Everything
you need to know about pneumonia
Why Pneumonia?
Thousands
on children in India die every year, pneumonia being the primary cause of such
infant deaths. Not just children, this dreadful disease has managed to find
it’s existence in the adult population of the nation and it’s consequences are
on the rise. Given the fatality this condition harbours, it’s the need of the
hour for promoting all the necessary information about pneumonia, chiefly it’s
prevention. With that intent, here’s the summary of everything you need to know
about pneumonia!
How does it present?
The
primary target of this disease has always been children. Most of the infant
deaths reported point out to a single cause- pneumonia! The affected child rejects drinking, eating,
develops blue skin, may have convulsions or may even show typical symptoms of
pneumonia including fever, cough, etc. Adults show the typical symptoms such as
high grade fever, cough, chest pain, etc. Certain bacterial infections can also
cause stomach pain, vomiting etc. If untreated , all these symptoms may
complicate and may even result in death.
How does pneumonia spread ?
Pneumonia
can be caused by variant types of bacteria, viruses, fungi and even certain
drugs at times, bacterial cause being the most common. Prevention lies at avoiding frequent
interaction with these pathogens. Lower socio economic strata of the nation
deals with multiple real life issues including
-
- Short room space
- - More number of family members in a smaller area
- - Lack of hygiene
- - Lack of health knowledge
Not just a disease of the lower class, pneumonia is
also commonly associated with the middle and the higher class of the society.
This can be majorly attributed to smoking cigarettes, weed, hookah, etc.
Smoking has been an emerging trend in the day’s youth and has therefore been
necessarily implied in pneumonia.
The
basic mechanism that encourages pneumonia via all these mechanism is
LOWERED IMMUNITY :
- 1.hen more than necessary
number of people stay in a rather restricted area, wherein there’s
relatively more exposure to the
pathogenic flora, then at a place with a rather normal area for number of
occupants, the exposure increases.
- 2. Lack of hygiene adds up to increased exposure of pathogenic
bacteria to one, thus exacerbating the immunity further
- 3. Lack of knowledge promotes lack of hygiene , thus setting in
a vicious cycle
- 4. Smoking degrades the good molecules in the lung and renders
one more susceptible to this deadly infection
How to prevent it?
World pneumonia day, established on the 12th
November of every year , by the World Health Organisation strives to work on
the concept of Information, Education and Communication of this disease. Basic
causes for pneumonia spread and the need to arrest these causes is the primary
protocol of information. The basic measures advocated are
-
1.CESATION OF SMOKING
- 2. ADAPTATION OF HEALTHIER LIFESTYLES
- 3.COUNSELLING SESSIONS ON HYGIENE
-
4.VACCINATIONS ( in high risk areas )
Only with combined efforts of both, the society and
the health institutes can this disease be brought under control.