Pneumonia is an acute or chronic disease marked by inflammation of one or both lungs. An inflammation of the lungs caused by viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms and sometimes by physical and chemical irritants. Pneumonia is a serious infection of the lungs that can be caused by any of a number of different infectious agents, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and mycoplasma. The infection causes tiny air sacs in the lung area to become inflamed and filled with mucus and pus, inhibiting oxygen from reaching the blood. Pneumonia (Inflammation of a person's lungs) can be caused by different organisms such as bacteria, fungi and viruses with more than sixty thousand people in the united states dying from the illness each year.

Avoid and treat colds and influenza as soon as possible and as efficiently as possible. Maintain a good hygiene of your hands, have a rich diet in dark-colored fruits and vegetables and fresh food, have an active socially life, take different zinc preparations because studies have shown that zinc has substantial benefits against colds, flus, allergies, pneumonia. Zinc has good effects on the inflammatory response and immune system, its action is unknown but its effects are clear.

For a cold and sore throat, the nose and throat should be kept clean by sniffing salt water up the nose and then blowing the nose, holding one side shut while blowing through the other. Use one teaspoon of salt to a pint of water. Do this several times a day. Gargle and rinse out the mouth with salt water. Viral Pneumonia is more variable in course and severity. It can come on suddenly or gradually, and symptoms- which are much the same as those of bacterial pneumonia- can be mild, severe, or anywhere in between. It is less serious than bacterial pneumonia, but if not cared for properly, a second, bacterial pneumonia infection can set in. The bacterial strain is treated with antibiotics. Most people would still recover without this treatment, but antibiotics shorten the illness. The viral strain, like the common cold, does not respond to antibiotics, although there are drugs available for some rare viral infections. Sometimes, doctors cannot differentiate between viral and bacterial and antibiotics are advised, just in case it's a bacterial infection. To add further confusion, some viral strains can lead to a bacterial form.

In healthy young subjects, the effects of the proper ant biotherapy must usually be seen in about 2-3 days. If by this time the symptoms show no real amelioration, you might need bacterial culture and testing for sensitivity to antibiotics. This will allow the physician to determine which organism is responsible for your pneumonia type and whether you have developed resistance to that particular antibiotic. Pneumonia generally occurs at those who have a weakened immune system, like children, old people and those who have other diseases (HIV, organ transplanted people, cancer, chemotherapy). Smoking, drinking alcohol, working in cold places are also factors of risk. A check up is indicated when you have some of these symptoms, so that the doctor could fast apply the necessary treatment and spare you from other complications that might occur if you leave pneumonia untreated.