Pneumonia Symptoms and Back Pain

Pneumonia is an infection in the lungs caused either by bacteria, virus or fungi. But in most of the cases, pneumonia is caused due to a bacteria known as Streptococcus pneumoniae. Pneumonia can be found in people of any age group, and it can be fatal in case of babies and old people. What are the causes of pneumonia? Let us have a look.

Causes of Pneumonia
Pneumonia causing bacteria gets mixed with the air when a person suffering from pneumonia coughs or sneezes. Hence, when a healthy person breaths in this air, he gets infected by pneumonia. On the other hand, sometimes, the bacteria that are already present in the mouth or nose goes into the lungs which results in pneumonia. Similarly, if a person is already weakened from any disease or has recently suffered from viral infection; diseases of the lungs or heart; he is under a greater risk of contracting pneumonia. Cigarette smokers are also at high risk of getting infected from pneumonia causing bacteria. Let us have a look at symptoms of pneumonia.

Symptoms of Pneumonia
The common signs and symptoms of pneumonia are similar to that of influenza or flu, for e.g., cold, fever, chills and cough. The other pneumonia symptoms in adults include:

• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain
• Back pain
• Fast / Shallow breathing
• Increased heartbeat
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Fatigue

These symptoms can also be seen in children. But apart from these, other symptoms like lack of energy, lack of appetite and low breathing rate are commonly observed in children. Older people may not have the above mentioned typical symptoms of pneumonia, but may show other signs like confusion or delirium. If a person is already suffering from any lung disease, he has the highest chance of having pneumonia. Walking pneumonia symptoms in adults are also similar to these above mentioned symptoms.

Pneumonia Symptoms: Back Pain
One may get confused between bronchitis and pneumonia as the signs and symptoms are more or less the same. Tightness of the chest can be seen in case of bronchitis whereas pneumonia is accompanied by prominent chest and back pain. This is a major distinguishing factor between pneumonia and bronchitis. The reason behind this is as the lungs are infected in case of pneumonia, one experiences back and chest pain. Back pain is observed only in case of bacterial pneumonia. Most of the time, it is also observed that the chest and back pain aggravates with breathing. Therefore, if a person complains of back pain that worsens while breathing, it is considered as a symptom of pneumonia. Read more on bronchitis vs pneumonia.

Treatment of Pneumonia
It is difficult to diagnose pneumonia if a person simply complains of back pain. If he also experiences other major symptoms of pneumonia, the doctor will ask the person to undertake blood test and also an X-ray. An X-ray report can clearly show the presence of infection in the lungs. At the same time, blood tests help in discovering the cause of pneumonia. The treatment of pneumonia completely depends upon the cause of it; whether it is caused due to bacteria or virus. Anti-viral or anti-bacterial antibiotics can help in treating pneumonia completely. Remember that pneumonia prevention is possible through vaccination.

On the other hand, if pneumonia is followed by other complications like respiratory system failure, SARS, abscess or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS); it is difficult to control and cure it. Hospitalization with intravenous antibiotic treatment is necessary in this case. A pneumonia with other complications can even result in death of the person. It should be noted that pneumonia can be treated well only if it is treated immediately.

One should remember that among all pneumonia symptoms, back pain is also a major sign which should not be ignored.