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Pneumonia Symptoms, Causes, and Risk Factors

Anyone can get pneumonia. It's commonly a complication of a respiratory infection
especially the flubut there are more than 30 different causes of the illness. Older
adults, children and people with chronic disease, including COPD and asthma, are at
high risk for pneumonia.

What Are the Symptoms of Pneumonia?

Pneumonia symptoms can vary from mild to severe, depending on the type of
pneumonia you have, your age and health.
The most common symptoms of pneumonia are:

Cough (with some pneumonias you may cough up greenish or yellow

mucus, or even bloody mucus)

Fever, which may be mild or high

Shaking chills

Shortness of breath, which may only occur when you climb stairs

Additional symptoms include:

Sharp or stabbing chest pain that gets worse when you breathe deeply or
cough

Headache

Excessive sweating and clammy skin

Loss of appetite, low energy, and fatigue

Confusion, especially in older people

Symptoms also can vary, depending on whether your pneumonia is bacterial or viral.

In bacterial pneumonia, your temperature may rise as high as 105 degrees

F. This pneumonia causes profuse sweating, and rapidly increased
breathing and pulse rate. Lips and nailbeds may have a bluish color due to
lack of oxygen in the blood. A patient's mental state may be confused or
delirious.

The initial symptoms of viral pneumonia are the same as influenza

symptoms: fever, a dry cough, headache, muscle pain, and weakness.
Within 12 to 36 hours, there is increasing breathlessness; the cough
becomes worse and produces a small amount of mucus. There is a high
fever and there may be blueness of the lips.

What Causes Pneumonia?

Many different germs can cause pneumonia. There are five main causes of
pneumonia:

Bacteria

Viruses

Mycoplasmas

Other infectious agents, such as fungi

Various chemicals

If you have viral pneumonia, you also are at risk of getting bacterial pneumonia.
Understanding the cause of pneumonia is important because pneumonia treatment
depends on its cause. Learn more about what causes pneumonia.

What Are Risk Factors?

Anyone can get pneumonia, but some people are at a higher risk than others.
Risk factors (that increase your chances of getting pneumonia) include:

Cigarette smoking

Recent viral respiratory infectiona cold, laryngitis, influenza, etc.

Difficulty swallowing (due to stroke, dementia, Parkinson's disease, or

other neurological conditions)

Chronic lung disease such as COPD, bronchiectasis, or cystic fibrosis

Cerebral palsy

Other serious illnesses, such as heart disease, liver cirrhosis, or diabetes

Living in a nursing facility

Impaired consciousness (loss of brain function due to dementia, stroke, or

other neurologic conditions)

Recent surgery or trauma

Having a weakened immune system due to illness, certain medications,

and autoimmune disorders