever. How to treat this condition? Yes, almost the same as normal inflammation. But to notice that the patient develops pneumonia, if there is no fever, it is extremely difficult, which means that you need the help of a doctor.
If the child is sick
How to treat pneumonia in children is another story altogether. You should not wait for ARVI or bronchitis to turn into pneumonia. It is better to immediately contact your local pediatrician for professional help. He will be able to determine whether hospitalization is necessary, how serious the condition of the child is, and what it is worth treating.
As a rule, in general, the rules for treating pneumonia in children are not very different from those in adults. The regimen is prescribed bed, and sometimes strict bed, heavy drinking, daily wet cleaning, moderate ambient temperature. They correct the cough with medication, sow the flora and prescribe antibiotics.
It is important to remember that not all of them are suitable for children. There are whole groups of drugs that are not used in pediatrics because of their toxic effects on the liver, kidneys, nervous system and sensory organs. In no case do not try to treat the child at home, guided by their own knowledge, experience or the advice of people far from medicine.
Outpatient treatment or home hospital
How to treat pneumonia at home, when at work or in an educational institution it is not possible to take sick leave? This is somewhat more complicated than just going to the doctor and shifting all the responsibility to him, but you can try.
First of all, in order to cure pneumonia, you need to diagnose it yourself. The criteria for pneumonia have already been described above, so we will not dwell on them. So, you found out that there is a disease, which means that you need to stop it so that you can fulfill your professional duties. To do this, at least a few days should adhere to a strict bed rest, drink a lot and often (especially alkaline mineral water), eat nutritious broths.
It is not worth knocking down the temperature if it is kept within 37-38 degrees. This is a good sign that the body is trying to cope with the infection. Take antibiotics according to the instructions, do not forget about mucolytics and immunomodulators to increase the body's resistance.
This is just a small list of treatments for pneumonia. In modern medicine, there are special protocols in which therapy is prescribed in stages, taking into account the characteristics of the patient's body and the course of the disease. Therefore, trust your health to professionals.
ethnoscience
How to treat pneumonia with folk remedies? After all, there will certainly be opponents of official medicine who decide that their body can cope with diseases much better than everyone else, which means that you can experiment.
Folk remedies are good only as an addition to medicines, but not as an independent treatment. So, it is recommended to eat honey, black elderberry jam, drink raspberry tea. And from physical methods for a better expectoration they make inhalations over boiled potatoes, warm foot baths, mustard plasters and jars. But these manipulations are already a thing of the past with the use of interferon drugs and the latest generation of antibiotics.
Treatment duration
How much is pneumonia treated? At least three weeks in both adults and children. Relief of the condition can occur within a week, but the final recovery with the resorption of pathological foci in the lungs will not be earlier than 21 days from the start of treatment.
In addition, do not forget about additional therapy, in addition to antibacterial, which also has its own terms. In any case, you should not count on a quick get rid of the disease. Recovery is a rather painstaking process.
The article describes in sufficient detail how to treat pneumonia in the home and on an outpatient basis. This will help you make the right decision about your health.