Pneumonia

Last night Tanya (kaden's mom) called to let me know that Kaden will not be here for the rest of the week for sure. He has pneumonia. Kaden had a fever seizure and had to be taken to the ER by ambulance. He is doing o.k. and is on antibiotics.
Here's some info I have found..
.Is pneumonia contagious?

People often ask, is pneumonia contagious? Will we catch the infection if we come in contact with an infected person? Pneumonia is a life-threatening infection of lungs. However, pneumonia itself is not a contagious disease. But bacteria and viruses that cause pneumonia can be contagious. People when exposed to infection may catch the symptoms of normal cough and cold symptoms. It is not necessary that each person, exposed to cold virus or bacteria, develops pneumonia. It depends on the susceptibility and immunity of that individual. Transmission of infection may occur due to direct exposure to infectious secretions.Signs and Symptoms of Pneumonia

In most cases, people have the symptoms of cold before developing pneumonia. It is followed by high fever, cough and shaking chills. Severity of symptoms varies according to the causes and age of the patient. Chest pain is the most common symptom in most types of pneumonia.

• Bacterial pneumonia: Bacterial pneumonia causes symptoms such as high fever, shaking chills, chest pain, sweating, cough with thick, yellow or greenish sputum and shortness of breath.
• Viral pneumonia: Viral pneumonia is characterized by the signs that are similar to flu-like symptoms. It generally starts as a dry cough, fever, fatigue, headache and muscle pain. When the disease progresses, it causes shortness of breath and cough with small quantities of clear or white phlegm. Viral pneumonia invites the risk of developing a secondary bacterial pneumonia.
• Fungal pneumonia: This type of pneumonia is less common. Some people may develop acute pneumonia after inhaling the fungi, while some may develop chronic pneumonia.
• Pneumonia due to Mycoplasma: Mycoplasma causes the signs and symptoms of pneumonia similar to bacterial and viral pneumonia. These symptoms may be flu-like and mild. You may not require any medical treatment for this type of pneumonia. That’s why this pneumonia is known as walking pneumonia.
• Pneumocystis carinii: It is an opportunistic organism that causes infection in people with AIDS. It can lead to pneumonia. The signs of such type of pneumonia are persistent cough, fever and shortness of breath.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Pneumonia

Diagnosis of pneumonia is based on the physical examination, imaging tests such as X-ray, bronchoscopy and certain laboratory investigations such as sputum examination and blood tests such as white blood cell count.

Treatment option for pneumonia is decided depending upon the cause of pneumonia. Pneumonia can be treated with antibiotics, antiviral medications, antifungal medications, etc. Some over-the-counter medications are also recommended to treat pain, reduce fever and soothe the cough.

Kaden's was not diagnosed on X-ray but rather through blood-work. The X-ray said he was fine on Friday, but blood-work that came back from the ER tested positive. Please call me if you have more questions about this.