November 12th marks World Pneumonia Day, established in 2009 by the World Health Organization (WHO). This date's main objective is to increase the population's awareness of this disease that affects many people around the world.
Pneumonia is a chronic disease that causes inflammation in the lungs, which can be mild, severe or even deadly, depending on the patient's age and health status. This disease kills more than 3 million people per year, including more than 470 thousand children, being the main cause of death for children up to 5 years of age, according to WHO data.
The main symptoms of Pneumonia are: fever, cough, chills, muscle, headache and joint pain, among others. Pneumonia can be transmitted through the air, saliva, blood transfusions and in the winter season it appears due to temperature changes.
Preventing this disease is essential, which is why the WHO's recommendations are: not smoking, not drinking alcoholic beverages, avoiding crowds and taking the pneumococcal vaccine. It is also essential to comply with the vaccination schedule in the first 15 months of the newborn's life, in case of contagion, immunization reduces the intensity of symptoms, in addition to preventing serious forms of the disease and mortality from this specific type of pneumonia.
For the treatment of Pneumonia, it is advisable to resort to hospitalization, since between the first 48h and 72h the evolution of the infection does not evolve favorably, if the infection is of bacterial origin it is treated with antibiotics, and if its origin is a virus, one resorts to antiviral medications.