Antibiotics for Pneumonia in Adults

Pneumonia is one of the most common respiratory diseases which has affected millions of people in the United States alone! It is caused by the attack of various bacteria, viruses, and fungi and can actually cause a lot of trouble, especially when the patient is 65 years or older. Pneumonia tends to inflame the lungs of a person to the extent of death, if not taken proper care of in the initial stages! Before we discuss the antibiotics involved in treating pneumonia in adults, let us gain a better understanding of the condition by going through the causes and symptoms of pneumonia.

Causes of Pneumonia
As mentioned earlier, the main cause of pneumonia, be it in adults or children, is the bacterial and viral infection in the lungs. Our body has various defense mechanisms to protect these attacks. An example for the same would be coughing, sneezing, etc. However, if the person has a weak immune system, be it due to malnutrition or old age, the infection can become extremely chronic. As we all know, the white blood cells in the immune system are responsible for killing the foreign elements and protecting our body. However, due to weaker immune system, the bacteria can overpower the white blood cells and the infection may lead to inflation in the lungs which can lead to serious breathing problems. Therefore, it becomes extremely important for the person to build a stronger immune system and take necessary steps to prevent the possibility of developing pneumonia. People who indulge in drinking alcohol and smoking are also more prone to developing this disease. Also, people who are suffering from certain immune deficiency diseases like HIV are also prone to acquire pneumonia.

Symptoms of Pneumonia
The pneumonia symptoms vary from person to person depending upon the type of pneumonia and its respective causes. Many a time, the symptoms of pneumonia can be confused with cold and flu symptoms. Mentioned below are some of the most commonly observed symptoms of pneumonia.

• Headache
• Muscle pain
• Fatigue
• Coughing
• Breathing problems
• Fever
• Shaking chills
• Loss of appetite
• Fluctuating chest pain while breathing
• Shortness of breath
• Sweating

It is interesting to note that most of the time, the symptoms of pneumonia can actually be extremely different from what is generally expected. For example, instead of having high temperature, the person may end up having low body temperature. Many times, people who are more vulnerable towards this condition experience very mild symptoms and people who have a stronger immune system, experience severe symptoms of pneumonia. In any case, getting in touch with your doctor and taking proper treatment and antibiotics for pneumonia is strictly advisable.

Treatment for Pneumonia in Adults
If you are experiencing a couple of symptoms mentioned above, then your doctor will advise a thorough check up and conduct some tests for proper diagnosis. These tests include physical examination, blood test, mucus test, and chest x-ray. These tests would help the doctor diagnose the condition of the disease and prescribed appropriate medicines accordingly. If your pneumonia is caused by bacterial or mycoplasma infection, then the doctors may use some antibiotics for the treatment, depending upon the type of pneumonia that the person is affected with. For example, antibiotics for walking pneumonia will not be the same as drugs prescribed for viral pneumonia. The doctors may suggest a combination of multiple antibiotics depending upon the effect the virus and bacteria have on the body. Some of the antibiotics for adults are listed as under. These antibiotics are designed to kill the main bacteria causing the condition by attacking them according to the way they are operating in the body.

• Mild Pneumonia: For patients who are diagnosed with mild pneumonia and do not have any other complications are usually treated with oral macrolide antibiotics like erythromycin, clarithromycin, or azithromycin.
• Severe Pneumonia: For patients who have severe symptoms and other health issues like heart diseases, pulmonary diseases or kidney diseases, the doctor may prescribe drugs like moxifloxacin, sparfloxacin, fluoroquinolone or gemifloxacin.

Penicillin also consists of a major part of antibiotics treatment for pneumonia. Some additional antibiotics used with penicillin include ampicillin, benzylpenicillin, amoxicillin, piperacillin-tazobactum, and ticarcillin-clavulanate. Although, it is important to note that the consumption of penicillin may cause some allergic reaction. So, check with your health care specialist before consuming. Apart from these, other antibiotics for pneumonia includes cephalosporins, which are prescribed by the doctor when the penicillin based medication doesn't work. Cephalosporins include antibiotics like cefpodoxime, cefprozil, and cefuroxime. Although, these medications are known to have some side effects which includes kidney problems, anemia and reduction of white blood cells in the body. There are other antibiotics as well like fluoroquinolones and tetracyclines, which are rarely used because of their adverse side effects on human health. Some of these antibiotics shouldn't be consumed by pregnant women and people dealing with some additional health issues.

Note: These antibiotics and drugs are for informational purpose only, and the consumption of the same varies depending upon your condition. Do check with your health care provider before consuming any medication.

As mentioned earlier, antibiotics are not helpful in all cases. For example, if a person is suffering from fungal infection, then doctors will prescribe antifungal medications instead of antibiotics. Therefore, your most trusted option would be your doctor. Have a safe tomorrow.