Duration of the entire course of pneumonia

In its most favorable form, the pneumonia is mild and healed after one to two weeks. This happens especially in young people who get viral pneumonia. Bacterial (typical) pneumonia usually takes two to three weeks.

If complications occur or the course of the disease is less favourable, at least twice as long should be expected. The age of the person affected also plays an important role. Younger people often recover in half the time that older people need. In old age, one must partly count on a recovery phase lasting months.

By this course one can recognize a severe pneumonia

A severe pneumonia is characterized by a fast onset. Normally, the more severe courses occur in the typical (bacterial) pneumonia. Characteristic is the rapid and high increase in fever and cough with sputum.

In addition, tissue damage to the lungs occurs in the course of severe pneumonia. These can be manifested as shortness of breath or even respiratory insufficiency.In the case of insufficiency, the lungs can no longer transport enough oxygen and blood due to the inflammation, resulting in a lack of oxygen. This is often accompanied by blue lips or even blue nails and fingers.

Particularly severe cases occur when the pneumonia spreads to other organs. Due to its anatomical proximity, the heart is particularly at risk. The inner skin of the heart or the pericardium can be affected by an infection.

In both cases, there is a deterioration in heart function with very low blood pressures and either a reflectively even higher pulse or, in the case of pronounced weakness, a low pulse. In the case of blood poisoning (i.e. the spread of the pathogens throughout the body), other organ systems are also affected. If the brain is infected, confusion, headaches, dizziness, vomiting and neurological deficits occur. If the kidneys are damaged, waste products can no longer be excreted sufficiently from the body, and water retention occurs, often in the legs and eyelids. Other organs mainly affect the absorption of nutrients, metabolism and excretion of metabolic products.