Pneumonia symptoms
Pneumonia - what is it
Put simply, it’s an infection involving the lungs. Sometimes it’s referred to as bronchopneumonia (involving the bronchi or bronchioles - which are the larger airways in the lungs) or pneumonitis (inflammation of the lungs).
Pneumonia symptoms
Okay it’s going to be hard to miss. Most people with pneumonia have the following symptoms :
- severe coughing - often productive and pus like secretions with the cough
- chest pains
- breathing difficulties - often increased rate of breathing
- wheezing
- fatigue from usual everyday activity and feeling breathless with minor activity (short of breath)
- fever with cold chills
These symptoms are often difficult to pick in young infants or children but any child that has a persistent cough and a fever that lasts for more than 48 hours should be checked by a doctor. Young children have smaller airways which tend to clog up with mucus and also constrict more readily which can result in wheeziness and an increased risk in developing complications from cold/flu/pneumococcus virus. It’s often best to try to catch the illness early BEFORE it develops into pneumonia and treat it before it gets any worse.
See other medical symptoms