Posted by Pneumonia is an illness that many people have or will experience. In my project you can learn about what pneumonia is, what the symptoms are, recognize risk factors and how to prevent this illness. You can also learn about how pneumonia is diagnosed and what treatment options are available.
For Aggy’s STEAM project, she drew a picture of a set of lungs. One lung is healthy and the other has pneumonia. She explains that pneumonia is an infection that causes inflammation in the lung’s air sacs and that sometimes these air sacs will fill with fluid or pus as a result. Aggy informs us that some symptoms of pneumonia are coughing (and coughing up phlegm), fever, chills, chest pain while coughing, mental state change, confusion, fatigue, lowered body temperature, vomiting, nausea, and diarrhea.
She also tells us that pneumonia can be caused by many different kinds of viruses, bacteria, and fungi. Pneumonia is most serious in children, people 65 years of age and older, and people that are immune compromised. Being in an ICU on a ventilator can increase your risk of contracting pneumonia. Chemotherapy, long-term steroid use, asthma, COPD, and smoking can increase your risk of getting pneumonia as well.
Chest x-rays, blood tests, sputum tests, and pulse oximetry are all tests used in the diagnosing of pneumonia. In more severe cases (if the patient is hospitalized and/or over the age of 65) a CT scan and pleural fluid culture test are performed in addition to the previously stated tests.
Some treatment methods are antibiotics, fever reducers/pain relievers, cough medicine, and hospitalization (if the patient is an adolescent experiencing severe symptoms or if the patient needs to be put on a ventilator).
Aggy informs us that antibiotics can actually cause more harm than good sometimes. Community-acquired pneumonia is a drug-resistant strain of pneumonia. Using antibiotics to fight this strain of pneumonia will result in poor outcomes.
There are some ways to help prevent contracting pneumonia. Avoiding smoking/second-hand smoke, getting vaccinated, eating well, exercising, and sleeping enough will keep your immune system strong, helping it to fight off pneumonia and other infections.
Good job Aggy!