Otitis

How to cure pneumonia without antibiotics. In what cases is it better to go to hospital? What antibiotics are used for pneumonia

Pneumonia is considered a complicated disease: with manifestations of fever, intoxication, and severe concomitant pathologies. Accordingly, complex and serious treatment is required, using antimicrobial drugs. Despite this, the question of whether pneumonia can be cured without antibiotics is being raised more and more often, especially among supporters of herbal medicine and homeopathy.

Antibiotics are a relatively new discovery of mankind, which became widespread in the 20th century. Before the invention of antibiotics, people also suffered from complex diseases, including pneumonia. Most patients died from a serious illness, but there were also those who were cured without antimicrobial drugs.

Doctors consider inflammatory pathologies of the pulmonary system to be diseases that can cause complications, chronic failures, and combined health disorders. The patient’s lungs and bronchi suffer first of all, and disruption of their functioning entails a number of serious malfunctions in the patient’s body.

Symptoms and signs of an inflammatory pulmonary process are:

cough: both dry and productive;
obstruction syndrome and severe shortness of breath;
cyanosis of the skin, cyanosis of the perioral area;
symptoms of tachycardia;
feverish conditions and signs of intoxication;
chest pain.

Dangerous symptoms pulmonary inflammation are considered:

severe shortness of breath, accompanied by rapid breathing;
cyanosis of the skin;
high body temperature for several hours, difficult to correct;
rapid pulse more than 90 beats per minute;
sharp decline in performance blood pressure.

If symptoms indicate a dangerous and complicated course of pneumonia, the patient should be immediately hospitalized to provide qualified medical care.

Treatment of pneumonia in a hospital setting involves, first of all, the use of antimicrobials second and third generation, as well as combining two types of antibiotics to enhance the therapeutic effect.

Conditions for effective treatment of pneumonia

Quick and uncomplicated relief from the inflammatory pulmonary process is possible in conditions of a quick, timely and correct response. Fortunately, modern doctors consider pneumonia to be a complex but not fatal disease, thanks to the available step-by-step treatment regimen for pneumonia.

Antimicrobial therapy consists of treatment with a number of antibiotics. Before prescribing the drug that is most effective for a given type of pathology, doctors study the patient’s tests and medical history, at the same time making sure that the patient is not allergic to certain antibiotics. In the case of an existing allergy to a certain drug series, the doctor will replace it with an approved drug. In severe cases of the disease, antimicrobial drugs are prescribed by injection, in milder forms of the pathology - in tablet form.
Doctors recommend that their patients strictly adhere to bed rest in the first few days of the disease, as the body does not. The body, weakened by pneumococcal agents and oxygen hypoxia of tissues, requires maximum rest to maintain strength. The patient is allowed to get up no earlier than the fourth day from the onset of the disease.
Removing sputum from the bronchi is considered a prerequisite for effective treatment of pneumonia. For this purpose, doctors prescribe mucolytic agents and bronchodilators, based on general condition sick.
Equally important is the treatment of the primary source of the pathology that provoked subsequent pulmonary inflammation.

The patient is given plenty of fluids to drink, thereby weakening the harmful effects of toxins secreted by pneumococci. To normalize the functioning of the immune system, the patient is given immunomodulators and vitamin preparations.

Treatment of pneumonia without antibiotics

Despite the centuries-old experience of healing from pneumonia without the use of antibiotics, experts categorically warn their patients against such a rash step. When asked whether pneumonia can be cured without taking antibiotics, doctors answer unequivocally in the negative.

There are many factors confirming that doctors are right.

First of all, treatment for pneumonia without antibiotics a century ago was often fatal. In terms of the number of patients who died, pneumonia occupied one of the first places, second only to infectious outbreaks of epidemics. Rare cases of cure left no recipes for the main treatment, but only prescriptions for accompanying therapy.
Pneumococcal agents and bacilli that provoke pneumonia are constantly mutating, so even conventional antimicrobial drugs may become ineffective for treating pneumonia. IN lately Doctors prefer to prescribe to their patients not one antimicrobial drug, but two, complementary and enhancing each other’s effects.
Human immunity has undergone changes for the worse in recent decades due to the environmental situation, problems with nutrition and addiction to bad habits. Any infection, even not too dangerous, can become a source of threat to humans, and pneumococci are a terminal source.

All these factors indicate that treating pneumonia without the use of antibiotics is a risky and unjustified step that can cause irreparable harm to the patient’s body.

Duration of antibiotic therapy

Another unjustifiably risky step is to independently reduce the duration of antimicrobial therapy. Doctors say that antibiotics for pneumonia should be taken for at least seven days, and in severe cases - up to two weeks. Having felt the first signs of improvement, the patient may consider that he no longer needs antibiotic therapy and will independently cancel the treatment.

In such cases, the patient is threatened with:

acute relapse of a pathological condition of the pulmonary system;
inflammatory damage to nearby healthy lung tissue;
development of pathological complications affecting the cardiac system, bronchopulmonary tract;
formation and progression of a lung abscess with subsequent breakthrough of purulent contents into the lung tissue;
sepsis;
severe inflammatory disease that becomes chronic.

This is why doctors insist on continuous use antimicrobial drug for several days, while the treatment regimen is adjusted by the doctor depending on the patient’s condition and the speed of the recovery process.

General rules for choosing a drug

Antimicrobial drugs are classified depending on the degree and intensity of exposure. For severe pathologies that occur against a background of severe symptoms, potent antibiotics are used.

Uncomplicated pneumonia in young people and middle-aged patients can be treated with penicillin drugs or macrolides. Inflammation of the lungs in this category of patients, occurring in mild degree, is often treated at home, since there is no need for urgent hospitalization of the patient.
In patients over 50 years of age with a “bouquet” of concomitant pathologies such as diabetes mellitus, psychopathologies, liver or kidney failure, pneumonia is treated with third-generation cephalosporins. Due to the possible severity of the pathology, in these patients, several causative agents of the pathological pulmonary condition may progress simultaneously.
Lobar pneumonia is usually treated in a hospital setting, which is why antibiotics of a number of fluoroquinolones are used.

In hospital settings for timely admission medicines and injections are monitored by doctors, and treatment of pneumonia at home requires self-control from the patient and control from loved ones.

Home therapy conditions

The main conditions that contribute to the effective recovery of a patient with pneumonia at home include several important aspects.

Restorative and maintenance diet. Taking antibiotics can weaken the patient’s immune system and cause malfunctions gastrointestinal tract. The patient’s diet should include fermented milk products with lactobacilli, liquid cereals, broths and soups.
The patient should be given as much liquid to drink as possible. When treating any viral infection or bacterial pathology, experts recommend giving the patient something to drink every quarter of an hour, giving him a quarter glass of warm raspberry broth, cranberry juice or just milk and honey.
The antimicrobial course of treatment must be followed by the patient to the end; independent adjustment of the dosage and timing of taking the drug downward is strictly not recommended.
In the room where the patient is located, the air must be clean and ventilated: for this, the method of through ventilation is used at least three times a day, after first removing the patient from the room for a few minutes.

Doctors categorically do not recommend stopping taking antibiotics on your own when treating pneumonia, since visible relief of symptoms occurs when bacterial agents stop multiplying. As soon as antimicrobial agents stop entering the body, pneumococci recur and begin to actively multiply, provoking a new round of inflammatory disease.

It is almost impossible to cure pneumonia without antibiotics, and it is also quite risky. Such treatment will not only not give the desired timely effect, but can transform the pathology into a chronic course.

Not really

Pneumonia is a serious disease of the lung tissue, most often affecting children due to incompletely developed immunity. In addition, pneumonia can develop as a complication after infections or serious allergic reactions.

Diagnosis of the disease is carried out on the basis of general clinical picture, identifying the pathogen in sputum and radiography of the lungs. Treatment of the disease should be comprehensive and carried out exclusively under the supervision of specialists.

In some cases, pulmonologists allow treating a child at home. Moreover, the course consists of several stages and includes both antibacterial agents in combination with expectorants, and multivitamins to support the immune system.

General principles of treatment at home

General principles of out-of-hospital treatment of pneumonia include the following points:

adherence to a special diet rich in vitamins and microelements, and also completely excluding all foods that can provoke allergies;
avoiding contact with any allergens;
therapeutic exercises (during the recovery stage);
reception medications, including broad-spectrum antibiotics;
folk remedies (exclusively as an addition to general treatment).

Pneumonia in children: treatment at home

As noted above, treating pneumonia at home is possible only after preliminary agreement of all details with the attending physician. It is extremely important to follow all recommendations of a specialist. If there is any deterioration in the overall picture or in the absence of positive dynamics, the child must be admitted to a hospital.

Just like in a hospital, treatment at home should be comprehensive and consist of several activities at once. These include:

taking antibiotics;
symptomatic treatment;
nutrition correction;
gymnastics classes.

Antibiotics

Antibiotics are prescribed from the moment of diagnosis. Typically, targeted drugs are chosen, such as penicillins and antipneumococcal agents. At home, drugs are more often prescribed in tablets or suspensions; in a hospital, the medicine is administered intravenously or intramuscularly, which in severe cases of pneumonia provides high efficiency treatment.

Symptomatic treatment

Symptomatic treatment consists of controlling cough and fever. To normalize bronchial patency, mucolytics such as Bromhexine and Lazolvan are prescribed.

To ease breathing and eliminate attacks of shortness of breath, doctors strictly according to indications (development of respiratory failure or deterioration of bronchial obstruction) prescribe the drugs Pulmicort and Berodual.

Massage

Massage for pneumonia is an integral part of treating the disease at home. Main task procedures - facilitating sputum discharge.

The essence of the massage is to rub the back and chest, as well as making patting movements from the lower back to the shoulders. The child must lie on a hard surface.

Addition to home therapy

In addition, vitamin complexes can be prescribed to strengthen the immune system. Taking propolis and royal jelly also has a positive effect.

Signs (symptoms) of improper treatment

The first sign of improper treatment is lack of positive dynamics. In addition, one can highlight following symptoms, indicating that treatment has been disrupted:

deterioration in general health;
increased coughing attacks with suffocation, especially at night;
severe shortness of breath that occurs even without visible exertion;
hypoxia, expressed in pallor of the skin and cyanosis of the lips;
obstruction (impaired patency) of the respiratory tract;
wheezing when exhaling, which can be heard over a long distance;
the occurrence of an acute feeling of pain in the chest, intensifying during coughing attacks;
allocation large quantities pus or blood when coughing.

In what cases can you treat at home, and when is it better to go to the hospital?

Is it possible to treat pneumonia at home without going to the clinic? Treatment at home is possible only after conducting a comprehensive examination and receiving recommendations from specialists.

Home therapy allowed:

at the initial stage of the disease, when the damage to the lungs is minor and the child’s general well-being does not cause concern;
if parents have the opportunity to provide their child with adequate care and timely administration of medications.

Treatment at home is prohibited in the following cases:

Folk remedies

You can use folk remedies only after agreement with the attending physician and only as adjuvant to primary therapy. How to treat at home, the following options can be given as examples:

Use of goose fat. To do this, mix 2 tablespoons of fat with honey and put the ointment in the refrigerator until it hardens. The mixture is used to rub the child’s back and chest during a special massage;
Milk with garlic and honey. To do this, add 2 cloves of chopped garlic to a glass of milk and heat it up. It is important not to bring the milk to a boil. After this, add a tablespoon of honey to the mixture and give it to the sick child to drink 2-3 times a day. This recipe should not be used in children with a tendency to allergies;
Steam inhalations. You need to add a tablespoon of eucalyptus or pine buds to a glass of water. After this, the liquid is brought to a boil and the child is allowed to breathe the steam. The method cannot be used for asthma or severe allergic reactions. In addition, steam inhalation is prohibited at elevated temperatures.

Why is self-medication dangerous?

Uncontrolled self-medication (including folk remedies) increases the risk of complications. In this case, experts distinguish between pulmonary and extrapulmonary complications.

Pulmonary complications include:

pleurisy and pleural empyema;
respiratory failure;
lung abscess.

Useful video

Below is a useful video about home treatment for pneumonia from a 1st category doctor:

Conclusion

Timely treatment of pneumonia is the only way to avoid complications in the future. Any therapeutic methods should be selected by the attending physician based on the diagnosis and be based on individual characteristics the child's body. In addition, it is strongly not recommended to refuse hospital treatment or interrupt therapy when external symptoms alleviate.

Doctor Komarovsky about pneumonia in children

The phrase “pneumonia” is very scary for parents. At the same time, it does not matter at all how old or months old the child is, this disease is considered one of the most dangerous among mothers and fathers. Is this really so, how to recognize pneumonia and how to treat it correctly, says the famous pediatrician, author of books and articles about children's health Evgeny Komarovsky.

About the disease

Pneumonia (this is what doctors call what is popularly called pneumonia) is a very common disease, inflammation of the lung tissue. By one concept, doctors mean several ailments at once. If the inflammation is not infectious, the doctor will write “pneumonitis” on the card. If the alveoli are affected, the diagnosis will sound different - “alveolitis”; if the mucous membrane of the lungs is affected - “pleurisy”.

The inflammatory process in the lung tissue is caused by fungi, viruses and bacteria. There are mixed inflammations - viral-bacterial, for example.

All illnesses included in the concept of “pneumonia” medical reference books are classified as quite dangerous, since of the 450 million people from all over the world who get sick with them per year, about 7 million die due to misdiagnosis, incorrect or delayed treatment, as well as the speed and severity of the disease. Among the deaths, about 30% were children under 3 years of age.

Based on the location of the source of inflammation, all pneumonias are divided into:

Also, inflammation can be bilateral or unilateral if only one lung or part of it is affected. Pneumonia is quite rare independent disease, more often it is a complication of another disease - viral or bacterial.

Pneumonia is considered the most dangerous for children under 5 years of age and the elderly; among such patients the consequences are unpredictable. According to statistics, they have the highest mortality rate.

Evgeny Komarovsky claims that the respiratory organs in general are the most vulnerable to various infections. It is through the upper respiratory tract (nose, oropharynx, larynx) that most germs and viruses enter the child’s body.

If the baby’s immunity is weakened, if the environmental conditions in the area where he lives are unfavorable, if the microbe or virus is very aggressive, then the inflammation does not linger only in the nose or larynx, but goes down to the bronchi. This disease is called bronchitis. If it cannot be stopped, the infection spreads even lower - to the lungs. Pneumonia occurs.

However, the airborne route of infection is not the only one. If we consider that the lungs, in addition to gas exchange, perform several other important functions, it becomes clear why sometimes the disease appears in the absence of a viral infection. Nature has entrusted the human lungs with the mission of moisturizing and warming the inhaled air, purifying it from various harmful impurities (the lungs act as a filter), and also similarly filter the circulating blood, releasing many harmful substances from it and neutralizing them.

If your child has undergone surgery, broken a leg, ate something wrong and got severe food poisoning, burned, cut, this or that amount of toxins, blood clots, etc. enters the blood in various concentrations. The lungs patiently neutralize this or remove it out with the help of a protective mechanism - coughing. However, unlike household filters, which can be cleaned, washed or thrown away, lung filters cannot be washed or replaced. And if one day some part of this “filter” fails, becomes clogged, the very disease that parents call pneumonia begins.

Pneumonia can be caused by a wide variety of bacteria and viruses.. If a child gets sick while in the hospital with another illness, then there is a high probability that he will have bacterial pneumonia, which is also called hospital-acquired or hospital-acquired pneumonia. This is the most severe of pneumonia, since in conditions of hospital sterility, the use of antiseptics and antibiotics, only the strongest and most aggressive microbes survive, which are not so easy to destroy.

The most common occurrence in children is pneumonia, which arose as a complication of a viral infection (ARVI, influenza, etc.). Such cases of pneumonia account for about 90% of relevant childhood diagnoses. This is not even due to the fact that viral infections are “scary”, but because they are extremely widespread, and some children get them up to 10 times a year or even more.

Symptoms

To understand how pneumonia begins to develop, you need to have a good understanding of how the respiratory system generally works. The bronchi constantly secrete mucus, the task of which is to block dust particles, germs, viruses and other unwanted objects that enter the respiratory system. Bronchial mucus has certain characteristics, such as viscosity, for example. If it loses some of its properties, then instead of fighting the invasion of foreign particles, it itself begins to cause a lot of “trouble.”

For example, mucus that is too thick, if the child breathes dry air, clogs the bronchi and interferes with normal ventilation of the lungs. This, in turn, leads to congestion in some parts of the lungs - pneumonia develops.

Pneumonia often occurs when the child’s body rapidly loses fluid reserves and bronchial mucus thickens. Varying degrees of dehydration can occur when prolonged diarrhea in a child, with repeated vomiting, high fever, fever, with insufficient fluid intake, especially against the background of the previously mentioned problems.

Parents may suspect pneumonia in their child based on a number of signs:

Cough has become the main symptom of the disease. The rest, who were present before, gradually disappear, and the cough only gets worse.
The child became worse after improvement. If the disease has already subsided, and then suddenly the baby feels unwell again, this may well indicate the development of a complication.
The child cannot take a deep breath. Every attempt to do this results in severe attack cough. Breathing is accompanied by wheezing.
Pneumonia can manifest itself through severe pallor of the skin against the background of the symptoms listed above.
The child has shortness of breath, and antipyretic drugs, which previously always quickly helped, ceased to have an effect.

Is it possible to cure pneumonia without antibiotics and how to do it

Faced with pneumonia and not wanting to endure painful injections, patients often wonder whether it is possible to cure pneumonia at home without antibiotics? After all, they were treated somehow before! Yes, they treated, but they did not cure. Before the invention of antibiotics, a diagnosis of pneumonia was tantamount to a death sentence. Only a few recovered. The few survivors subsequently took a very long time to restore their health. Even today, pneumonia is main reason deaths in childhood. Worldwide, it kills more children than measles, AIDS and malaria combined. Great percentage fatal outcome from pneumonia and the streets of the elderly. This is due to low immunity and the presence of chronic diseases.

Mechanism of disease development

To determine how to treat pneumonia, you need to know what processes occur in the lungs. First of all, you need to understand that pneumonia is an infectious disease, which means it is contagious. The disease can be caused by bacteria, fungi and viruses.

Pneumonia can be primary or secondary. In primary pneumonia, the pathogen enters the respiratory tract with inhaled air. The secondary form develops when microorganisms from other foci of inflammation in the body enter the bloodstream. Septic and infectious processes can also be a source of pathogens.

Pneumonia can also develop for exogenous reasons. In case of decreased immunity, the microflora located in respiratory tract, is activated and provokes the development of pneumonia.

In response to the increased development of microorganisms on the alveoli (the respiratory sacs of the lung tissue), leukocytes and sputum begin to be intensively released in the lesion, which leads to local pulmonary edema. This process isolates the spread of infection to adjacent tissues and, through the blood, throughout the body.

Depending on which parts of the lungs are affected, pneumonia can be:

focal;
share;
segmental.

If the entire lung becomes inflamed, then we're talking about about a total illness. When involved in pathological process of both lungs we are talking about bilateral inflammation.

Quiz: How susceptible are you to pneumonia?

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Results

You lead a healthy lifestyle and you are not at risk of pneumonia

You are a fairly active person who cares and thinks about your respiratory system and health in general, continue to play sports, lead a healthy lifestyle, and your body will delight you throughout your life, and no bronchitis will bother you. But do not forget to undergo examinations on time, maintain your immunity, this is very important, do not overcool, avoid severe physical and strong emotional overload.

It's time to think about what you are doing wrong...

You are at risk, you should think about your lifestyle and start taking care of yourself. Physical education is required, or even better, start playing sports, choose the sport that you like most and turn it into a hobby (dancing, cycling, gym or just try to walk more). Do not forget to treat colds and flu promptly, they can lead to complications in the lungs. Be sure to work on your immunity, strengthen yourself, and be in nature and fresh air as often as possible. Do not forget to undergo scheduled annual examinations, treat lung diseases initial stages much simpler than in a neglected state. Avoid emotional and physical stress; if possible, eliminate or minimize smoking or contact with smokers.

It's time to sound the alarm! In your case, the likelihood of getting pneumonia is huge!

You are completely irresponsible about your health, thereby destroying the functioning of your lungs and bronchi, have pity on them! If you want to live a long time, you need to radically change your entire attitude towards your body. First of all, get examined by such specialists as a therapist and a pulmonologist; you need to take radical measures, otherwise everything may end badly for you. Follow all the doctors' recommendations, radically change your life, perhaps you should change your job or even your place of residence, completely eliminate smoking and alcohol from your life, and make contact with people who have such bad habits to a minimum, toughen up, strengthen your immune system, spend time in the fresh air as often as possible. Avoid emotional and physical overload. Completely eliminate all aggressive products from everyday use and replace them with natural, natural remedies. Do not forget to do wet cleaning and ventilation of the room at home.

With answer
With a viewing mark

Does your lifestyle involve heavy physical activity?

Yes, daily
Sometimes
Seasonal (eg vegetable garden)

How often do you undergo a lung examination (eg fluorogram)?

I don’t even remember when was the last time
Every year, in mandatory
Once every couple of years

Do you play sports?

Yes, professionally and regularly
It happened in the past
Yes, amateur

When I'm sick
Sometimes

Do you treat acute respiratory infections, ARVI, Bronchitis and other inflammatory or infectious diseases?

Yes, at the doctor's
No, it goes away on its own after some time
Yes, I self-medicate
Only if it's really bad

Do you carefully observe personal hygiene (shower, hands before eating and after walking, etc.)?

Yes, I wash my hands all the time
No, I don't follow this at all
I try, but sometimes I forget

Do you take care of your immunity?

Only when sick
I find it difficult to answer

Have any relatives or family members suffered from serious lung diseases (tuberculosis, asthma, pneumonia)?

Yes, parents
Yes, close relatives
I can't say for sure

Do you live or work in an unfavorable environment (gas, smoke, chemical emissions from enterprises)?

Yes, I live permanently
Yes, I work in such conditions
Previously lived or worked

Do you have heart disease?

Yes, chronic
Rarely, but it does happen
If you have any doubts, you need an examination

How often are you in damp, dusty or moldy environments?

Constantly
I'm not there
Previously was
Rarely, but it happens

Do you often get sick with acute respiratory infections or acute respiratory viral infections?

I'm constantly sick
Rarely, no more than once a year
Often, more than 2 times a year
I never get sick or once every five years

Do you or any of your relatives have diabetes?

Yes, I have
I find it difficult to answer
Yes, with close relatives

Do you have any allergic diseases?

Yes, one
Not sure, needs testing
Yes, even a few

What kind of life do you lead?

Sedentary
Active, constantly on the move
Sedentary

Does anyone in your family smoke?

Happens sometimes
Used to smoke

Yes, I smoke regularly
No and never smoked
Rarely, but it happens
Previously smoked, but quit

Do you have air purification devices in your home?

Yes, I change filters all the time
Yes, we use it sometimes
Yes, but we don’t monitor the devices

Do you often get more bronchitis?

Often, more than 2 times a year
I'm constantly sick
Rarely, no more than once a year
I don’t get sick at all, at most once every five years

Do you have congenital pathologies bronchopulmonary system?

Yes, even a few
There is one thing
Difficult to answer, I need an examination

Symptoms and complications

If pneumonia is caused by bacteria, the patient will present the following complaints:

feverish condition;
severe pain in the chest, aggravated by coughing;
chills;
cough with sticky sputum;
increased sweating.

Objectively, there will be an increase in heart rate and respiration. Lips and nails will take on a bluish tint.

When the disease is provoked by a viral agent, the clinical picture will be slightly different: dry cough, temperature rise to high values, headache, severe shortness of breath, severe weakness, muscle pain.

Pneumonia of fungal etiology, symptoms will be less pronounced and similar to a bacterial or viral process in the lungs.

It must be borne in mind that after the flu and colds, complications in the form of pneumonia may develop. If you treat pneumonia without due attention and do not follow all the doctor’s instructions, the disease can lead to very serious consequences.

Incorrect or incomplete treatment of pneumonia can lead to two types of complications - pulmonary and extrapulmonary.

How to be treated correctly

Therapy for pneumonia should be carried out depending on the type of microorganisms that caused the disease. You should not prescribe treatment for yourself or take medications without a doctor’s prescription. The patient will not be able to determine the ethology of the disease himself, and the effectiveness of treatment depends on this!

Drug therapy is prescribed taking into account the ethology of the disease:

If the cause of pneumonia is fungal microflora, then the drugs must be from the antifungal group.
Pneumonia caused by viral agents should be treated only with antiviral drugs. Taking antibiotics for these two types of pneumonia will not only not be effective, but will also cause irreparable harm to the body, sharply increasing the growth of pathogenic microflora in the respiratory organs. Such inadequate treatment will very quickly lead to serious complications!
Pneumonia caused by various bacteria should be treated with antimicrobial drugs, i.e. antibiotics. Treatment of pneumonia of bacterial ethology without antibiotics will not only be ineffective, but also dangerous for the development of complications.

Uncontrolled use of such drugs leads to increased resistance (resistance) of microorganisms to these drugs. And in the future, in case of urgent need, doctors will be perplexed in choosing drug therapy.

The exact type of causative agent of the disease can only be determined using bacteriological culture of sputum. Only then can you confidently make the right decision on how to cure the disease.

If earlier pneumonia was cured with antibiotics without problems, now, due to the sharply increased resistance of the body to these drugs, antibiotics must be selected individually. To do this, the bacteriological laboratory inoculates pathogenic microorganisms isolated from sputum onto special media. The entire crop area is divided into sectors, each of which is treated with antibiotics different groups. For the treatment of pneumonia, a drug is selected from the group that most strongly suppressed the growth of bacteria.

The doctor prescribes a course of antibiotic treatment depending on the patient’s general condition, the severity of the disease, the type of pneumonia and the size of the lung lesion. Therapy with these drugs usually lasts from 7 days to two weeks. During this time, all pathogenic microorganisms will be destroyed.

Under no circumstances should you interrupt the course of treatment prescribed by your doctor! Such amateur activity will lead to the development of the disease with renewed vigor. But antibiotics will no longer help in this case.

Pneumonia without antibiotics

Doctors may have different opinions, but they agree on one thing - treating pneumonia with “folk remedies” is unacceptable

Personally, I rarely refuse to treat patients. And in general, most doctors are very patient and tolerant people. We are often bombarded with negativity, irritation, and fatigue from illness. Often you have to explain, convince, persuade. But this is part of our job. In addition, we have to admit that doctors themselves often contradict each other...

“How many doctors, so many opinions,” says the saying. By the way, why? When people ask me why one doctor recommended one thing and another another, I give the following example.

Let's imagine that you don't know how to get from St. Petersburg to Novosibirsk. Ask your friends, look on the Internet. It turns out that there are a lot of options.

For example, you can fly by plane. Fast. But it's expensive. Besides, you have aerophobia.

You can go by train. Not cheap either. And longer than by plane. There are many fellow travelers in the carriage. No shower.

Can by car. The journey is longer than by train. You will get very tired along the way. You might get into an accident. The car may break down along the way. But you can spend the night in a motel in comfort. No need to communicate with fellow travelers.

Can on a bicycle. Possibly only in summer. A very long time. Relatively cheap. Dangerous.

Also, Novosibirsk can theoretically be reached on foot, by hot air balloon, hoverboard, etc.

So there are many ways to solve one problem. Each method has its pros and cons. It's difficult to choose. Some experts strongly advise one thing, while others recommend something completely different.

And there is still an option for those who still cannot decide. Send everyone to the bathhouse and stay at home. Don't go anywhere. Do not undergo treatment. Just lie on the stove, waiting for something. Come on, stove, take me straight to Novosibirsk!

There are times when a patient (or his parents) fundamentally goes against everything and everyone. Opposes obvious generally accepted things. And even when all the doctors say the same thing, he continues to stick to his line.

I once examined a five-year-old boy with rare name Luke. The medical history was as follows. The child fell ill and had a fever for 5 days, after which the parents decided that it was not a matter of teething after all. (Which, however, could not have happened even in theory.)

The local doctor who was called, after listening to the child, said that he had pneumonia (pneumonia) and sent him to the hospital. There they took an X-ray of the lungs, which confirmed the diagnosis. With antibiotics, Luka's condition quickly improved.

The parents fled from the hospital three days later, and the antibiotic, which they were told to continue taking, was abandoned due to complete ideological rejection of any “chemistry”. A day after discharge, the child became febrile again.

I examined the patient. On the right, in the lower parts, moist fine bubbling rales were clearly heard, and there was also pronounced dullness upon percussion. These were all clear signs of ongoing segmental pneumonia.

“We are probably to blame,” said the grandmother. “We were so scared of these injections that we decided not to continue them at home. Moreover, my health was completely normal. But we continued to treat. Traditional methods. They smeared it with honey. Gastrointestinal fat. They added cabbage."

“The minimum treatment for pneumonia is seven days of antibiotics,” I answered. “Or even longer.”

“Wait, doctor,” my grandmother told me. - But antibiotics appeared only recently? After all, pneumonia was somehow treated without them before?”

“You're right,” I said. “Pneumonia can actually go away without antibiotics.”

Firstly, many pneumonias, especially in children under 5 years of age, are essentially viral. True, deciding whether it is viral pneumonia or not is quite difficult. And even when a blood test does not show bacterial inflammation, if a child has a fever for more than 5 days and pneumonia is heard, no doctor will risk the patient’s health in this situation.

What happens if you don’t give antibiotics for bacterial pneumonia? There were no antibiotics until the 1940s and 1950s. Therefore, approximately a third of patients with pneumonia died. It should be noted that even now, despite the fact that we have the most powerful drugs, antibiotics and intensive care, pneumonia claims hundreds of thousands of lives every year around the world.

Further, even the remaining two-thirds who eventually recovered from pneumonia without antibiotics did not have it easy. Recovery could take several months, during which the person was intensely ill and was on the verge of death.

Moreover, many of those who seemed to have recovered could not be said to have recovered completely. Often purulent process in the lungs became chronic, causing a constant cough and intoxication, the development of bronchiectasis, abscesses and adhesions, even requiring further complex surgical treatment. For those who don’t believe, I recommend reading the book by the great Fedor Uglov, “The Heart of a Surgeon.”

Nowadays, minor pneumonia is often treated with antibiotics in just 10 days, leaving no consequences or complications.

I told all this to my mother and grandmother, they nodded understandingly and promised to religiously follow the doctor’s recommendations.

I prescribed an antibiotic in the form of a tasty syrup, a cough medicine. We called the next day, everything was going well, the temperature subsided - that is, the antibiotic began to work. We agreed to meet in five days to listen to the child.

A week passed and my parents didn’t call. Suddenly, about 10 days later, my grandmother showed up, extremely excited: “Doctor, can you come to us urgently?” "What's happened?!" - I ask. “Yes, the temperature is 40 again. Luka is coughing terribly, he looks pale, even bluish, and is breathing quickly. True, we didn’t finish the antibiotic, the bottle ran out after 5 days, but the child felt great, he was just coughing, so we decided that enough was enough. But they continued to use cabbage. Can you come?"

To be honest, I was simply speechless. It turns out that everything I did was in vain. My parents gave up the antibiotic, and now we are getting a new round of the disease, it seems that it is even stronger than the last one.

“Call an ambulance and go to the hospital,” I told my grandmother, barely restraining myself from yelling obscenities. - This cannot be treated at home. What if the guy already has pleurisy and needs a pleural puncture?

In fact, even if it was just a runny nose, I still wouldn’t go to these people now. What is the point of wasting your time and nerves if the recommendations are still not followed and parents do what they want, to the detriment of their own child?

I would rather treat those patients who follow my instructions.

I don’t know how it all ended, because the cabbage-growing grandmother didn’t call me again.

Is it worth treating pneumonia without antibiotics?

Complexities of the disease

Symptoms and signs of an inflammatory pulmonary process are:

cough: both dry and productive;
obstruction syndrome and severe shortness of breath;
cyanosis of the skin, cyanosis of the perioral area;
symptoms of tachycardia;
feverish conditions and signs of intoxication;
chest pain.

Dangerous symptoms of pulmonary inflammation are:

severe shortness of breath, accompanied by rapid breathing;
cyanosis of the skin;
high body temperature for several hours, difficult to correct;
rapid pulse more than 90 beats per minute;
a sharp decrease in blood pressure.

If symptoms indicate a dangerous and complicated course of pneumonia, the patient should be immediately hospitalized to provide qualified medical care.

Treatment of pneumonia in a hospital setting involves, first of all, the use of second and third generation antimicrobial drugs, as well as a combination of two types of antibiotics to enhance the therapeutic effect.

Conditions for effective treatment of pneumonia

Antimicrobial therapy consists of treatment with a number of antibiotics. Before prescribing the drug that is most effective for a given type of pathology, doctors study the patient’s tests and medical history, at the same time making sure that the patient is not allergic to certain antibiotics. In the case of an existing allergy to a certain drug series, the doctor will replace it with an approved drug. In severe cases of the disease, antimicrobial drugs are prescribed by injection, in milder forms of the pathology - in tablet form.
Doctors recommend that their patients strictly adhere to bed rest in the first few days of the disease, as the body does not. The body, weakened by pneumococcal agents and oxygen hypoxia of tissues, requires maximum rest to maintain strength. The patient is allowed to get up no earlier than the fourth day from the onset of the disease.
Removing sputum from the bronchi is considered a prerequisite for effective treatment of pneumonia. For this purpose, doctors prescribe mucolytic agents and bronchodilators, based on the general condition of the patient.
Equally important is the treatment of the primary source of the pathology that provoked subsequent pulmonary inflammation.

Treatment of pneumonia without antibiotics

There are many factors confirming that doctors are right.

First of all, treatment for pneumonia without antibiotics a century ago was often fatal. In terms of the number of patients who died, pneumonia occupied one of the first places, second only to infectious outbreaks of epidemics. Rare cases of cure left no recipes for the main treatment, but only prescriptions for accompanying therapy.
Pneumococcal agents and bacilli that provoke pneumonia are constantly mutating, so even conventional antimicrobial drugs may become ineffective for treating pneumonia. Recently, doctors prefer to prescribe to their patients not one antimicrobial drug, but two, complementary and enhancing each other’s effects.
Human immunity has undergone changes for the worse in recent decades due to the environmental situation, problems with nutrition and addiction to bad habits. Any infection, even not too dangerous, can become a source of threat to humans, and pneumococci are a terminal source.

All these factors indicate that treating pneumonia without the use of antibiotics is a risky and unjustified step that can cause irreparable harm to the patient’s body.

Duration of antibiotic therapy

In such cases, the patient is threatened with:

acute relapse of a pathological condition of the pulmonary system;
inflammatory damage to nearby healthy lung tissue;
development of pathological complications affecting the cardiac system, bronchopulmonary tract;
formation and progression of a lung abscess with subsequent breakthrough of purulent contents into the lung tissue;
sepsis;
severe inflammatory disease that becomes chronic.

That is why doctors insist on continuous use of the antimicrobial drug for several days, while the treatment regimen is adjusted by the doctor depending on the patient’s condition and the speed of the recovery process.

General rules for choosing a drug

Antimicrobial drugs are classified depending on the degree and intensity of exposure. For severe pathologies that occur against a background of severe symptoms, potent antibiotics are used.

Uncomplicated pneumonia in young people and middle-aged patients can be treated with penicillin drugs or macrolides. Pneumonia in this category of patients, which occurs in a mild degree, is often treated at home, since there is no need for urgent hospitalization of the patient.
In patients over 50 years of age with a “bouquet” of concomitant pathologies such as diabetes mellitus, psychopathologies, liver or kidney failure, pneumonia is treated with third-generation cephalosporins. Due to the possible severity of the pathology, in these patients, several causative agents of the pathological pulmonary condition may progress simultaneously.
Lobar pneumonia is usually treated in a hospital setting, which is why antibiotics of a number of fluoroquinolones are used.

In a hospital setting, doctors monitor the timely administration of medications and injections, while treatment of pneumonia at home requires self-control from the patient and control from loved ones.

Home therapy conditions

The main conditions that contribute to the effective recovery of a patient with pneumonia at home include several important aspects.

Restorative and maintenance diet. Taking antibiotics can weaken the patient’s immune system and provoke disruptions in the gastrointestinal tract. The patient’s diet should include fermented milk products with lactobacilli, liquid cereals, broths and soups.
The patient should be given as much liquid to drink as possible. When treating any viral infection or bacterial pathology, experts recommend giving the patient something to drink every quarter of an hour, giving him a quarter glass of warm raspberry broth, cranberry juice, or just milk with honey.
The antimicrobial course of treatment must be followed by the patient to the end; independent adjustment of the dosage and timing of taking the drug downward is strictly not recommended.
In the room where the patient is located, the air must be clean and ventilated: for this, the method of through ventilation is used at least three times a day, after first removing the patient from the room for a few minutes.

Pneumonia is a serious disease because it is fatal. Therefore, you need to know how to deal with pneumonia correctly. This disease will not tolerate human stupidity and will certainly punish for frivolity.

Although today we will talk about how to properly suffer from pneumonia, first I will say a few words about what you need to do to avoid getting it. The most important rules: do not contact sick people, keep your teeth healthy and treat other diseases in a timely manner.

What to fear?

Firstly. Since pneumonia is a very contagious disease, it is better not to approach sick people, especially those who are coughing. Secondly. A bacterial infection that develops in “rotten” teeth can penetrate deep into the body - and this has already been proven. If a tooth infection reaches the lungs, you will have pneumonia, and if it reaches the stomach, you will get gastritis or an ulcer. Thirdly. If you have been diagnosed with, for example, mycoplasma, legionella or chlamydia, do not delay their treatment. They can reach the lungs and form their own focus of infection in them.

Treatment rules

If pneumonia does appear, remember the most important rule in treating this disease - recovery does not depend on the doctor, but to a greater extent on you.

Treat pneumonia only with a doctor. This is not a cold for you; you cannot cure it on your own. Therefore, be sure to go to the doctor. Remember the mortality of this disease.

Suspect pneumonia for any cold. A very important point. Most cases of advanced pneumonia occur because it is mistaken for a common cold. If symptoms appear, especially if with a cough, be sure to go to the doctor to have your lungs listened to.

Treat pneumonia to the end. A very common mistake patients make is to stop the course of treatment on their own. We underwent treatment for a couple or three days, the fever went away, and we stopped taking antibiotics. A terrible mistake. If the doctor prescribed a course of antibiotics for two weeks, then you should take the medications for exactly two weeks, and not a day less, even if you already feel absolutely healthy!

Remember about SARS. Usually people start thinking about it when pneumonia is treated and treated with ordinary antibiotics, but cannot be cured. The disease appears again and again. And all because they were treating for the wrong pathogen. To avoid this, warn your doctor during your first appointment that you have recently been treated for chlamydia or, for example, mycoplasmosis. Or you haven’t been treated, but you still have this pathogenic flora in your body. The doctor will be able to immediately prescribe the correct treatment, and you will have a chance to be cured much earlier.

Treat pneumonia only in bed. No going to work and no physical activity. It is very important to free the immune system from all stress so that it does only one of the most important jobs - destroying the infection.

And one last thing. Protect children and the elderly from pneumonia. They suffer from pneumonia more often and more severely than others - in some the body is not yet strong, while in others it is already so weak that it cannot effectively fight this disease. Keep in mind that pneumonia is the leading cause of death in children and adolescents worldwide. It kills 1.4 million children under the age of five every year. This is more than AIDS, malaria and measles combined.

Treatment of pneumonia without antibiotics: is it possible?

Pneumonia is a serious disease that can lead to a number of tragic complications, including death. The clinical course of the disease is usually bright, with symptoms of fever, intoxication, and other manifestations. Therefore, treatment tactics should be combined, using antimicrobial agents. Many people are interested in the question of whether it is possible to get rid of this unfortunate disease without taking antibacterial agents, because earlier, before the invention of antibiotics, this issue was somehow resolved.

Antibiotics are an excellent medical remedy that appeared relatively recently (in the twentieth century), and with the help of which it is possible to save millions human lives. Before their appearance, mortality from pneumonia was critical. This means that the diagnosis, pneumonia, sounded like a death sentence. And only a few managed to recover.

Description of the disease

Pneumonia is very dangerous for human life. If treated incorrectly, serious consequences can develop very quickly, which often ends in death, even in our days of medical progress. First of all, the organs of the respiratory system are affected, their functioning suffers, which entails a number of severe consequences.

Let's look at the main signs of pneumonia:

cough, dry and wet;
obstructive syndrome and severe shortness of breath;
cyanosis and cyanosis of the skin;
rapid heartbeat;
fever and symptoms general poisoning body;
pain in the chest.

Dangerous manifestations that threaten life:

intense shortness of breath combined with rapid breathing;
blue skin;
high temperature values, which are observed for several hours and are not relieved by medications;
tachycardia: pulse counts over ninety contractions;
rapid drop in blood pressure.

If a person has danger signs pneumonia, he needs to be urgently hospitalized to provide professional medical care.

The disease is treated with the help of special new generation antimicrobial agents. In order to strengthen therapeutic effects, doctors select combinations of two specific antibiotics. Treatment tactics is developed strictly individually in each individual case.

Principles of successful therapy

A quick recovery can only occur if a person reacts to the symptoms of the disease on time, goes to the doctor, undergoes an examination, follows all the doctor’s instructions and does not take any independent measures. Fortunately, modern doctors act according to the developed effective scheme therapy. Depending on the characteristics of the disease, treatment actions may be as follows:

antimicrobial tactics involve the use of antibiotics. Before prescribing such a serious drug to a patient, the doctor studies all the research data and the characteristics of the disease. Its task is also to make sure that a person does not have an allergic reaction to a certain drug. If you have an allergic reaction to a specific substance, you need to prescribe another one that will also be effective. If the course of the disease is severe, then the patient is given injections; if it is mild, tablets are prescribed;
At first, patients must strictly adhere to bed rest. An exhausted body needs complete calm to restore strength. A person should get up no earlier than on the fourth day from the onset of the illness;
It is imperative that you take action to remove mucus. For this, experts prescribe mucolytics and bronchodilators, taking into account the general well-being;
Treatment of the root cause of the pathology is also of great importance.

A person must drink a lot. This will help influence the harmful effects of toxic components. In order to restore the functionality of the immune system, taking special strengthening agents and vitamin complexes is indicated.

Treatment tactics without taking antibiotics

Answering the main question, is it possible to cure pneumonia without the use of antibiotics, it is worth saying that modern doctors categorically do not accept such tactics. Many specialists do not understand at all why to be treated in some dubious ways, if there is one effective and proven method that can save you from this terrible disease and its consequences.

Arguments against therapy without antibiotics:

disease treatment practice in a similar way very rarely ended in success, often leading to serious complications and death. It was this disease that occupied the leading place in mortality. If there were lucky people who recovered from pneumonia, then after them there was not one left effective recipe getting rid of the disease without antibiotics;
Pathological pathogens regularly mutate. Therefore, even the most modern antimicrobial agents one day become powerless. Therefore, highly qualified doctors understand that it is necessary to prescribe not one remedy, but two, which together will complement each other and enhance the effect of treatment;
Over the past ten years, the human immune system has undergone many changes and not for the better. This is due to the situation environment, nutritional errors and in a harmful way life. Any source of infection in the body, even if not very dangerous, can become a serious threat to the patient.

All these arguments only confirm that treating pneumonia without taking antibiotics is a risky, stupid and unconscious action that can lead to a number of serious consequences.

Antibiotic treatment time

If a person was prescribed antibiotics, and if he arbitrarily decided to stop taking them already during the treatment process, this is a very risky and unjustified step. As experts say, if you have pneumonia, you need to take antibiotics for at least a week. In advanced cases, therapy can be continued for up to two weeks. Many people stop taking it at the first signs of feeling better.

What are the risks of interrupting antibiotic therapy on your own?

exacerbation of the pathological process;
inflammation of accompanying tissues;
the appearance of pathological serious consequences extending to the cardiovascular sphere and respiratory organs;
the appearance of lung abscesses with further opening into the body;
blood poisoning;
severe inflammatory process that becomes chronic.

All diplomats urge not to be treated without antibiotics, and insist on following all recommendations for taking them.

General criteria for selecting a medication

Antibacterial agents in medicine are distinguished by the degree and strength of their effect. For intense diseases that occur against the background of severe symptoms, strong drugs are used:

pathology in mild form in young and middle-aged people it is treated with penicillins or macrolides. At the same time, the treatment regimen is usually outpatient;
persons over fifty years of age suffering from concomitant pathological conditions are prescribed third generation cephalosporins;
the lobar form of the disease is always treated in a hospital, fluoroquinolones are prescribed.

In the hospital, medical workers monitor the medication regimen. Home therapy involves self-organization from the individual and the help of relatives.

Criteria for choosing home or hospital treatment

Typical features of inflammatory processes in the lungs, such as shortness of breath, fever, cough, changes in blood pressure, indicate that treatment should be carried out in a hospital. On average, the disease is treated for about one month.

IN outpatient setting the patient must follow all the doctor’s recommendations. The doctor monitors blood counts, x-rays, and other medical examination data.

Principles of home treatment

The main criteria for successful recovery include the following:

dietary maintenance nutrition. We must not forget that medications leave an imprint on the functioning of the intestines, so you need to consume fermented milk products;
a sick person needs to drink fluids in large quantities. Modern doctors advise giving the patient something to drink every 15 minutes, giving 0.25 cups of warm broth with raspberries, cranberries, etc.;
a person must complete the course of antimicrobial therapy to the end. Stopping the antibiotic, reducing the dose, and any other similar actions unacceptable;
the air where a person is located must be fresh, wet cleaning must be done every day.

To fight the disease, the body uses up all its reserves, so it is necessary to follow a gentle regimen. If the patient begins to perform physical activities, calories will be expended, which should be aimed at suppressing the infection.

The course of antibiotic therapy must be completed to the end, otherwise there may be serious complications. Family members and relatives should be attentive to the sick person. The patient requires special care. If there is any deterioration in your health, you should urgently visit a doctor. Remember that pneumonia is not something to joke about. As soon as these bacteria are no longer suppressed, a recurrence of pneumonia will immediately occur. You should not use jars or install mustard plasters. Doctors don't recognize traditional therapy of this disease.

Features of therapeutic nutrition

All food consumed by a sick person during the period of illness should be easily digestible. This tactic is characterized by high energy expenditure of the body’s protective reserves, aimed at suppressing the infection. As a result, there may not be enough energy to digest food, which can lead to problems with the functionality of the digestive system.

At the initial stages, the patient loses interest in food due to the presence of toxic elements in the blood that appear as a result of decay. Under no circumstances should you force a patient to eat. You need to eat more fruits and vegetables.

When an appetite appears, the menu range increases. Patients are allowed to rely on soups and broths. At all stages of therapy, you need to drink plenty of fluids to minimize the toxic effects on the body. It is very useful to drink raspberry teas, milk and honey.

In addition to medical treatment, you can add home techniques. But to believe that everything will go away on its own in a few days is stupid. Frivolity in behavior during such a serious illness as pneumonia can result not only in disability, but also in death. There is no need to rely on traditional medicine recipes, because the timely pharmaceutical industry allows you to be cured quickly and without consequences.

Causes, symptoms and treatment of pneumonia

Features of pneumonia

Pneumonia is a serious disease, which is more dangerous because it is very unpredictable. Pneumonia can be caused by various pathogens, and therefore it is important to promptly diagnose and begin correct treatment. Otherwise, serious complications and even death are possible. It is worth noting that treatment of pneumonia is a long process, and in the future, patients must strictly monitor their health so that weakened lungs do not fall under attack from bacteria and viruses again.

Causes of pneumonia

Various pathogenic bacteria (legionella, staphylococcus, streptococcus, chlamydia, pneumococcus, viruses) that enter the lungs are the main cause of pulmonary diseases. Most often they enter the body by airborne droplets. However, in some cases they can penetrate due to medical manipulations, through lymph and blood.

The infection first leads to the development of bronchiolitis and acute bronchitis, which, if not treated effectively, can cause pneumonia. A strong immune system is able to fight such bacteria, while a weakened one is unable to resist pathogens.

Symptoms of pneumonia in newborns

A child can become infected even in the womb. Children with this diagnosis are usually born in a state of asphyxia. Other signs of sepsis signal pneumonia in a newborn:

Respiratory symptoms (cyanosis, wheezing when exhaling);

Unstable muscle tone;

Changes in body temperature;

Apnea.

X-rays are performed to confirm the diagnosis.

Signs of pneumonia in adults

Each type of pulmonary inflammation manifests itself individually. However, there are common clinical symptoms, which include:

Drowsiness and weakness;

Decreased or lack of appetite;

Increased body temperature with all the consequences (chills, sweating);

Severe wet cough (dry is a sign of atypical lung disease);

Chest pain;

Shortness of breath, lack of air.

In addition, in adults with pneumonia, additional symptoms may appear: sore throat, kidneys, muscles, vomiting, herpes, otitis media.

Types of pulmonary inflammation

Pneumonia may manifest as different types. This group of diseases is classified according to clinical and morphological characteristics and severity. There are also community-acquired, nosocomial and aspiration varieties. Depending on the etiology and course of the disease, the most effective treatment is prescribed.

Pneumonia in adults

First of all, in case of diseases of the respiratory system, inspiratory, expiratory or mixed shortness of breath appears. If left untreated, it can develop into attacks of suffocation. To diagnose pneumonia, it is important to pay attention to the cough, its type, timbre and time of manifestation.

A morning cough indicates a chronic inflammatory process in the upper respiratory tract. A cough in the evening signals bronchitis or pneumonia. Nocturnal manifestations of cough usually occur with tuberculosis.

To determine the disease, you also need to pay attention to the color, consistency and amount of sputum released when coughing.

Features of the development of pneumonia in children

Young children are most susceptible to pulmonary diseases. Very often they get pneumonia in early spring. This is due to a lack of vitamins, impaired phosphorus-calcium metabolism and passive immunity.

Pneumonia is a great danger for newborn infants, especially for premature babies whose tissues have not fully differentiated and have not developed regulatory mechanisms.

Effective treatment of pneumonia at an early age involves:

Elimination of infectious origin;

Normalization of metabolic processes in the body;

Liquidation organic changes in lung tissue.

Pneumonia without fever

This type of pneumonia is the most dangerous. It is often diagnosed directly later, and therefore treatment often does not bring effect. Mortality from asymptomatic disease is the highest.

If the inflammatory process has affected a localized area of the lung tissue without touching its main area, then there may even be no characteristic features- cough and chest pain. This disease is especially dangerous for children, since they cannot describe their sensations.

Pneumonia can develop even while taking cough medicine. This is due to the fact that the symptoms become dull and the source of the disease is not eliminated.

The development of asymptomatic pneumonia may be indicated by pallor of the face, pigmentation on the cheeks, heavy, jerky and wheezing breathing, tachycardia, and fatigue. This type of disease is treated with antibiotics.

Signs of acute pneumonia

The clinical picture of this disease may differ in varying degrees of severity. General manifestations and symptoms primarily depend on the nature of the pathogen. In this case, the disease manifests itself immediately, which allows you to quickly respond and begin treatment.

The first two days the tide stage develops. At this stage, the chill begins sharply, and the body temperature can rise to 40 degrees. The height of the disease (stage of hepatization) begins on the fifth to tenth day. At this time, “rusty” sputum is released. The patient's breathing is shallow and frequent, and an inflammatory process occurs in the pleura. When especially severe forms pleuropneumonia may increase cyanosis.

The disease begins to recede on the tenth day if treatment proceeds normally. Body temperature decreases, signs of intoxication decrease.

Focal pneumonia

The disease develops slowly, due to acute respiratory viral infection or bronchitis. Unlike the lobar variety, bronchopneumonia has following signs:

There is no acute pleural pain in the chest.

Purulent-mucous sputum is released when coughing.

No bronchial breathing.

Moist, fine-bubble, sonorous wheezing can be heard.

At the initial stage of development of the disease, body temperature is maintained within 37.5-38.5 degrees, there are signs of weakness, general malaise, runny nose, and wet cough. The condition is getting worse gradually. Sputum production increases, an acute headache appears, and the temperature rises to 39 degrees. Patients may experience cyanosis and hyperemia.

Manifestation of right-sided pneumonia

This type of disease occurs most often due to the characteristics anatomical structure. The main cause of development is streptococcus. Due to the high frequency of relapses and rapid reproduction of viruses, antibacterial therapy must be carried out as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Practically no cure chronic type And right-sided inflammation in smokers. Their disease is often caused by Haemophilus influenzae. Escherichia coli may cause pneumonia in patients with diabetes mellitus due to impaired glucose absorption.

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Left-sided pneumonia

This type of disease is less common, but puts the patient's life at risk greater danger. The virus can penetrate into the area of the left main bronchus only with a particularly weakened immune system. Therefore, it is much more difficult to cure left-sided pneumonia. In addition, treatment takes longer due to poor blood supply to the bronchi.

Signs of the disease do not differ from the general clinical picture of other types of pneumonia. The patient produces sputum, his nails and lips become blue, his breathing quickens, and he has a fever. In children suffering from this type of inflammation, the symptoms are especially acute.

Viral pneumonia

This type of disease usually occurs in children. Adult patients suffer from combined viral-bacterial inflammation. The development of the disease can be caused by adenovirus, parainfluenza and respiratory syncytial virus.

Viral pneumonia (especially in children) must be treated exclusively in a hospital. As a rule, antibiotics are prescribed, oxygen inhalation and general detoxification of the body are performed. In this case, taking antiviral drugs is allowed only in particularly critical cases.

In general, with this type of inflammation there is no purulent sputum or intoxication, and the patient does not have a fever. However, the virus infects the alveoli, which leads to disruption of tissue saturation with blood. If treatment is not done in a timely manner, sputum mixed with blood may be released and bronchospasm may occur.

Treatment options for pneumonia

If you suspect pulmonary diseases, you should immediately contact a specialist to collect anamnesis and listen to the lungs for wheezing with a phonendoscope. Only after these manipulations is it possible to prescribe effective treatment. In some cases, the doctor may additionally need the results of general and biochemical analyzes blood, radiography. This is necessary to confirm inflammation and identify pathologies in the lungs.

How to treat pulmonary diseases

At the first manifestation of clinical signs of pulmonary pneumonia, be sure to consult a doctor to confirm the diagnosis. First, it is important to get diagnosed. Typically, pneumonia is treated with antibiotics. They are prescribed depending on the bacteria that caused the inflammatory process.

In some cases, a secondary infection begins to develop in parallel, and additional antibiotics may be required. In such a situation, it is also necessary to take medications to support the intestinal microflora. For a wet cough during pneumonia, expectorants are prescribed, and bronchodilators are prescribed to eliminate shortness of breath.

In addition to the main treatment, it is recommended to take immunomodulators for recovery natural defense body. It is also advisable to prescribe physiotherapy. Additionally, symptomatic and detoxification therapy is required, which includes prescribing antipyretic drugs. Patients can be treated either inpatient or outpatient. It is important to maintain bed rest and diet.

Treat pneumonia without medical care at home is strictly prohibited! You should also not use experimental methods, such as drinking kerosene. Without testing, it is impossible to correctly diagnose the disease. Self-medication can lead not only to complications and deterioration of health, but also to death.

Folk remedies for the treatment of pneumonia

In alternative medicine, there are many ways to treat pneumonia. However, it is worth considering that such manipulations will only be effective in combination with the main treatment.

Tincture of honey and aloe

olive oil

Altai collection. This remedy is prepared from chicory and motherwort. It has highly effective anti-cold properties and can be used additionally during drug treatment.

Calceumite. This folk medicine is a paste of white-shelled eggs, lemon, honey and five-year-old cognac. It is often used to treat bronchitis and tuberculosis.

Prescribing antibiotics to treat pneumonia

In the fight against pulmonary diseases, secondary and tertiary antibiotics are considered effective. In particular, it is recommended to take Amoxicillin, Sulfamethoxazole, Clavulanate, Cephalosporin, Levofloxacin. If the disease develops slowly, drugs with a high sulfur content are prescribed.

Pneumonia that develops under the influence of influenza, parainfluenza, rhino- or adenoviruses is treated with a mandatory combination of antibiotics and antiviral drugs. For histoplasmosis, aspergillosis, cryptococcosis, blastomycosis and other types of fungal inflammation, a separate drug is prescribed for each fungus. Most often, Bicillin-5 is used for these purposes.

Possible complications of pneumonia

Complications usually appear in elderly and HIV-infected patients. They also often occur when you do not consult a doctor in a timely manner and manifest themselves in the form of:

Acute respiratory failure;

Sepsis and general intoxication;

Various types of inflammation (myocarditis, endocarditis, meningitis, encephalitis).

Contacting a specialist at the first symptoms will allow you to identify the disease in advance and avoid complications.

Preventing pneumonia at home

It is easier to prevent any disease than to treat it later. Pneumonia is no exception. To protect yourself from the development of this serious disease, you should follow simple rules:

correct mode

With the onset of cold weather, further strengthen your immune system with herbal immunomodulators- infusions of chamomile, leuzea, echinacea.

Try to strengthen your body and exercise regularly.

Avoid stress and hypothermia. Remember that the ingestion of chemicals into the lungs, such as benzene vapor, contributes to the development of pneumonia.

Fight negative habits. The first thing you should give up as part of preventive measures against pneumonia is cigarettes.

Treat inflammatory processes in the nasopharynx organs in a timely manner.

Maintain careful personal hygiene - wash your hands, as well as fruits and vegetables.

In addition, pneumonia is also prevented in medical institutions through vaccination. Try to pass annual vaccination from influenza, since it is most often the causative agent of pneumonia.

Can pneumonia be cured?

Help cure pneumonia

Elena the Beautiful

What are you doing!! ! Pneumonia is not ARVI! You definitely need to get treatment, there are no traditional methods! Pneumonia occurs various types. Some can be fatal! I also had inflammation right lung, I coughed very hard for a long time, but there was no temperature, and yours is so high! I was given injections 3 times a day. I came to see my friends, and you can contact me if anyone knows how to give injections. Without intramuscular injections there is no cure, and there may be consequences. You can install IVs, which also helps a lot, literally in 3 days. You can find out the composition of the droppers from your doctor. And from the injections I was given antibiotics, tablets and cough syrups. I quickly recovered, but didn’t really recover, now there is a light breeze, and immediately a strong cough begins, which takes a long time to heal.

Treat yourself very little: 5 days is not a long time; in 5 days, not a single disease, except the runny nose, can be cured. See a doctor, maybe they will put you on some kind of drip or give you something intravenously to bring down the temperature.

Elena Nargizyan

Type in the search engine "Encyclopedia of Traditional Medicine"

in fact, sometimes even pets help. Well, that's it to the extreme.

Dolce Vita

Pneumonia must go through several stages. It is extremely difficult to speed up this process.
You are on the 5th day of treatment (I hope you were prescribed antibiotics).
If the temperature does not decrease against their background, perhaps the microflora is not sensitive to it. The antibiotic needs to be changed.

Andrey no-surname

You need to drink plenty of fluids for detoxification purposes (tea, juices if there is no allergy) Antibacterial therapy (preferably a cephalosparin series: cephabol intramuscularly for 10 days if the diagnosis of pneumonia is confirmed). Expectorant - lazalvan. Then a course of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, physiotherapy, vitamins. Unfortunately, during the treatment period, temporary refusal breastfeeding. The diagnosis must be confirmed radiographically.

Treatment of pneumonia - inflammation of the lungs, under normal conditions and favorable living conditions, can be carried out at home, but most patients need inpatient treatment. For emergency indications, patients with lobar and other pneumonia and severe infectious-toxic syndrome are hospitalized. At the height of the disease, bed rest, a mechanically and chemically gentle diet with restriction of table salt and sufficient quantity vitamins, especially A and C. With the disappearance or significant reduction of intoxication phenomena, the regimen is expanded, physical therapy is prescribed, and in the absence of contraindications (heart disease, digestive organs), the patient is transferred to diet No. 15.
Immediately after taking sputum, smears or swabs for bacteriological examination, etiotropic therapy begins, which is carried out under control clinical effectiveness, subsequently - taking into account the inoculated microflora and its sensitivity to antibiotics. Patients under 30 years of age with mild pneumonia and the absence of chronic diseases can be prescribed long-acting sulfonamides (sulfapyridazine, sulfamonomethoxine, sulfadimethoxine, 1-2 g for the first dose once a day, up to 0.5-1 g in subsequent days for 5- 7-14 days). In contrast to sulfapyridazine and sulfamonomethoxine, which are quickly absorbed from the intestine, the maximum concentration in the blood of sulfadimethoxine is observed after 8-12 hours. Therefore, simultaneously with sulfadimethoxine, 2 g of norsulfazole, a short-acting sulfonamide, should be prescribed in two doses with an interval of 3 hours. Norsulfazole in the same dose can be prescribed 3-4 hours before taking sulfapyridazole or sulfadimethoxine 0.5-1 g 1 time per day. O/phalen - an ultra-long-acting sulfonamide with a half-life of 65-84 hours - taken in a dose of 0.2 g once a day or once 2 g per week Sulfonamides should be used in the acute period and within 3-5 days after disappearance symptoms of the disease. They are recommended to be taken dissolved in 1/2 glass of water or 1-2% sodium bicarbonate solution on an empty stomach, 30-40 minutes before meals and no earlier than 3-5 hours after meals. If the drug is poorly soluble (sulfadmethoxine, sulfapyridazine), the tablet should be chewed thoroughly and washed down with plenty of water. Has a more pronounced bactericidal effect combination drug, containing sulfamethoxazole and trimetroprim, bactrim (biseptol), which affects gram-positive and gram-negative microbes. Prescribing 2 tablets (with severe pneumonia 3 tablets) 2 times a day for 1-2 weeks, you can achieve a good effect.
For moderate and severe forms of pneumonia (especially those caused by staphylococcus and Klebsiella pneumonia), antibiotics of all groups are used. Penicillin (preferably benzylpenicilpine sodium salt) remains effective in daily doses from 6,000,000 to 30,000,00.0 units in a 0.5-1% solution of novocaine or isotonic sodium chloride solution; the drug is administered in equal doses IM or IV every 3-4 hours (sometimes intratracheally once a day). It should be borne in mind that large doses of penicillin can create a risk of superinfection with penicillin-resistant flora. Intravenous administration of an antibiotic allows you to obtain short time 2-3 times higher concentrations of the drug in the blood than with intramuscular administration.
For penicillin-resistant forms of pneumonia - inflammation of the lungs, more often caused by strains of staphylococcus that produce penicillinase, semi-synthetic penicillins are effective - methicillin sodium salt (1 g every 4-6 hours IM, up to 10-12 g / day), oxacillin sodium salt (according to 0.25-0.5 g per dose, up to 3-8 g/day depending on the severity of pneumonia or 1.5-3 g/day intramuscularly), and for pneumonia caused by gram-negative microbes (Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pfeiffer bacillus , Escherichia coli) - ampicillin trihydrate (PO, 5 g every 4-6 hours orally with increasing daily dose for severe pneumonia up to 6-10 g) or ampicillin sodium salt (0.5 g IM, IV drip or stream

Alexander Nikolaevich

If the temperature lasts for 5 days, then hospitalization in a hospital is indicated for you. there is no cure!

Polinka Malinka

Sitting at home will not make you or your child any better, better a week spend one and a half years in the hospital to receive full treatment (pneumonia cannot be cured at home) and end up at home next to your baby, rather than suffer for another month.

Gennady Maltsev Maltsevs

Whatever they wrote to you. The terms alone can drive you crazy. Drink Vision products loading doses and in a week you will be like a cucumber. 10 years of practice.

Pneumonia with such a temperature is a clear indication for antibiotics, folk remedies, all kinds of herbs, etc. are not for this case.
If, after starting to take normal antibiotics, the temperature does not begin to drop after 48 hours, then you must definitely see a doctor, in which case the antibiotics must be changed, and drinking the same antibiotics is useless.
Since the fever is on the 5th day, then you definitely need to take antibiotics, or use a combination different drugs, but be sure to consult a doctor, it’s time to change the antibiotics.
But don't think that traditional medicine You can treat real pneumonia, this is not ARVI, which goes away in 7 days of intensive herbal treatment and exactly a week without any herbal treatment. Pneumonia is a serious thing.

Is it possible to cure pneumonia (PNEUMONIA) at home without medication? see inside

Your aunt doesn’t seem to feel sorry for herself at all.

without antibiotics? ? nonsense of course there is no cure

Yulia Egorovskaya

You can do it at home. But without drugs - no.
You need to take Doxycycline.

Does she have pneumonia? More like an inflammation of cunning
The doctor has quite sophisticated methods for detecting pneumonia. In addition to listening and tapping, in doubtful cases, a clinical blood test and x-ray examination are used. Which of the above does she own?!

Natalia Graff

Well, if you don’t treat it, then you can order a coffin.

Guardian of the Forest

Tatyana Bochkareva

Pneumonia cannot be cured without antibiotics! To confirm the diagnosis, an x-ray and blood test must be done.

Arman (Pharmacist)

Well, of course... Doctors who studied for 8 years don’t know a damn thing, taking medicine is a sin, living things must be treated while living, that’s it! I’ll stuff myself with herbs and I’ll be cured, yes, I also have an X-ray machine built into me, I’ll diagnose myself...

And in vain scientists have been racking their brains for centuries to invent antibiotics.

Inna Tsybulskaya

If it really is pneumonia, then it is very dangerous! ! You need to undergo a course of antibiotic treatment. The lungs may not hurt, but immediately fail.

Maria lala

idiot. Let the call for resuscitation always be on your mobile phone. PPC. crazy

Sofia Skobeleva

You can treat if you know the diagnosis and know how to do it. Without antibiotics it is suicide. Nowadays, sometimes pneumonia occurs in a vague form, so the number of deaths has increased due to late treatment. Call a doctor to her house. And solve the issue of her treatment. You can inject it at home, it’s not difficult, but you still need a doctor’s supervision. And fluorography is absolutely necessary.

LastFM LastFM

I was sick with pneumonia, there is no way I can go without a doctor, I can move my horses

You can, if you breathe iodine vapor, there is such a folk remedy, I read about inhaling iodine-containing vapors from swamps. In the middle zone this is Lake Pleshcheyevo. But it’s better not to take risks, pneumonia is a fatal disease.

Pneumonia. Is right lower lobe pneumonia serious? and is it possible to treat at home??

Uncle, if a diagnosis is made, then treatment is prescribed, as a rule - an antibiotic or even two, physiotherapy. if the pneumonia is severe, be treated only in a hospital setting, it is fraught with the development of tuberculosis and hemoptysis

Allone Allday

It’s possible, I’m currently treating something similar myself. At home. I'm going to work soon.

Natalia Frolova

Pneumonia is usually treated in a hospital, because it requires injections 4 times a day, IVs, daily examination, and regular tests.

Irina Pevgova (Mitroshina)

If pneumonia is mild or medium degree severity, then treatment at home. It is better to hospitalize children.

Andrey Gavrilenko

What does the doctor recommend, treatment on an outpatient basis or in a hospital? It’s up to you to listen to him or not, but everyone has the same life, which means that if you begin to self-medicate and violate the treatment regimen, you are guaranteed to complicate the situation by worsening pneumonia, the development of acute bacterial destruction of the lungs with the development of abscesses with pus, or worse - gangrene of the lung . You will automatically be taken to the department purulent surgery, where a lot of painful therapeutic entertainment will await you in the form of terribly painful punctures of the chest with different points for puncture, drainage, re-drainage of the pleural cavities, or the abscess itself, coughing up stinking pus and blood will become the norm for you in the near future + deciding on the removal of part of the lung, or the entire lung (lobectomy, pneumonectomy), and this is already a guaranteed disability and significant reduction in quality and life expectancy. Lie in a purulent compartment in in serious condition you will be at least 3 months under a painful drainage vacuum, which will pump out liters of pus from your potentially future rotting lungs. And the saddest and most common thing for violators of the regime is death from multiple organ failure, by which time the person will look like a prisoner of Asventsem.
Think about whether you should go to a future where you can avoid all of the above by strictly following the pulmonologist’s prescriptions.

Boris Aizikovich

in principle it is possible, but subject to the creation of a hospital at home

It is possible, depending on how old the patient is, and whether all the doctor’s prescriptions will be accurately followed. Also required, Rg breast. class and UAC.

If it is possible to create all the conditions for treatment at home, then better at home treat.

Just LANA

Pneumonia is an insidious disease and requires constant monitoring; at any moment the child’s condition can worsen, so you should not risk the child’s health. Children under three years of age are most often hospitalized for constant monitoring of their condition and to avoid the development of complications. Older children can be left at home, provided parents strictly follow all recommendations.

Can pneumonia be cured without antibiotics? I'm allergic to them.

Sergei Gabatel

No you can't!! There are 3-4 generation cephalosporins that treat and do not cause allergies. For example; cefozolin, cef3.

Ivan Ochinsky

It will be problematic, try folk remedies

This kind of inflammation can only be removed with antibiotics. allergies to everything existing antibiotics straightaway? do not delay treatment. It's a terrible thing, you might end up coughing.

Sulfonamides can be used as bacteriostatics (if there is no allergy to them). If the pneumonia is uncomplicated, not bilateral and involves a small part of the lung, you can only use folk remedies, but always under the supervision of a doctor.
Are you allergic to absolutely all antibiotics? ! Maybe you can pick one, no allergic? Pneumonia is not something to joke about. My pneumonia, complicated by pleurisy, was initially misdiagnosed as a severe form of influenza, and as a result I was hospitalized and at home on sick leave for almost 2 months. True, she recovered with minimal loss of health.
Of course, antibiotics alone cannot cure pneumonia. Be sure to take medications to improve sputum discharge (your doctor will recommend it, depending on the type of cough you have); Please note that their effectiveness specifically in your case is determined not by the price of the medicine, but by how suitable it is to your case. The penny mucaltin helped me a lot. Vitamins. If you have a high temperature, take antipyretics. After finishing taking antibiotics or sulfonamides - means for recovery normal microflora intestines and immunostimulants on the advice of a doctor. Fresh air is a must, but WITHOUT OVERCOOLING and DRAFTS. And be sure to do feasible physical and breathing exercises to eliminate congestion in the lungs. Any extreme effects on the body (in particular, a steam bath or sauna), if you are not accustomed to them, should not be used, they can cause harm. A nutritious diet with the obligatory inclusion of foods rich in phospholipids - unrefined vegetable oil, for example, or seeds, nuts - to restore lung tissue.
Fortunately, I was lucky with a doctor (Elena Vladimirovna Nenakhova, pulmonology department of the Ramenskaya District Hospital, Moscow Region), who treated me and cured me very well (according to the X-ray examination and according to my subjective feelings). Most of the recommendations are hers.

Alla, try to find a hemoscan in your region and after it the doctor will prescribe a program without antibiotics.

Irina Lapshina

The first and surest remedy is to eat 5-7 bananas a day for a week. Something from syrups like Gedelix, vitamins, pepper patch, warming foot baths, iodine mesh, hot milk or tea with honey, mumiyo, ginger. Boil the porridge and wrap it around or put it in a rag on your chest or back.

Can pneumonia be cured?

Alexander Trofimov

Can. Antibiotics. Better - injections. Or take it and die. Death cures all diseases.

Can. Feed only live and natural food that has not been heat-treated. Even better during illness - freshly squeezed juices. But the speed of recovery depends on how much immunity is destroyed initially.

Simone Melamud

It is possible, but it must be done in a hospital setting, under the strict supervision of experienced doctors.

Dmitry Trubchaninov

Maria Zinchenko

Of course you can, what kind of questions. The main thing is not to delay and not self-medicate. Often, pneumonia requires hospitalization because antibiotics are prescribed intramuscularly, procedures such as warming, etc. In principle, it can be treated at home, under the supervision of a doctor, and if there is someone to inject with antibiotics.

Diana Burdeynaya

Need to. Depending on the condition and “neglect of the topic,” you will need your own methods and means of recovery. In case of a chronic process (especially the presence of chronic diseases), antibiotics cannot be avoided (preferably in the form of injections). Try to dress according to the season and if you feel unwell, don’t let it happen (to avoid further complications).

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Pneumonia (pneumonia) is one of the most dangerous diseases respiratory system associated with damage to the lower respiratory sections (lung tissue), in addition, the inflammatory process in this pathology also affects the lung parenchyma. This kind of the changes cause pronounced symptoms, which consist in the manifestation of hyperthermic, catarrhal and intoxication syndromes. In this regard, timely diagnosis and competent treatment pneumonia, since untimely treatment can lead to a number of complications and consequences, the outcome of which can be fatal, especially in early childhood.

Pneumonia occurs, as a rule, as a result of the progression of an existing acute respiratory viral disease that was not diagnosed in time or. What is more likely, it simply was not treated. And the body’s defense system turned out to be such that it could not resist the action of pathogenic microorganisms. The most important thing in the treatment of pneumonia (pneumonia) is to understand not only the pathogenesis, but also the etiology (cause of occurrence) of the disease. It is knowledge of this point that will allow us to prescribe the correct, etiologically based treatment of pneumonia, which will not eliminate the consequences of the disease, but eliminate (eliminate) its root cause.

The thing is that pneumonia can be caused by several factors, in most cases of an infectious nature:

A logical question would be: why in an article about the treatment of pneumonia should we pay so much attention to studying the origin and pathogenesis of the disease. The whole point is that the manifestations, and the tactics, and in many ways the algorithm for further diagnosis, and the tactics of patient management, in terms of treating pneumonia, depend precisely on this. To explain this point more clearly, below is a brief historical sketch.

How was pneumonia treated before the era of antibiotics?

Many outstanding anatomists and physiologists learned to diagnose pneumonia a long time ago, when there was no talk about antibiotics and x-rays. Some wheezing was noted, which subsequently led to fever and sputum production with strong coughing impulses. However, there could be no talk of effective treatment here, since drugs were used plant origin, all kinds of phytoncides. Yes, without a doubt, they have a certain antiseptic effect, but not one that will allow them to treat pneumonia, which led to a large number of complications and deaths, child mortality was especially high. And only after the discovery of the first antibiotic, penicillin, in the twentieth century by Alexander Fleming, did it become possible to treat pneumonia.

To make it easier to present algorithms for the management of patients with pneumonia, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the classification of pneumonia according to several criteria:

Community-acquired and hospital-acquired pneumonia. Separation according to the condition of occurrence is an important argument in the process of selecting the necessary antibacterial drug. Treatment of pneumonia in adults and children is carried out with the same drugs, with the exception of fluoroquinolones, only, as a rule, in the form of syrup.
What flora led to the development of pneumonia - typical or atypical. The thing is that antibiotics used for pneumonia caused by typical microflora are ineffective against atypical pathogen, treatment of pneumonia in this case should be carried out differently.
Degree of expression clinical manifestations. It is important for determining patient management tactics.

Examples of competent and effective treatment

How to treat pneumonia? Should we rely on generally accepted standards or pay attention to treatment with folk remedies? What recommendations are the best? When choosing a management strategy for pneumonia, the assessment of the patient’s general condition is of decisive importance. This is primarily due to the fact that the decision on how exactly to treat the patient is made by the doctor before the results of additional laboratory and instrumental examination methods are ready. You shouldn’t expect a recommendation from a pulmonologist either. To help the reader understand the question of what to do in case of pneumonia, as well as the necessary tactics for managing a patient with pneumonia, several clinical cases will be given below.

Example No. 1

The patient complains of an increase in body temperature to subfebrile levels (that is, no more than 37.5 degrees), a severe cough with the discharge of large amounts of sputum, and severe general weakness. On auscultation, there is an abundance of moist rales mainly in the lower parts of the lungs, and on percussion there is dullness of sound in similar parts. Having received these data, it is already possible to make a diagnosis: acute community-acquired pneumonia, mild? (questionable). Why is this so? The diagnosis of pneumonia can only be confirmed by x-ray. However, in spite of everything, the use of antibiotics is already necessary at this stage, this is the recommendation of all leading specialists in the field of therapy and pulmonology. As a rule, protected penicillins are prescribed - augmentin (or amoxiclav) 1 tablet (1000 mg) three times a day, for a course of at least seven days (this regimen is intended for adults). If you are allergic to beta-lactam antibiotics, it is recommended to prescribe any macrolide - azithromycin, clarithromycin, at the rate of 1 tablet (500 mg) once a day, a course of treatment for 7-10 days. In addition, an important advantage of macrolides is that they “overlap” the atypical flora; this type of pneumonia can also be cured.

The age of the patient is also important - children with suspected pneumonia must be hospitalized, without exception. This is exactly what recommendations in this regard should be. It is possible to cure a child of pneumonia at home, but it is risky. In principle, even in a hospital setting, children with not a severe course pneumonia can be given ospamox in suspension (unprotected penicillin). You can also give children a macrolide (Ormax, Klacid or Sumamed), but only in dosage form syrup. Its effectiveness is the same as that of tablet or injectable forms of antibiotics.

The need for hospitalization is explained by the fact that such a child requires constant medical supervision and monitoring of basic vital signs (saturation, temperature, respiratory rate), which is either impossible at home or is carried out irresponsibly. It is also important that if sharp deterioration the child’s condition in a hospital will be provided with the first aid faster medical care and the patient is more likely to be sent to the intensive care unit in order to adequately treat community-acquired pneumonia. It is also easier to get recommendations from related specialists.

Treatment

However, antibiotic therapy, even for pneumonia of the first classification group (that is, the “mildest” form), is far from the only method of treatment. According to recommendations for the treatment of this disease, it is necessary to use probiotics and prebiotics when using antibiotics.

The first group of drugs contains spores of microorganisms that are part of the intestinal microflora, the second group consists of drugs whose action potentiates the growth of already introduced microflora. You can choose any of the probiotics, their effectiveness in adults is approximately comparable - yogurt, bifidum-bacterin, enterozermina, linex, lactovit. In children, bifidumbacterin is preferable, and even better - enterozermina. Of the prebiotics, it is best to prescribe lactofiltrum. Without the use of drugs from these groups, severe digestive upset is guaranteed, since antibiotics, in addition to pathological ones, also destroy beneficial intestinal microflora.

The use of expectorants is also necessary. The most common of them: ambroxol (flavamed, lazolvan, ambrobene, acetylcysteine, carbocysteine, bromhexine) - drugs with approximately the same effect, which is due to the dilution of sputum and facilitating the removal of secretions from the bronchial tree. In some cases, with a particularly strong cough reflex, it is recommended to prescribe medications together with expectorants that directly relieve swelling of the bronchial walls. Best of all, especially in pediatric practice, Ascoril and Erespal have proven themselves (they can only be used from two years old). For adults, all of the above drugs are used in the form of tablets - one tablet three times a day, for children - in the form of syrup, also three times a day, but the dosage must be recalculated based on the child’s body weight (such information is in the instructions for use of the drug).

Regarding detoxification therapy (that is, infusion therapy). Until recently, it was believed that all patients with pneumonia needed to be inundated as much as possible - with an increase in the volume of circulating blood, the specific concentration of toxins in the blood decreases, thereby relieving the intoxication syndrome. However, recently this approach has been significantly revised. The volume of infused liquid should not exceed physiological need in liquid plus pathological losses. This is due to the fact that in response to a decrease in circulating blood volume, a hormone is produced - vasopressin, which reduces urine output, thereby maintaining water-electrolyte balance. This process is quite slow, and therefore, if you give a lot of fluid to the increased concentration of vasopressin in the blood and the resulting delay in diuresis, then you can easily get cerebral edema. An overdose of infusion therapy volume in children is especially dangerous, so you need to be extremely careful in this matter.

Physiotherapeutic procedures also have great value in the treatment of pneumonia. Salt-alkaline inhalations are used (with mineral water"Borjomi") for 5 minutes three times a day. These procedures can only be done at normal body temperature. The procedure of electrophoresis and FUF of the pharynx and nose is used during the recovery period.

This is actually the whole scheme for well-chosen treatment of uncomplicated, community-acquired pneumonia, proven standards: antibiotic + probiotic and prebiotic + expectorant and bronchodilator + infusion therapy and antipyretics (if necessary). Physiotherapeutic procedures at the stage of reducing symptoms and several other procedures during rehabilitation.

An important note - lower the temperature only when it reaches 38 degrees, these are absolute standards, the only exceptions can be children with neurological disorders. Infusion therapy is carried out in case of persistent hyperthermia.

Example No. 2

A patient (a 7-year-old child) is admitted with complaints of febrile fever, severe cough with large amounts of sputum, and chest pain in the right back area. Objectively – retraction of intercostal spaces, heavy breathing. There was a history of febrile seizures. In this case, there is severe community-acquired right-sided pneumonia, and therefore such a patient must be urgently hospitalized in an inpatient department of an infectious diseases hospital and begin intravenous antibiotic therapy. It is best to choose ceftriaxone or ceftazidime as a starting drug - broad-spectrum antibiotics, which, despite many years of use, are still relevant and work well. Massive fluid therapy is necessary, as fluid losses are significant, which can cause additional convulsions. It is imperative to monitor all vital functions, including recording saturation (an indicator of the level of oxygen in the blood), diuresis (indicates the state of the urinary system), temperature, and heart rate. The question of the need for x-ray control is not even raised. If the therapy provided is not enough, then hospitalization in the intensive care unit, intravenous drip administration of strong antibacterial drugs (vancomycin), and consideration of the need to connect to a ventilator will be necessary.

Important note: Antibiotic therapy is considered inadequate if fever persists for more than 72 hours, which is an absolute indication for the need to change the antibacterial drug.

This is the treatment regimen for community-acquired pneumonia severe course. In case of suspicion hospital infection, the patient should be prescribed the antibiotic cefepime or meronem.
If pneumonia is not treated according to all accepted standards, complications such as pleurisy, pneumothorax or empyema can easily occur. Because of this, the likelihood of death increases significantly, especially in children.

Conclusions

The most important thing in treating pneumonia is antibiotic therapy. The decision about which antibiotic to prescribe, where to treat the patient (at home or in the hospital), as well as what concomitant therapy should be, is decided based on the general condition of the patient, his age and previous treatment. These are the basic principles of treating pneumonia.

Video: Elena Malysheva. Pneumonia - inflammation of the lungs

“How many doctors, so many opinions,” says the saying. By the way, why? When people ask me why one doctor recommended one thing and another another, I give the following example.

Let's imagine that you don't know how to get from St. Petersburg to Novosibirsk. Ask your friends, look on the Internet. It turns out that there are a lot of options.

For example, you can fly by plane. Fast. But it's expensive. Besides, you have aerophobia.

You can go by train. Not cheap either. And longer than by plane. There are many fellow travelers in the carriage. No shower.

Can on a bicycle. Possibly only in summer. A very long time. Relatively cheap. Dangerous.

Also, Novosibirsk can theoretically be reached on foot, in a hot air balloon, by hoverboard, etc.

One day I examined a five-year-old boy with the rare name Luka. The medical history was as follows. The child fell ill and had a fever for 5 days, after which the parents decided that it was not a matter of teething after all. (Which, however, could not have happened even in theory.)

“The minimum treatment for pneumonia is seven days of antibiotics,” I answered. “Or even longer.”

“Wait, doctor,” my grandmother told me. - But antibiotics appeared only recently? After all, pneumonia was somehow treated without them before?”

“You're right,” I said. “Pneumonia can actually go away without antibiotics.”

Moreover, many of those who seemed to have recovered could not be said to have recovered completely. Often the purulent process in the lungs became chronic, causing constant coughing and intoxication, the development of bronchiectasis, abscesses and adhesions, even requiring complex surgical treatment in the future. For those who don’t believe, I recommend reading the book by the great Fedor Uglov, “The Heart of a Surgeon.”

Nowadays, minor pneumonia is often treated with antibiotics in just 10 days, leaving no consequences or complications.

I told all this to my mother and grandmother, they nodded understandingly and promised to religiously follow the doctor’s recommendations.

I would rather treat those patients who follow my instructions.

I don’t know how it all ended, because the cabbage-growing grandmother didn’t call me again.

Mikhail Nikolsky

Photo istockphoto.com

How to cure pneumonia without antibiotics. In what cases is it better to go to hospital? What antibiotics are used for pneumonia

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Pneumonia in children: treatment at home

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Doctor Komarovsky about pneumonia in children

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