Walking Pneumonia - Symptoms and Treatment

Walking pneumonia:
Walking pneumonia (also known as atypical pneumonia) is a medical condition in which patient suffering from walking pneumonia does not have to be bedridden or hospitalized. Unlike normal pneumonia, a walking pneumonia patient can move around even when he/she is suffering from the disease. Walking pneumonia is caused by an infection of organism mycoplasma pneumoniae (viruses, bacteria, chemical substances etc.).

Almost about 2 million people in United States suffer from walking pneumonia every year out of which children between ages 5 to 16 are majority of sufferers (almost about 70-75%).

Symptoms of walking pneumonia:
Although walking pneumonia does not show noticeable symptoms in the initial stage, as time passes by, the patient may experience following symptoms:

• Lethargy (sudden decline in energy level)


• Cold (the severity of cold increases with time as the disease reaches patient’s chest, this differentiates walking pneumonia from common cold)


• Sudden chills


• Patient may experience mild to severe headache accompanied by fever and also throat problems complaints (such as rashes in throat)


• Annoying runny nose problem


• Pain in abdominal area, ears, eye, muscles and chest


• Patient may experience sore throat because of ongoing cough condition


• Sometimes patient may experience shallow and rapid breathing due to fatigue

Prominent symptoms of walking pneumonia take almost 1 to 3 weeks to surface (this period is also known as incubation period); it starts with loss in energy level and patient feels exhausted. Before this period, the disease does not show any significant symptoms.

How walking pneumonia is treated?
If you experience the above mentioned symptoms, you should immediately contact your doctor for further consultation. Even though walking pneumonia does not make you bedridden, it still can be very annoying and severe.

Walking pneumonia is treated mainly with the help of antibiotics. Based on patient’s current condition, doctor may decide course of treatment that is needed to be followed. If the patient is still mobile and his/her condition has not worsened, then in that case doctor may prefer only to prescribe pills (antibiotic medicine) and if the patient’s condition has worsened, then doctor may decide to follow advance steps such as intravenous antibiotics.

Is walking pneumonia contagious?
Walking pneumonia is contagious. It spreads from a patient to healthy person if a healthy person stays in contact with the patient for a long time. Airborne droplets of fluid from nose and mouth (also known as respiratory secretion) are main medium through which walking pneumonia can spread from one person to another (when patient coughs, sneezes, laughs or talks).

Some important tips:

• As soon as you notice any of the symptoms mentioned above, consult your doctor for further help.


• If you are diagnosed with walking pneumonia, follow treatment regime prescribed by your doctor strictly. Even though walking pneumonia does not make a patient bedridden, and is mild, it still can get complicated if not given proper attention.


• It can be very effective in controlling the outbreak of the disease if a patient diagnosed with walking pneumonia uses mask (or cover his/her mouth and nose) for few days (specially when he/she is talking to a healthy person), till the time he/she is treated.


• Do not eat oily food or stuff that your doctor suggests you to avoid.