Is Pneumonia Contagious or Not

Pneumonia is a health condition that occurs when the lungs become inflamed or infected. In the earlier days, there were no medications or drugs for treating pneumonia and in such conditions, deaths due to this disease were very common. However, with the advancement of science, new medications have been introduced that help in curing pneumonia effectively. Yet, even today, pneumonia is viewed as a dangerous health problem as it has been reported that pneumonia causes the death of 60,000 people every year. Though this illness can occur in people of all ages and gender, young children (especially babies) and old people have high chances of getting this disease. Let us understand the causes, symptoms and treatments of pneumonia.

Causes
Pneumonia is a lung infection caused due to the presence of microorganisms like virus, bacteria, fungus and parasites. They enter our body when we breath in small droplets that contain these microorganisms. They may cause infection in either one or both the lungs, leading the person to be diagnosed with pneumonia. Though it is the presence of microorganisms that causes the development of this disease, people who have a very weak immune system are more prone to have pneumonia. Usually, it is seen that people who are suffering from some kind of diseases like heart diseases, lung diseases, etc. have a higher risk of developing pneumonia. Also, people who are addicted to drugs, alcohol or cigarettes can be affected by this disease. Other than this, newborn babies or toddlers whose immune systems are not fully developed are easy victims of pneumonia. Moreover, when a person ages, his immune system becomes weak and hence, there are high chances that he will have this problem of pneumonia.

Symptoms
The symptoms of pneumonia may not be the same in every person and they depend on the type of pneumonia that the person has. People affected by viral pneumonia may just have cold and fever, and the other symptoms may appear gradually. However, with bacterial pneumonia, the symptoms are very severe from the beginning itself. Here is the list of symptoms that a person will experience when he has pneumonia.

• Shaking and chills
• Shortness of breath
• Sweating
• Headache
• Fever
• Cough producing mucus
• Muscle pain
• Chest pain

Pneumonia - Contagious or Not
The answer to the question is pneumonia infectious or not, cannot be answered directly. Though, pneumonia cannot spread from person to person, the virus or bacteria causing this disease can be. Therefore, the person who receives these pneumonia producing microorganisms from the person who has this health problem, may only suffer from common cold and fever, rather than developing pneumonia. In other words, it can be said that whether a person can develop pneumonia due to contact with an individual with this disease, will depend on the immunity of the former.

Diagnosis and Treatment
If a person observes any of the symptoms of pneumonia, the doctor should be consulted immediately as he can conduct a thorough test to determine the exact problem. He may advise certain laboratory tests like bronchoscopy, X-ray, etc. to diagnose the problem. The treatment measures given for pneumonia will depend on the type of pneumonia the person is suffering from. Usually, the drugs given to treat pneumonia include antiviral medications, antibiotics and sometimes even over the counter medications that treat symptoms like fever, cold and muscle pain.

One must also remember that by taking certain preventive measures, it is possible to keep this pneumonia at bay. It is advisable to take pneumonia and flu vaccines to protect oneself from this illness. Other than this, maintaining basic hygiene through simple habits like washing hands, covering the mouth while sneezing, etc. will surely be helpful in preventing the dreadful disease, pneumonia.