Walking pneumonia: signs and symptoms of walking pneumonia

What exactly is walking pneumonia and how does it manifest?

Walking pneumonia is an infection of the lungs, which is veryfrequently caused by bacteria called mycoplasma pneumoniae. Although it mightsound terrifying, the fact is that this type of pneumonia is one of the leastserious types. What’s more, many people are not even aware of having it, due tovery mild symptoms that characterize it, and thus the name. Yes, this meansthat in many cases, it goes away on its own and without any treatment, but no,this does not mean that people who notice some symptoms should disregard and ignorethem. As for the signs through which it manifests, they usually resemble thoseof a cold or flu (sore throat, headache, chills, cough, fever, running nose, andpain in the chest), although a bit more serious signs (such as pain in the ear,lump in the neck, anemia and skin rash) might also occur.

How can walking pneumonia be treated?

Although it is true that in a great number of cases ofwalking pneumonia the patient recovers without hospitalization or methods oftreatment that are usually unavoidable in cases of severe pneumonia, it isnecessary to rest for a few days even when the symptoms that indicate a commonflu or cold are present. It is not excluded that this mild form of pneumoniagets complicated, which is why it should not be taken so lightly. On the otherside, even if it is not a severe case, it is still contagious and since theperson can spread it in the following ten days, it is recommended to avoidcontacts with other people, or to minimize them. The symptoms usually take from15 to 25 days to appear.

The condition in question can be diagnosed based on theresults of the blood test and X-rays. The doctors generally treat it withantibiotics, but there are many medications that are helpful in relieving thesymptoms and that can be obtained without medical prescription. Also, there aresome homemade remedies that can also help in reducing fever, relieving cough andsome other symptoms, and they should be given a chance. It is important to bearin mind that it is highly recommended to increase the intake of fluids as well. Since no vaccine that can prevent mycoplasma infections is available,this means that walking pneumonia cannot be prevented. However, just like withthe majority of conditions, there are ways in which the chances of getting it canbe reduced.