As we grow older, our bodies become increasingly prone to handling specific problems and illnesses like pneumonia. It’s an infection that inflames the lung’s air pockets; they may become filled with pus or fluid and cause severe coughing fits.
Pneumonia may range in severity from mild to fatal. It’s most severe for younger kids and those over 65. The mortality rate for elderly adults who have pneumonia is high.
What is Pneumonia?
Pneumonia is a respiratory and breathing condition caused by a lung infection. It’s a common illness affecting millions of individuals yearly in the U.S. Bacteria is the most typical pneumonia cause. There are additional ways, such as chronic illness, where someone might be impacted by pneumonia.
The bacteria may get to you in multiple ways, which include:
- The bacteria may be living in your mouth, sinuses, or nose and may spread to the lungs
- It’s possible to breathe the germs right into the lungs
- It’s possible to inhale liquids, foods, fluid, or vomit from the mouth inside the lungs
Pneumonia also can be caused by many other reasons, which include viruses and fungi. Pneumonia caused by fungi is more prevalent among those with weakened immune systems and chronic health problems.
Risk Factors
Numerous risk factors may boost your opportunities of being impacted by pneumonia. Some of those risk factors involve:
- Immune system problems
- Dementia
- Cigarette smoking
- Severe lung disease
Symptoms
Some more common pneumonia symptoms involve:
- Headaches
- Clammy skin and excess sweating
- Confusion
- Shortness of breath
- Chills
- Fever
- Cough
Those are merely some of the multiple symptoms you might be impacted by if you suffer from pneumonia. For seniors, unfortunately, those symptoms might grow worse and other issues might develop as elderly individuals deal with weakened immune systems.
How to Prevent Pneumonia in the Elderly?
Pneumonia is a severe problem in seniors. There are treatment methods and prevention strategies to lower your odds of being impacted by pneumonia.
There are different ways to prevent pneumonia. Among the most effective and obvious methods of doing this includes getting vaccinated. Receiving a flu shot every year is useful in preventing seasonal influenza. But then, influenza is a typical cause of pneumonia; therefore, receiving a flu shot is an excellent method of killing two birds with one stone and reducing your opportunities of handling pneumonia.
In conjunction with obtaining a shot, there are various other simplistic lifestyle changes to improve your odds of not being impacted with pneumonia. Frequently washing your hands after using the restroom, blowing your nose, eating, etc. Washing your hands is going to assist in preventing the spread of bacteria.
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