Viral Lung Infection

Viral lung infection is a condition that causes lung inflammation. The left and right lungs form an important part of our body and they help in the breathing processes. It is medically known as pneumonia, is nothing but irritation or swelling of the lungs and often the lungs get filled with pus.

Causes
The possible cause of viral infection in the lungs is the inhalation of the virus through the respiratory passages. These viruses settle in the lungs once they reach there. The viral infection in lungs usually starts from cold and in some cases fever. The environment in which we live is surrounded by thousands of bacteria and viruses. The viruses find easy entry into the lungs through the respiratory passages. Lung inflammations and lung infections include common cold and cough. It adversely affect the capacity of the lungs to breathe.

Symptoms
Here are some of the symptoms that affect a person with this infection:

• Dry cough
• Low-grade fever (less than 100 degrees Fahrenheit)
• Headache
• Nasal congestion
• Sore throat
• Muscle cramps
• Aches in the joint
• Cough with sputum
• Chest pain while breathing either on left or right side
• Nausea
• Shortness of breath while performing daily activities
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea

Diagnosis
If an individual is suspected of suffering from this infection, he must be taken to an expert doctor so that the doctor can conduct various tests and diagnose the patient with viral infection in lungs. The patient may show skin rash on some parts of the skin and there may be changes in the blood pressure readings. The person may suffer from very low fever and there will be slow expansion of the chest. The doctor will take samples of sputum to detect the organism causing the lung infection. After the detection of the sputum, it can be established if the person is suffering from viral or bacterial infection. For detecting the viruses like influenza and herpes, the throat swab of the person is taken, so that, the virus causing the viral infection can be detected. Another process called tracheal aspiration, that involves sucking the secretions from the trachea with the help of suction tube, is also very effective in diagnosing the lung viral infection. Some doctors may also ask for the chest X-ray, CT scan, MRI scan tests. In case, your doctor is unable to detect the exact cause of this infection, he may consult the pulmonologist (a lung specialist).

Treatment
The infection can be treated by anti virus medications, that are prescribed by expert medical practitioner to the patients. It is to be noted that medications for exact viral infection like influenza, etc. are only given if the infections have been detected. In case of serious breathing problems and anxiety, the patient must be immediately admitted to the hospital. The hospital must be equipped with all the breathing equipment that may be required in case the person is unable to breathe properly.

A respiratory therapist may also be required to work with the patient. Besides this, complete bed rest, plenty of fluids and antibiotics has to be given to patient suffering from mild infections. Often the viral infections are caused due to unhygienic environment and they can spread from coming in contact with infected pets like birds (pigeons, ducks). Diseases like kidney failure or diabetes mellitus can also cause viral infection in the lungs. One must avoid the risk factors of infection and must follow a healthy lifestyle.