How long does pneumonia last?

Introduction

The duration of pneumonia depends on the type of pathogen and its course. A cure can be expected after a period of 2-3 weeks. In some severe cases, however, recovery may take up to 12 weeks.

In such cases one speaks also of a chronic pneumonia. The duration of the healing is of course individual and can be influenced by many different factors. In general, young, otherwise healthy patients have a higher chance of quick recovery than older patients.

Finally, the condition and the resilience of the immune system play an important role in recovery. Depending on the type of pathogen, the incubation period, healing time and convalescence also differ. The latter describes one of the last stages of recovery, and comes from the Latin, from “convalescere”, “to regain strength”.

General information

The first symptoms of pneumonia appear at different times depending on the pathogen. While the very common pathogen “Streptococcus pneumoniae” becomes noticeable after an incubation period of only 1-3 days, the incubation period for the pathogen “Chlamydia pneumoniae” is up to 10 days, for mycoplasmas up to 3 weeks. With the latter the recovery can also already have occurred after one day, however, variable courses of up to one month are known.

Unfortunately, the recovery process is difficult to influence, which is why a certain amount of patience is often required. To accelerate the healing process and shorten the duration of the illness, it is recommended to follow the doctor’s instructions and to keep strict bed rest. An inflammation always needs a certain amount of time to heal, as these are structural changes in the tissue.

The lung is an organ essential for survival, so pneumonia is potentially life-threatening. However, the body needs different lengths of time to get rid of the pathogen and to rebuild the tissue. One of the last stages of recovery is called the stage of convalescence, from the Latin “convalescere”, “to regain strength”: In this stage, the last symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, and fever disappear over a few days.

Once this stage is reached, the healing process is almost complete. Remission is relatively unlikely at this stage of recovery, but it is advisable to wait until the last symptoms have subsided before talking of a cure. Before the antibiotics era, the symptoms were usually so severe within a few days or weeks of the onset of pneumonia that patients often died.

Nowadays, pneumonia can usually be well treated and only resistant germs and multiple diseases as well as weakened immune systems still pose risks and sometimes life-threatening courses. The onset of pneumonia with the symptoms described above usually occurs within a few days. Without immediate treatment, the general condition of the patient usually deteriorates rapidly within 5-7 days.

Due to the antibiotic therapy, the typical defever with accompanying circulation problems no longer occurs after 7-9 days. Nowadays, patients usually get rid of their fever earlier and not so radically. The reason for this is on the one hand the antibacterial antibiotic treatment and on the other hand a fever-lowering therapy, which is usually carried out in parallel.