Risk Factors and Walking Pneumonia Prevention
By Cashmere Lashkari
Walking Pneumonia is a mild form of pneumonia which is likely to spread fast through a community, since it is easily transmitted. The infection is bacterial in nature and is also known as Atypical Pneumonia. This is because it does not run it’s course like normal pneumonia. It has relatively milder symptoms such as a leaky nose, sore throat, an intermittent cough, low fever, some body chills and a headache. It can affect people of all ages and from all walks of life.
High Risk Factors for Contracting Walking Pneumonia
Age Groups: Children below two years and elderly people above sixty five years of age, are more vulnerable to the bacterial infection which gives rise to Walking Pneumonia. This may be primarily because in young children the immune system is
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Eventually the bacteria goes through the smaller airways called bronchioles and lands in the alveoli. The Alveoli are microscopic air sacs in the fabric of the lungs. Alveoli allow oxygen and carbon dioxide to filter through the small blood vessels known as the capillaries within the lungs. This is where the infection will take root and as the bacteria begins to multiply the illness will become more pronounced.
Preventing Walking Pneumonia
The best way to prevent the communicable disease is to avoid anyone who is infected with it. However since Walking Pneumonia has extremely mild symptoms that mimic the common cold or flu, it is unlikely that the patient even realizes that they are infected. Some basic health care practices which can help reduce the possibility of an infection can work as guidelines to help prevent the spread of Walking Pneumonia.
# Get the pneumonia vaccine and regular flu shots every season. While it may not prevent Mycoplasma pneumoniae specifically, it will boost the person’s immune system and make them less likely to fall