All about Pneumonia

Essay by mikel100Junior High, 7th gradeA+, June 2002

download word file, 3 pages 3.0

Downloaded 98 times

Pneumonia

Dictionary definition:

Pneu*mo*nia

Noun

: A disease of the lungs characterized by inflammation and consolidation followed by resolution and caused by infection or irritants.

Pneu*mo*nia

Noun

: An acute or chronic disease

Marked by inflammation of the lungs and caused by viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms and sometimes by physical and chemical irritants.

What is it?

Pneumonia is a bad and sometimes deadly infection or inflammation of your lungs. The air sacs in the lungs fill with mucus and other liquids. When this happens oxygen has trouble reaching your blood. When there is too little oxygen in your blood, your body cells can't work properly. This and other spreading infections in the body are what can cause death!

Before 1936 Pneumonia was the number one cause of death in the US! Since then with the help of antibiotics, Pneumonia is now only the sixth leading cause of death. But still this is VERRY high!

Causes of Pneumonia

Pneumonia has over thirty different causes.

Probably every one in this room has had it at one time!

Here are the five main causes:

Bacteria

Viruses

Mycoplasmas

Other infectious agents

Various chemicals

The Breakdown of these:

Bacteria: Bacteria Pneumonia can attack anyone from newborn to very old! Generally Alcoholics, post-operative patients, people with respiratory diseases or viral infections and people who have weakened immune systems are at greater risk of getting this type.

Bacteria Pneumonia cont.:

A bacterium that causes this type of Pneumonia is in everyone's, healthy and not healthy, throat. When illness, old age, or impaired immunity, the bacteria weakens the body's defenses and can multiply and eventually get into the lungs. The lungs then will fill with a liquid that will get into the blood stream and affect the whole body. The liquid makes it hard for oxygen to...