Cough as a symptom. Inflammation of the lungs or the common cold?

Inflammation of the lungs, or as the disease is called in the medical world - pneumonia, is contagious. An illness can be a complication after a viral infection. Contribute to pneumonia factors such as influenza, infection, hypothermia, intoxication. Both bacterial and viral pathogens can cause pneumonia.

Symptoms of pneumonia

In both children and adults, the symptomatology of pneumonia is the same:

• Increased body temperature;
• Coughing with sputum;
• Strong cold;
• Headaches and muscle pains;
• Severe shortness of breath;
• Well-audible wheezing in the lungs;
• pallor;
• tachycardia;
• Poor appetite;
• chills.

In general, the symptoms depend on the viral pathogen, so our list can either supplement or exclude some items.

Cough, as a constant symptom associated with the disease, lung inflammation at which it is diagnosed easily, will allow to start timely treatment and prevent complications of the disease. With the wrong therapy, this disease can lead to even a fatal outcome.

Quite often, the fight against the disease occurs at home. The patient does not even suspect that high fever is manifested as a symptom, inflammation of the lungs at which it is quite possible. He confuses pneumonia with a viral infection. Yes, it's a sin to conceal, sometimes a doctor can not diagnose pneumonia. In such situations, complications simply can not be avoided.

The main symptom, pneumonia without which it does not happen, is a cough. It becomes a permanent and main sign of the disease, if:

• Improvement of health again gives way to deterioration in health;
• The disease lasts more than seven days;
• A deep breath causes coughing attacks;
• Do not help improve the condition, even antipyretics;
• A clear pallor of the skin appeared;
• Excruciates constant shortness of breath.

Such symptoms do not indicate the presence of pneumonia, but give rise to a thorough diagnosis.

Bilateral pneumonia

In clinical practice this disease is considered very serious. In this variant, the focus of inflammation is localized simultaneously in both lungs. To develop bilateral pneumonia can both as an independent disease, and as a complication after bronchitis or ARVI. Inflammation seizes the alveoli, pleura, intermediate tissue and bronchi.

Inflammation of the lungs in children

Very rarely in children, pneumonia is observed as an independent disease. Most often, after a viral infection or as a complication after the flu, there is a serious symptom. Inflammation becomes a continuation of an already existing disease. This is due to low immunity. Microbes in the upper tracts are not destroyed by immune cells and easily penetrate into the lungs, where they actively multiply.

The classic case of the disease is pneumococcal infection. In children up to three years old, there is also a staphylococcal pathogen. Less common are chlamydia or mycoplasmal bacteria.

In any case, pneumonia is a deadly disease for babies. It is very important to correctly diagnose and start treatment on time. Moreover, in most cases, inflammation of the lungs is not so serious and easy to treat.