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Disease can fatally end the risks of pneumonia often underestimated
According to health experts, pneumonia is still a neglected danger that can be fatal. According to health experts, the disease leads nationwide to about 35,000 deaths. The infectious disease is often recognized and treated late.
For coughing with bloody sputum to the doctor
When symptoms such as cough, fever and fatigue you think quickly of a respiratory infection, but not necessarily of pneumonia. But that's the treacherous thing about the disease. If chills appear in addition to the symptoms described, or if coughing is accompanied by purulent or even bloody expectoration, a doctor should be consulted quickly. Because all of these are signs of pneumonia.
Coughing with purulent or bloody sputum, fever and chills can be signs of pneumonia. The disease must not be downplayed, it can be fatal. (Image: absolutimages / fotolia.com) 35,000 deaths from pneumonia
As with most diseases, even with pneumonia, the sooner a therapy starts, the better. The question of how to recognize pneumonia can be life-saving. Pneumonia is the most commonly fatal infectious disease in Western Europe.
According to health experts, according to estimates, around 35,000 people die of pneumonia each year in Germany alone. 680,000 people are diagnosed in Germany every year, about 230,000 of them need to be hospitalized.
People with weakened immune systems are particularly at risk
In a message from the dpa news agency, Prof. Tobias Welte from the German Society for Pulmonology and Respiratory Medicine explained: "People who have a weakened immune system are particularly at risk of developing pneumonia."
In many cases, it is preceded by an infection in the throat and throat area. "Pneumonia is mainly caused by bacteria, such as pneumococci, but also occasionally by viruses or other pathogens," says Welte.
Transmission by droplet infection
The causative agents of bacterial pneumonia are transmitted in most cases by droplet infection - when speaking, coughing or sneezing. But not every pathogen automatically leads to pneumonia.
At the onset of the disease, the alveoli and sometimes the lung tissue are inflamed and swollen. The doctor can use a blood test and X-ray of the lungs to determine whether there is indeed pneumonia.
Follow the doctor's treatment plan
Bacterial pneumonia is primarily treated with antibiotics. If there is no improvement within 24 hours of taking the preparation, the patient will normally be prescribed other antibiotics.
"As a rule, the antibiotics have to be taken for five to seven days depending on the doctor's prescription," explained Ursula Sellerberg of the Federal Chamber of Pharmacists in the dpa report. The treatment plan of the doctor must be strictly adhered to, antibiotics must not be discontinued too early, even then, when the symptoms have subsided. "If you omit the medication too soon, you risk a relapse," warned Sellerberg.
Cortisone for pneumonia
Also interesting in this context are findings that have emerged from long-term studies at Swiss hospitals. According to cortisone to help against pneumonia. The scientists reported in the journal "The Lancet" that pneumonia heal faster if the therapy with antibiotics is supplemented with cortisone. The researchers said in the publication last year that their study will probably change the treatment of pneumonia "worldwide".
Preventive vaccination
Virus-induced pneumonia, on the other hand, can not be affected by medication. Here the therapy is limited to the relief of the symptoms. To prevent pneumonia, it should, according to health experts against pneumococci, the most common causative agent of bacterial pneumonia, vaccinated.
This protective measure is also highlighted in the revised vaccination recommendations of the Standing Vaccination Commission at the Robert Koch Institute (STIKO). A statement by the RKI states: "Pneumococci are the main cause of bacterial pneumonia in Europe. The STIKO estimates that more than 5,000 people in Germany die each year as a result of pneumococcal disease."
Prof. Welte explained: "This vaccine is especially recommended for people over 60, chronically ill as well as children up to the second year of life." It is fundamentally important to strengthen the immune system. For this you should, among other things, healthy - with plenty of fruit and vegetables - nourish, move regularly and stop smoking. (Ad)