Is Pneumonia a deadly disease?
Pneumonia is essentially a lung infection that can be serious and life-threatening. The infection can be viral, bacterial or fungal. It causes inflammation in the lungs, wherein alveoli or tiny air sacs inside the lungs get filled with liquid. The key to treating pneumonia and prevent it from getting fatal is early diagnosis and a relatively strong immune system . However, it has to be noted that young children who are weak because of malnutrition are the ones most hit by pneumonia. Pneumonia kills more infants than measles, diarrhea, and malaria combined. Pneumonia has four stages, namely consolidation, red hepatization , grey hepatization and resolution. Symptoms of pneumonia The first symptoms of pneumonia are the same as cold or flu. This is followed by high fever, sputum, chills, and cough. The infection ends in rusty or green phlegm, shortness of breath, chest pain which worsens with taking deep breaths, fatigue and weakness, shortness of breath,