does pneumonia turn toxic immediately or do you have pneumonia for a while?
346531
When you ask does pneumonia turn toxic, what do you mean?  If you are refering to a person with pneumonia going into septic shock it is possible depending on the circumstances.\n\nPneumococcal pneumonia is often preceded by a URI. The onset is often sudden, with a single shaking chill; persistent chills suggest another diagnosis. The chill is ordinarily followed by fever, pain with breathing on the affected side (pleurisy), cough, dyspnea, and sputum production. The pain may be referred and, with lower lobe involvement, may suggest intra-abdominal sepsis, such as appendicitis. The temperature rises rapidly to 38° to 40.5° C (100.4° to 105° F), the pulse is usually 100 to 140 beats/min, and respirations accelerate to 20 to 45 breaths/min. Additional common findings are nausea, vomiting, malaise, and myalgias. The cough may be dry initially but usually becomes productive with purulent, blood-streaked or rusty sputum. In many patients, especially those at age extremes, symptoms may be more insidious.\n\nFindings during physical examination vary depending on the character of the process and the stage in which the patient is evaluated. There may be typical signs of lobar consolidation or pleural effusion. In bronchopneumonia, the usual finding is crackles.\nComplications\n\nSerious and potentially lethal complications include progressive pneumonia, sometimes associated with the adult respiratory distress syndrome and/or septic shock. Some patients develop infections at contiguous sites (eg, empyema or purulent pericarditis). Pleural effusions are found in about 25% of patients by chest x-ray, but < 1% have empyema. Bacteremia may result in extrapulmonary infections, including septic arthritis, endocarditis, meningitis, and peritonitis (in patients with ascites). Some patients develop pulmonary superinfections: temporary improvement during treatment is followed by deterioration, with recurrence of fever and worsening pulmonary infiltrates.\nlthough the morbidity and mortality of pneumococcal pneumonia have decreased substantially since the advent of penicillin, pneumococcus accounts for about 85% of all lethal cases of community-acquired pneumonia in which an etiologic agent is known. The overall mortality rate is about 10%, and treatment has minimal effect on mortality during the first 5 days of illness. Factors that herald a relatively poor prognosis include age extremes, especially < 1 yr or > 60 yr; positive blood cultures; involvement of > 1 lobe; a peripheral WBC count < 5000/µL; presence of associated disorders (eg, cirrhosis, heart failure, immunosuppression, agammaglobulinemia, anatomic or functional asplenia, and uremia); involvement of certain serotypes (especially 3 and 8); and development of extrapulmonary complications (eg, meningitis or endocarditis).\n\nMildly ill patients who are treated relatively early usually defervesce during the first 24 to 48 h; however, seriously ill patients, particularly those with the poor prognostic features noted above, often require >= 4 days to become afebrile. Therapy should not be modified if there is gradual clinical improvement and the etiology is confirmed.\n\nWhen patients do not improve, these factors should be considered: wrong etiologic diagnosis, adverse drug reaction, far-advanced disease (most common), superinfection, inadequate host defenses due to associated conditions, noncompliance with the drug regimen by outpatients, antibiotic resistance of the involved strain of S. pneumoniae, and complications, such as empyema requiring drainage or metastatic foci of infection requiring a higher dosage of penicillin (eg, meningitis, endocarditis, or septic arthritis).
133626
Wow, I had exactly the same thing several weeks ago: came down with pneumonia in the matter of hours. My doctor couldn't really explain how I got it, but mentioned weakened immune system. Which is caused by what?... Numerous factors, but in my case, I suspect, severe stress (personal matters) was a trigger. I guess, just think what changed in your life before you got it... Get well soon! ;)
807233
This normally happens if you have a cigarette after not smoking for a while.  Your body is reacting to the numerous harmful substances in tobacco, not to mention the replacement of oxygen with smoke.\n\nI beg you, give up now.  Don't let it ruin your health and your life.
753583
I have had severe bilateral pneumonia - what do you want to know?
163205
That's what I had when I was diagnosed with pneumonia:\n1) light fever\n2) irritating cough\n3) night sweats\n4) loss of apetite\n5) lack of energy
622412
In very rare cases, you may get infected with bronchitis or pneumonia when you quit smoking.  Or it may just be lungs clearing itself out.  Try cough syrups or decongestants.  Consult your doctor if the cough persists for more than a week.  I wish you best of luck in quitting this terrible thing.  I did last year and never looked back.  I feel healthier and happier than ever.
245292
Classical symptoms of infectious pneumonia include coughing green or yellow sputum and a high fever. Chills are also common tohether with shortness of breath. It often features pleuritic chest pain, a sharp or stabbing pain, either felt or worse during deep breaths or coughs. People with pneumonia may cough up blood, experience headaches, or develop sweaty and clammy skin. Other symptoms may include loss of appetite, fatigue, blueness of the skin, nausea, vomiting, and joint pains or muscle aches. Physicians diagnose pneumonia based on symptoms, personal examination, chest X-rays, blood tests and sputum tests. Broncopneumonia is more patchy than lobar pneumonia which is concentrated in one area of the lung.
908422
Because they become bedridden and usually end up with a pneumonia that kills them.
429356
Symptoms of Common Pneumonias\nGeneral Symptoms.\n\n    * The symptoms of bacterial pneumonia develop abruptly and may include chest pain, fever, shaking, chills, shortness of breath, and rapid breathing and heart beat.\n\n    * Symptoms of pneumonia indicating a medical emergency include high fever, a rapid heart rate, low blood pressure, bluish-skin, and mental confusion.\n\n    * Coughing up sputum containing pus or blood is an indication of serious infection.\n\n    * Severe abdominal pain may accompany pneumonia occurring in the lower lobes of the lung.\n\n    * In advanced cases, the patient's skin may become bluish (cyanotic), breathing may become labored and heavy, and the patient may become confused. \n\n Symptoms of Pneumonia Causes by Anaerobic Bacteria\n\nPeople with pneumonia caused by anaerobic bacteria such as Bacteroides, which can produce abscesses, often have prolonged fever and productive cough, frequently showing blood in the sputum, which indicates necrosis (tissue death) in the lung. About a third of these patients experience weight loss. \n\n Symptoms of Atypical Pneumonia\nGeneral Symptoms for Atypical Pneumonias. Atypical nonbacterial pneumonia is most commonly caused by Mycoplasma and usually appears in children and young adults.\n\n    * Symptoms progress gradually, often beginning with general flu-like symptoms, such as fatigue, fever, weakness, headache, nasal discharge, sore throat, ear ache, and stomach and intestinal distress.\n\n    * Vague pain under and around the breast bone may occur, but the severe chest pain associated with typical bacterial pneumonia is uncommon.\n\n    * Patients may experience a severe hacking cough, but it usually does not produce sputum.
280573
You have a bad problem that has to be corrected. Yes you can get very sick when the mold ends up in your lungs. If you rent go right to the landloard and put in a written complaint and call the health department. If it is your own home you need to get a contractor to replace some walls before it gets out of control. \n\nPlease add your age to the end of questions so we know better how to answer your question..
440864
any colored phlegm means possible infection, I would go to your physician. I would not let it go for very long it could lead to pneumonia
476345
no, but it can aggravate them. For example, i have had pneumonia twice because my lungs are weak and prone to that, also I frequently get bronchitis.
3181
Usually common in a person with a reduced immnunity, to infection, in most cases it is caused by either a virus or bacteria. causes of viral pneumonia include adenovirus, respitory syncytial virus, the most common bacterial pneumonia is caused by streptococcus pneumoniae.  commonly occurs in alcoholics,the elderly, infants or as a complication to a serious illness
854238
When I stopped smoking, I coughed up awful gunk for about twelve weeks.  It might help for you to take something like Mucinex to clean you out quicker.
625159
I believe this will help you.\n\nhttp://www.copd-international.com/\n\nGood luck. Pneumonia is not contagious, if caused by a cold, then that would be contaguious, you will not develop pneumonia unless you don't take care of yourself.
207963
Hypersensitivity pneumonitis is usually an occupational disease in which exposure to organic dusts, fungus, or molds leads to acute and then, over time, chronic lung disease. Exposure may also occur in the home, from fungus present in humidifiers, heating systems, and air conditioners. Some people may have hobbies that can lead to exposure, such as owning birds.\n\nAcute illness may occur 4 to 6 hours after the exposure, once the person has left the area where the allergen is present. Chronic illness with changes seen on chest X-ray may develop with continued exposures. The chronic form of this disease may lead to pulmonary fibrosis (a scarring of the lung tissue that is often not reversible).
214873
Streptococcus pneumoniae (also called pneumococcus for short) is a common bacteria and about 50 % of American population carries it asymptomatically in their noses at any point in time.  Pneumococcus, however, has many serotypes (types of immune coating) and if a person gets exposed to another serotype than the one they are carrying, they can contract pneumonia.  The key here is the effect of the struggle between bacteria and the host (ie human).  The bacteria can win (and cause pneumonia) in two ways.  \n\n1. They can overwhelm the host by sheer numbers.  This happens when a person gets exposed to a large number of bacteria, like after interacting with someone with pneumonia.  Pneumonia patients cough a lot and they spread the bacteria in the air.  We actually know the estimate of how much bacteria is needed to overwhelm the immune system (about 100,000 individual organisms). So if that many bacteria enter your nose, chances are they can invade into the lungs and cause a pneumonia.\n\n2. Another way for the bacteria to win is to attack a weakened host.  ELderly, young children, sick people and the immunosuppressed have a weakened immune system and they are more susceptible to the pneumonia.\n\nSo yes, strep pneumonia is contagious, especially if the infected person is coughing and producing large amounts of sputum.  Asking such a person to wear a simple mask would not be unreasonable.  Washing hands after contact also reduces the risk of transmission.  Hope that helps!