Can you have pneumonia and not know it?

You can get pneumonia in one or both lungs. You can also have it and not know it. Doctors call this walking pneumonia. Causes include bacteria, viruses, and fungi.
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How long can a person have pneumonia and not know it?

If you have walking pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae, you can be considered contagious from two to up to four weeks before symptoms appear (called the incubation period). During this time, you will not realize you are contagious and spreading pneumonia.
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How do you know if you have silent pneumonia?

You might have:
  1. Chest pain when you take a deep breath.
  2. A cough that may come in violent spasms.
  3. Mild flu-like symptoms such as fever and chills.
  4. Sore throat.
  5. Headache.
  6. Tiredness.
  7. Weakness that may last after other symptoms go away.
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Can you unknowingly have pneumonia?

Walking pneumonia is an informal term for pneumonia that isn't severe enough to require bed rest or hospitalization. You may feel like you have a cold. The symptoms are generally so mild that you don't feel you need to stay home from work or school, so you are out walking around.
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What causes silent pneumonia?

Technically, it's called atypical pneumonia and is caused by bacteria or viruses; often a common bacterium called Mycoplasma pneumonia. Bed rest or hospitalization are usually not needed, and symptoms can be mild enough that you can continue about your daily activities, hence the term "walking."
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Pneumonia – A Serious Condition to be Taken Seriously



What does Covid pneumonia feel like?

You may have severe shortness of breath, a cough, a fever, chest pain, chills, or fatigue. Your doctor might recommend cough medicine and pain relievers that reduce fever. In the most serious cases, you may need to go to the hospital for help breathing with a machine called a ventilator.
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What are the 4 stages of pneumonia symptoms?

Stages of Pneumonia
  • Stage 1: Congestion. During the congestion phase, the lungs become very heavy and congested due to infectious fluid that has accumulated in the air sacs. ...
  • Stage 2: Red hepatization. ...
  • Stage 3: Gray hepatization. ...
  • Stage 4: Resolution.
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Can you have pneumonia and no fever?

It's not the norm but, yes, it's possible to have pneumonia with a low fever or even no fever. If this occurs, it's usually in the very young (newborns and infants) and in older adults or adults with a weakened immune system.
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How do you check if your lungs are infected?

Other common ways to diagnose a lung infection include:
  1. imaging, such as a chest X-ray or CT scan.
  2. spirometry, a tool that measures how much and how quickly you take in air with each breath.
  3. pulse oximetry to measure the level of oxygen in your blood.
  4. taking a sample of mucus or nasal discharge for further testing.
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What pneumonia feels like?

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.
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What happens if pneumonia is left untreated?

Untreated pneumonia can also lead to a lung abscess, where part of the lung tissue dies. And, in very rare cases, respiratory failure can occur. These complications can be reduced, or avoided altogether, with prompt diagnosis and proper treatment. Your doctor relies on several tools to help diagnose pneumonia.
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How long can walking pneumonia go untreated?

While walking pneumonia is milder than pneumonia, it requires a longer recovery period. It can last for up to six weeks, while pneumonia symptoms usually start to improve within a couple of days.
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How can I check my lungs at home?

How It Is Done
  1. Set the pointer. ...
  2. Attach the mouthpiece to the meter. ...
  3. Sit up or stand up as straight as you can, and take a deep breath.
  4. Close your lips tightly around the mouthpiece. ...
  5. Breathe out as hard and as fast as you can for 1 or 2 seconds. ...
  6. Write down the number on the gauge. ...
  7. Repeat these steps 2 more times.
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Can you have pneumonia for months?

"Pneumonia is a serious illness that can take quite a toll on a person's lungs and body. It can take anywhere from a week to several months to fully recover from it," says Dr.
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What are symptoms of pneumonia in adults?

Symptoms
  • Chest pain when you breathe or cough.
  • Confusion or changes in mental awareness (in adults age 65 and older)
  • Cough, which may produce phlegm.
  • Fatigue.
  • Fever, sweating and shaking chills.
  • Lower than normal body temperature (in adults older than age 65 and people with weak immune systems)
  • Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.
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What does a pneumonia cough sound like?

Rhonchi sounds have a continuous snoring, gurgling, or rattle-like quality. Rhonchi occur in the bronchi as air moves through tracheal-bronchial passages coated with mucus or respiratory secretions. This is often heard in pneumonia, chronic bronchitis, or cystic fibrosis. Rhonchi usually clear after coughing.
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What are the first signs of lung problems?

Common signs are:
  • Trouble breathing.
  • Shortness of breath.
  • Feeling like you're not getting enough air.
  • Decreased ability to exercise.
  • A cough that won't go away.
  • Coughing up blood or mucus.
  • Pain or discomfort when breathing in or out.
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How do I know if Covid is in my lungs?

You may have trouble breathing or feel short of breath. You may also breathe faster. If your doctor takes a CT scan of your chest, the opaque spots in your lungs look like they start to connect to each other.
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What are the early warning signs of lung disease?

What Are the Warning Signs of Lung Disease?
  • Trouble breathing or shortness of breath: It's not normal to have shortness of breath for no reason, or that doesn't go away after exercise.
  • Feeling like you're not getting enough air: Labored breathing, when it's hard to breath in and out, is a warning sign of trouble.
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Can your lungs sound clear and still have pneumonia?

"Usually with a cold, the lungs are going to sound pretty clear," DeBlasio says. "With more classic pneumonia, you tend to hear (characteristic sounds) more localized to one particular spot in the lungs. But with a walking pneumonia, you just hear diffuse crackles all over the lungs, oftentimes on both sides."
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Can you have Covid pneumonia without symptoms?

during hospitalization. Twelve (50.0%) cases showed typical CT scan images of ground-glass chest and 5 (20.8%) presented stripe shadowing in the lungs. The remaining 7 (29.2%) cases had a normal CT image and had no symptoms during hospitalization and none of the 24 cases developed severe COVID-19 pneumonia.
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What is Covid pneumonia?

COVID-19 Pneumonia

In pneumonia, the lungs become filled with fluid and inflamed, leading to breathing difficulties. For some people, breathing problems can become severe enough to require treatment at the hospital with oxygen or even a ventilator. The pneumonia that COVID-19 causes tends to take hold in both lungs.
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Can you have pneumonia without cough?

It is possible to have pneumonia without a cough or fever. Symptoms may come on quickly or may worsen slowly over time. Sometimes a person who has a viral upper respiratory infection (cold) will get a new fever and worsening that signals the start of the secondary bacterial infection.
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What is the beginning stages of pneumonia?

1. Congestion. This is typically the first stage of infection that occurs after a pneumonia infection has dominated one of the lobes in your lung. The congestion stage typically lasts around 24 hours, and your lungs become inflamed, red, and weighed down by infection.
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How can you tell pneumonia?

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  1. Blood tests. Blood tests are used to confirm an infection and to try to identify the type of organism causing the infection. ...
  2. Chest X-ray. This helps your doctor diagnose pneumonia and determine the extent and location of the infection. ...
  3. Pulse oximetry. ...
  4. Sputum test.
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