How many of you had a grandmother who warned you that you would catch pneumonia if you went outside without your hat in the winter? While our grandmas may have been a little overzealous, and you develop pneumonia, you don’t catch it,, they had a reason to be wary.
In fact, when you google “pneumonia” on the KRCU website, the first thing that comes up are headlines about celebrities or politicians in the hospital for, or dying from, pneumonia. Over 40,000 people die from pneumonia every year in the U.S. and it’s the cause of 1.4 million ER visits annually, according to the American Lung Association.
Pneumonia is an infection in one or both of the lungs that may be caused by bacteria, viruses, or fungi. The infection causes the lungs' air sacs (alveoli) to become inflamed and fill up with fluid or pus. That can make it hard for the oxygen you breathe in to get into your bloodstream. The symptoms of pneumonia can range from mild to severe, and include cough, fever, chills, and trouble breathing.Anyone can develop pneumonia, but people who are age 65 and over are at increased risk because their immune system is becoming less able to fight off infection as years go by.
The best way to prevent pneumonia is to get vaccinated against bacteria and viruses that commonly cause it. Practicing good handwashing and voiding secondhand smoke can also protect you from catching the viruses that cause pneumonia or damage your lungs, which makes you more likely to get an infection.
Resources:
https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/pneumonia/learn-about-pneumonia
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/4471-pneumonia
