This article will cover who is at high risk of serious complications from pneumonia, different types of pneumonia, how pneumonia can become deadly, and how to avoid getting pneumonia. Most healthy people are able to recover from pneumonia relatively quickly and without complications. But there are certain high-risk groups and health conditions that increase the risk of death from pneumonia. These include:. Those with multiple risk factors increase their risk even higher.
Not everyone in these groups will end up with severe pneumonia and die. But they are at an increased risk of being sicker, needing to be hospitalized, needing intravenous medications, and developing severe complications from the infection.
Pneumonia infections can be caused by germs like viruses, bacteria, and fungi. Bacterial pneumonia is more likely to lead to death than viral or fungal pneumonia. Bacterial pneumonia is a lung infection caused by bacteria. It can show up on its own or follow an upper respiratory infection caused by a virus.
The most common bacteria that causes pneumonia is Streptococcus pneumoniae , which causes pneumococcal pneumonia. Bacterial pneumonia can be treated with antibiotics. It tends to be more serious and is more likely to require hospital care. RSV is a common cause of pneumonia in young children, while the flu is more common in older adults. Pneumonia caused by a virus is typically less serious and less deadly than bacterial pneumonia but can be serious and deadly for those in high-risk categories.
This is especially true if the viral infection makes a way for bacteria to enter the lungs, called a secondary infection. Antiviral medications are used to treat viral pneumonia if it is caused by the flu. Fungal pneumonia is less common than bacterial or viral pneumonia because it typically infects people with other conditions or weakened immune systems. It can be treated with antifungal medications and is less deadly than bacterial pneumonia. They include:. Aspiration pneumonia is caused when liquid, food, vomit, or saliva enters the lungs, eventually causing an infection.
This can happen in people who have difficulty swallowing, but also in those who use certain drugs. There are two different ways to get pneumonia which may impact what kinds of germs make you sick. The germs that cause these two different types of pneumonia are different. Those from a hospital setting are more likely to be antibiotic-resistant, which means they do not respond to treatment with certain antibiotics.
This makes them harder to beat. The most common complication from pneumonia is a condition called pleural effusion. This is the buildup of fluid in the membranes around the lungs inside the chest cavity. It causes pain and impairs your ability to breathe. These and other complications of pneumonia can lead to a worsening of pre-existing heart and lung conditions.
If your pneumonia is severe, you may be hospitalized and receive these drugs intravenously through a tube in your vein, and you may receive help breathing. Severe pneumonia can be deadly because of the severe complications that can result from a serious infection. These complications include:. Severe pneumonia, especially if left untreated, can have long-lasting repercussions on your lungs.
It can influence your susceptibility to infections in the future and decrease your ability to exercise and quality of life. While most people will catch a cold or the flu every year, some infections that cause pneumonia can be prevented with vaccines.
There are specifically a few vaccines you should get to avoid catching pneumonia:. Other than vaccines, make sure to follow proper cold and flu season hygiene. Sanitize any common surfaces that you come into contact with. A common bacterium, Streptococcus pneumoniae , lives in the respiratory tract of 15 percent of the population without causing problems. It can spread pneumonia only if inhaled deeply into the lungs. The germ travels via droplets conveyed through coughing, sneezing, and even talking in close proximity.
Bacterial pneumonia is most common in winter and spring, when upper respiratory tract infections are frequent. Pneumonia is also a common complication of influenza.
Most cases of bacterial pneumonia can be effectively treated with penicillin. Between and , pneumonia death rates in the United States dropped approximately 40 percent with the greater availability of antibiotics. The more common viral pneumonia usually diminishes on its own, but all strains of pneumonia can be serious if neglected, and people should always seek medical supervision for their care.
Along with other acute respiratory infections, pneumonia is in a near tie with diarrheal diseases as a leading cause of death in children under 5 worldwide. It's estimated that pneumonia kills approximately two million children each year, with 40 percent of these deaths in Africa. More than two-thirds of pneumonia deaths among children in the developing world are caused by just two kinds of bacteria: Pneumoccoccus and Hemophilus influenzae.
Trained community health workers can dramatically reduce these deaths when they teach parents to identify the early signs of pneumonia: rapid breathing and violent shaking in the chest. At present, as many as two-thirds of children with acute respiratory infections are not treated by trained health providers. Even the simplest understanding of how to count the number of breaths a child takes per minute can help community health workers and parents recognize pneumonia and administer antibiotics if appropriate, or seek help at a clinic or hospital.
While often thought of as an illness that affects the sick and the elderly, and while older adults, people with weakened immune systems and young children are more at risk, pneumonia can strike indiscriminately, said Dr. Humberto Choi, a pulmonologist at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. Choi was not involved with Aschoff's case.
What to expect from your airline and airport of choice this holiday travel season. Avalanche at Swiss ski resort Andermatt buries 'a number' of people. Pneumonia is an infection that causes inflammation in the air sacs of the lungs. These air sacs, called alveoli, can fill with fluid, making it difficult to breathe.
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