What happens if bacterial pneumonia goes untreated?

What happens if bacterial pneumonia goes untreated?

However, if left untreated, pneumonia can lead to serious complications, including an increased risk of re-infection, and possible permanent damage to your lungs. One complication from bacterial pneumonia is the infection can enter your blood stream and infect other systems in your body.

How can a doctor tell if you have bacterial pneumonia?

Stay away from sick people, if possible. Your doctor might be able to tell if you have bacterial pneumonia just by examining you and asking questions about your symptoms and general health. They’ll probably listen to your lungs with a stethoscope. That will allow them to hear sounds that show there’s fluid in your lungs.

How long does it take for a pneumonia test to come back?

Interestingly, the levels increase in response to bacterial infections but decrease in viral ones. 3  Results are usually positive within 4 hours of bacterial infection and peak within 12 to 48 hours. While it does not let you know what type of bacteria is present, it indicates that antibiotic treatment may be necessary.

Which is the most common cause of bacterial pneumonia?

What Is Bacterial Pneumonia? Bacterial pneumonia is an infection of your lungs caused by certain bacteria. The most common one is Streptococcus (pneumococcus), but other bacteria can cause it too.

When to go to the hospital for bacterial pneumonia?

Some cases of bacterial pneumonia will require hospitalization for treatment. Young children and the elderly are more likely to need to go to the hospital to receive intravenous antibiotics, medical care and respiratory therapy. In the hospital, you’ll be given antibiotics to treat the specific type of bacteria causing your pneumonia.

Stay away from sick people, if possible. Your doctor might be able to tell if you have bacterial pneumonia just by examining you and asking questions about your symptoms and general health. They’ll probably listen to your lungs with a stethoscope. That will allow them to hear sounds that show there’s fluid in your lungs.

What Is Bacterial Pneumonia? Bacterial pneumonia is an infection of your lungs caused by certain bacteria. The most common one is Streptococcus (pneumococcus), but other bacteria can cause it too.

Can a mild infection of the lungs cause pneumonia?

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC twenty four seven. Saving Lives, Protecting People Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC twenty four seven. Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs that can cause mild to severe illness in people of all ages. Depending on the cause, doctors often treat pneumonia with medicine.

How old do you have to be to get bacterial pneumonia?

The infection is most common in people 65 to 79 years old. Bacterial pneumonia can occur on its own or develop after you’ve had a viral cold or the flu. Bacterial pneumonia often affects just one lobe, or area, of a lung. When this happens, the condition is called lobar pneumonia. Lobar bacterial pneumonia.