Mild pneumonia can usually be treated at home with rest,antibiotics and by drinking plenty of fluids. More severe cases may need hospital treatment.
Unless a healthcare professional tells you otherwise, you should always finish taking a prescribed course of antibiotics, even if you feel better.
If you stop taking an antibiotic part way through a course, the bacteria can become resistant to the antibiotic.
After starting treatment, your symptoms should steadily improve.
However, how quickly they improve will depend on how severe your pneumonia is.
As a general guide, after:
Visit your doctor if your symptoms don’t improve within three days of starting antibiotics.
Symptoms may not improve if:
Painkillers, such as paracetamol or ibuprofen, may help relieve pain and reduce fever.
However, you shouldn’t take ibuprofen if you:
Cough medicines aren’t recommended as there’s also little evidence they are effective. A warm honey and lemon drink can help relieve discomfort caused by coughing.
Your cough may persist for two to three weeks after you finish your course of antibiotics, and you may feel tired for even longer as your body continues to recover.
Drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration, and get plenty of rest to help your body recover. If you smoke, it’s more important than ever to stop, as smoking damages your lungs.
See your GP if, after following the above self-help measures, your condition is deteriorating or isn’t improving as expected.
Pneumonia isn’t usually passed from one person to another, so it’s safe to be around others, including family members.
However, it’s best for people with a weakened immune system to avoid close contact with a person with pneumonia until they start to get better.
Your GP will probably arrange a follow-up appointment for you about six weeks after you start your course of antibiotics.
In some cases, they may arrange follow-up tests, such as a chest X-ray, if:
Some people may be advised to have a flu vaccination or pneumococcal vaccination after recovering from pneumonia.
You may need treatment in hospital if your symptoms are severe. You’ll be given antibiotics and fluids intravenously through a drip, and you may need oxygen to help breathing.
In very serious cases of pneumonia, breathing assistance through a ventilator in an intensive care unit (ICU) may be required.
If you’ve breathed in an object that’s causing pneumonia, it may need to be removed.
To do this, an instrument called a bronchoscope may be used to look into your airways and lungs so that the object can be located and removed. This procedure is known as a bronchoscopy.
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Pneumonia
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Symptoms of Lung Cancer
Treating Lung Cancer
Diagnosing Lung Cancer
Preventing Lung Cancer
Allergies
Symptoms of Allergies
Treating Allergies
Diagnosing Allergies
Avoiding Allergies
Bronchitis
Symptoms of Bronchitis
Causes of Bronchitis
Treating Bronchitis
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Source: NHS UK
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Pneumonia/Pages/Treatment.aspx