Introduction
Pneumonia is considered the most deadly infectious disease in industrialized countries. The reason for this is the often severe course of the disease. In the course of the pneumonia, one must first distinguish between typical and atypical pneumonia.
The typical one has a more severe course of the disease, but is usually discovered quickly and can be treated with antibiotics and thus the cause. Atypical pneumonia has a milder course, but is diagnosed later and can only be treated symptomatically. The most important factors in the course of the disease are the diagnosis of the disease and thus the time of initiation of therapy. In addition, complications play an important role in the course of the disease.
Course of a typical pneumonia
In pneumonia, a distinction is made between typical and atypical pneumonia. Typically, pneumonia is caused by bacteria, the so-called pneumococci. These lead to a very fast and severe course of the disease.
Already within the first day, a clearly rising fever with chills occurs. Due to the inflammation in the lungs, the oxygen uptake into the blood can be so disturbed that breathing difficulties occur. Shortly afterwards, further symptoms such as a blue discoloration of the lips occur.
Coughing, sometimes with yellowish greenish, sometimes bloody sputum, can also occur. In most cases, the heart rate also rises significantly in the course of the fever. These symptoms usually worsen significantly within the first week.
Since the typical pneumonia is caused by bacteria, it can be treated well with antibiotics and the symptoms improve quickly after the start of therapy. In most cases, the typical pneumonia is cured after three to six weeks, but in worse cases, recovery can take twice as long. Without the occurrence of complications, young people in particular usually recover completely from the disease.
Course of atypical pneumonia
The atypical pneumonia has – as the name suggests – a rather atypical course. It is triggered by viral infections and usually results from a simple infection of the upper respiratory tract or bronchial tubes. The transition between such a cold and atypical pneumonia cannot be clearly defined, which is why atypical pneumonia is often discovered much later than the typical one.
The viral infection is often initially accompanied by flu-like symptoms such as limb and headaches. Fever can also occur, but it does not rise as much as in the typical pneumonia. The cough is also much less pronounced than in the typical pneumonia, normally there is no sputum when coughing.
The viral pneumonia is usually cured faster than the bacterial pneumonia and usually takes a milder course. However, the disease cannot be causally treated with medication. The therapy is purely symptom-oriented. Due to the smooth transition and the often late diagnosis of atypical pneumonia, the disease is more often spread and chronicized than in typical pneumonia.
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