Walking pneumonia can still be miserable and is commonly accompanied by a cough, fever, chest pain, mild chills, headache, etc. It feels more akin to a bad cold, and despite what the term "walking" implies, taking care of yourself is the best path to recovery.
In so-called walking pneumonia, the major physical symptoms are either milder or, in some cases, not present at all. They can be confused for a cold or the flu.
A provider may recommend over-the-counter (OTC) medications to help relieve nasal congestion, cough and mucus buildup in your chest. You can help open your airways by drinking plenty of warm fluids, using a humidifier or taking a hot bath or shower. If you have a fever, it's a good idea to drink more fluids and rest.
The infection can be treated at home, but if the condition is severe, you must find an ER near you. For home treatment, antibiotics can treat bacterial, mycoplasma, and other kinds of pneumonia. However, cases of viral pneumonia tend to get better on their own – even without treatment.
Early symptoms are similar to influenza symptoms: fever, a dry cough, headache, muscle pain, and weakness. Within a day or two, the symptoms typically get worse, with increasing cough, shortness of breath and muscle pain. There may be a high fever and there may be blueness of the lips.
Signs Your Cough Is Serious and Needs Urgent Care
A persistent cough with a fever. Thick green or yellow phlegm. Fainting or shortness of breath.
What does a pneumonia cough sound like? This will depend on the type of pneumonia you have and be either a dry or chesty cough. Bacterial pneumonia is more serious and often results in a gurgling sound when breathing and mucus or phlegm when coughing.
Although walking pneumonia is generally mild and resolves on its own, talk to your doctor if your symptoms include: Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Persistent fever that doesn't improve with medication. Chest pain that worsens with deep breathing or coughing.
Bronchitis, which is typically caused by a virus, mainly affects the bronchial tubes, the passages that carry air to your lungs. Pneumonia, on the other hand, is an infection of the lungs themselves and can be caused by viruses, bacteria or fungi.
Serious medical conditions sometimes mistaken for pneumonia include: Acute respiratory distress / failure. Bronchitis. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Two issues often cause bibasilar crackles. One is the accumulation of mucus or fluid in the lungs. Another is a failure of parts of the lungs to inflate properly. The crackles themselves are not a disease, but they can be a sign of an illness or infection.
While many community-acquired cases of pneumonia caused by bacteria are treated with antibiotics, the most prescribed ones, such as amoxicillin, don't always work for mycoplasma pneumonia, Dr. Murray says. But certain antibiotics, such as azithromycin, work well, so it's important to get the proper diagnosis, he says.
Fever is a common symptom of pneumonia. However, in certain rare cases some people have pneumonia without fever or with only a very mild form of it. Several factors predispose people to develop pneumonia without fever: being very young (under age 2), being older than 65, or having a compromised immune system.
Children with RSV typically have two to four days of upper respiratory tract symptoms, such as fever and runny nose/congestion. These are then followed by lower respiratory tract symptoms, like increasing wheezing cough that sounds wet and forceful with increased work breathing.
Take a breath that is slightly deeper than normal. Use your stomach muscles to make a series of three rapid exhalations with the airway open, making a "ha, ha, ha" sound. Follow this by controlled diaphragmatic breathing and a deep cough if you feel mucus moving.
If you have a cough, you could have a tickle in your throat due to acid reflux, use of certain medications, infection, allergies, asthma, or irritants in the environment. A tickle in your throat can often be relieved with at-home remedies, such as honeyed tea, throat lozenges, and getting plenty of rest and fluids.
Adding honey to warm water or tea, or just a spoonful of honey itself can help with coughs. "It has been shown to be more effective than over-the-counter cough medications," she says. Honey helps by soothing the throat and coating cough receptors.