Viral pneumonia is a disease that usually occurs as a complication of influenza, and is more common in children than in adults. You can become infected with it through contact with infected people, the most cases are recorded in the autumn and winter, during the flu epidemic.
Viral Pneumoniacan be caused by influenza virus, RSV virus or adenoviruses.
Symptoms of viral pneumoniaare quite characteristic and affect the entire respiratory system:
- qatar
- sore throat
- elevated temperature
- headache
- muscle pain
- chills
- dry cough
- soreness in the chest area, radiating to the abdomen
- breathing sounds
- shortness of breath
There may be inflammation of the larynx, trachea and bronchitis.
Among the most important recommendations for prevention is avoiding clusters of people during intense viral diseases and getting vaccinated against the flu!
Viral pneumonia: diagnosis
If pneumonia is suspected, the doctor will refer the patient to a lung x-ray (X-ray of the lungs) and order a blood test. if the suspicions are confirmed, the patient has elevated levels of acute-phase CRP protein and an increased number of lymphocytes in the blood test, and the photo of the lungs shows merging shadows.
Viral Pneumonia: Treatment
The patient stays at home during the treatment of viral pneumonia, hospital treatment is necessary in the case of very young children, regardless of the course of the infection.
Antibiotics are not required for viral pneumonia.
In the treatment of viral pneumonia, the most important thing is to remove bronchial secretions, for this to happen, apart from expectorants, it is necessary to pat the child's back regularly and to water it. The disease usually lasts from a few days to about a week.
How to recognize pneumonia?
Listen to our drug expert. Katarzyna Bukol-Krawczyk, internist of the Lux Med group.