Some people can have pneumonia and not know it, but the most common signs and symptoms are:

• Fever
• Cough, with phlegm
• Shortness of breath
• Sweating
• Shaking chills
• Headache
• Muscle pain
• Fatigue
• Chest pain with breathing

You do not have to have all these symptoms to have pneumonia. You may have heard the term “walking pneumonia.” It’s not an official medical term, but it usually means that it is a mild case, producing milder, slower-to-develop symptoms.

While anyone can develop pneumonia, some people are at higher risk than others. These include those who:

• Are older
• Are very young
• Recently had a cold, influenza, or COVID-19
• Smoke
• Have a respiratory illness, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Were or are exposed to certain inhaled toxins
• Recently had surgery
• Are in an intensive care unit
• Are malnourished

Pneumonia treatment depends on the type of infection you have.

Bacterial

Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial pneumonia. The type of antibiotic your doctor would choose depends on the bacteria causing the infection. If you have a prescription for antibiotics, you should finish all the medication, even if you start to feel better. You will begin to feel more like yourself before the infection is completely gone. If you stop the medications before the infection disappears, you could get a more serious pneumonia that can’t be treated as easily.

Viral

Viral pneumonia does not respond to antibiotics; they will not do any good. In general, there isn’t much that can be done for viral pneumonia other than advising that you rest and take in plenty of fluids to stay hydrated. In some cases, doctors may prescribe an anti-viral medication.

Fungal

Medications called anti-fungals treat fungal pneumonia.

Sometimes we can prevent pneumonia. If you will have general anesthetic for  surgery, you could be at risk for developing a bacterial pneumonia. To lower the risk, you will be encouraged to get up and out of bed after the procedure, even if you may not feel up to it. If you can’t get up and move around, you will be encouraged to breathe deeply and cough on a regular basis. This is to help keep your lungs clear. You might be given a device called an incentive spirometer. This small device encourages you to take deep breaths, to expand your lungs.

There is a vaccine that can help prevent pneumococcal pneumonia, caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. The CDC recommends that all adults over 50 and adults over 18 with certain risk factors receive the vaccine, as well as children younger than 5 years or older children who may be at risk.

There is also a vaccine for children to decrease their risk of developing one of four types of infections, including pneumonia:

• Meningitis (infection in the brain)
• Bacteremia (infection in the blood)
• Otitis media (infection in the middle ear)
• Pneumonia