These pathogens are the cause of acquired, usually outside hospitals, pneumonia. In this case, the disease begins gradually, not immediately, and therefore it is very easy to miss its beginning, which makes the disease caused by mycoplasmas dangerous. Mycoplasma pneumonia was isolated at the end of the 19th century, from several bulls with pleuropneumonia.
In humans, such pneumonia was first described in 1938. For that time it was very unusual pneumonia, and therefore it was called atypical. For almost twenty years, it was believed that the case was in the virus, only later it was proved that the causative agent was mycoplasma pneumonia.
This type of disease did not put patients to bed immediately, and nowadays many people also carry it “on their feet”. Although, of course, this cannot be done.
What is mycoplasma? This is a special type of bacteria whose structure has features, and therefore it must be taken into account when choosing a treatment for a patient. Mycoplasma pneumonia has an unusual cell membrane, and therefore many types of antibiotics (beta-lactam, for example) have no effect on it. But it is vulnerable to marcolides, tetracycline series and fluoroquinolones. Therefore, in principle, this pneumonia is treatable not bad if the diagnosis is made on time.
Mycoplasma pneumonia in children manifests itself brighter than in adults, especially if the child does not eat enough protein foods (immunity is reduced). However, the symptoms are the same, although a very young child cannot report some of them, you have to be observant.
This type of pneumonia is transmitted most often by airborne droplets. Mycoplasma settles on the mucous membranes, takes nutrients from them and successfully multiplies by division. Both the upper and lower respiratory tract suffer from this pathogen. Bronchitis, pharyngitis and pneumonia proper are possible. The disease is protracted, a large amount of sputum is absent, and there are extrapulmonary symptoms, which makes its nature atypical. There are suggestions that mycoplasma can provoke diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, so it is very important to detect it in time. Hemolytic anemia and encephalitis are also likely, so you cannot start such pneumonia. The cost of being able to carry the disease “on your feet” may be too high.
This differs from other types of pneumonia in the relatively slow progression of symptoms. A coughing liquid is taken for analysis. Mycoplasmas do not grow on blood agar, and also give an agglutination reaction after 10 days of illness. Effective for the diagnosis of PCR.
Most often, specialists who have to work a lot with people get sick: staff of schools, shelters, hospitals. More often young people fall ill who are not yet 40 years old, the causes of the phenomenon are not completely clear, but this is a fact.
Symptoms occur gradually. It can be chest pains (sometimes confused with muscle pains), chills, dry cough, sometimes high fever. The patient sweats a lot, head and throat hurt. Swelling of the neck, pain in the eyes or ears, a rash on the skin, and shallow breathing are less common.
What to do if you suspect yourself of this type of pneumonia?
- Bring down the temperature with aspirin or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (e.g. ibuprofen). Caution: do not give aspirin to children !
- Do not drink cough medicine other than prescribed by your doctor. Some of them do not give a expectoration to expectorate and worsen the condition.
- Drink plenty of fluids so that it is enough for the production of mucus and the subsequent coughing up of mucus with the pathogen.
- Bed rest is necessary! Let someone else do the housework.
Even without antibiotics in most, this pneumonia goes away on its own. However, symptoms may be more than a month. If pneumonia is left to chance, there can be complications. Heal right away!