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| Cough alert |
| Anand Sankar / New Delhi Feb 08, 2009, 00:03 IST |
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 Pneumonia is a risk worth guarding against when it comes to taking care of the elderly.
For the medical community, the diagnosis of former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s recent illness would not have been a surprise. When it was revealed to be pneumonia, it confirmed the statistic that it is the condition which most afflicts the elderly.
Descriptions of the symptoms of pneumonia date back to Hippocrates. Today, medicine defines it as an inflammatory illness of the lung where the functions of the alveoli, microscopic air-filled sacs in the lungs responsible for absorbing oxygen, are impeded.
Though it sounds simple, what makes pneumonia a killer is that it can result from a variety of causes — bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites or even chemical or physical injury to the lungs. Sometimes it is also known as idiopathic — unknown — when infectious causes have been excluded.
Doctors say that, especially among the elderly, it pays to watch for symptoms like persistent cough, chest pain, fever and difficulty in breathing. It is also said that coloured sputum (phlegm) or sweaty palms and feet is an indicator along with the above. A concrete diagnosis, though, is simple, as a chest X-ray is often said to be enough, but doctors might insist on a chest CT scan and an analysis of the sputum to be sure.
Treatment is said to be completely dependent on the cause. While antibiotics should be the first course for a bacterial infection, viral infections will require the body’s immune system to do the job or necessitate the use of specialised anti-viral drugs. Most cases can be treated without hospitalisation. But doctors say that, in severe cases where breathing is impeded enough to endanger life, supplementary oxygen or even a ventilator are required.
The biggest danger is from sepsis and septic shock. It is said to occur when microorganisms enter the bloodstream, triggering a response from the body. If left untreated, it can cause multiple organ failure.
The best prevention is a strong immune system, but vaccines are available for the elderly to help. Vaccines against two particular strains — Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae — are available, and in the US vaccination is recommended for the latter strain for all healthy individuals over the age of 65.
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