Pneumonia is an inflammation of the lungs that is known to cause around 60,000 deaths every year. Earlier, there was no cure for pneumonia and it was considered to be a fatal disease, but now it is treatable due to important advancements made in medical technology. Most commonly, it is identified by symptoms like high fever, shortness of breath, chest pain, sweating, shaking chills, fatigue, muscle pain, headache and cough with yellow or green thick sputum. Walking pneumonia is a milder form of pneumonia which is usually misunderstood as just a common cold. Unlike pneumonia patients, you will not need to stay in bed or to get admitted in a hospital. You may even continue with your regular routine of home and office as if you are just suffering from cold. Walking pneumonia is contagious, and it can be treated with a course of antibiotics. If you are considerate about is walking pnuemonia contagious after taking antibiotics, read this oneHOWTO article.
Is walking pneumonia contagious?
First of all, it is important to know whether it is contagious at all or not. The answer is yes, it is contagious, and it can spread from one person to the other through coughs and sneezes. But the spreading process is very slow.You won’t get a sneeze unless you have been infected for up to 8-10 days, and you won’t spread it to other people before that either.
Walking pneumonia may not infect a person unless you establish a very close contact with him or her. A person will not get infected just because he or she spent some time with an infected patient. Walking pneumonia is difficult to catch, and does not spread among people easily. Actually, exposure may not be the only factor that may spread the infection. The other person needs to have a deteriorated health and lung condition to catch the infection. If the other person has a strong immune system, he or she will even kill the bacteria entering his or her body. Moreover, the disease may get transmitted through secretions, and can be easily prevented with proper cleanliness and care.
Walking pneumonia after antibiotics
There can be several factors that may lead to walking pneumonia, including viruses, fungi, bacteria, inhaled food, chemicals, toxins, smoke and others. Walking pneumonia caused by viruses and bacteria is contagious, and that caused by other factors is not.
The disease is contagious for around 2-3 days after starting taking antibiotics. But if you start the antibiotic treatment immediately after the onset of symptoms, the contagious time frame reduces further.
After diagnosis of the walking pneumonia, the doctor will give certain dose of antibiotics to the patient. If the patient suddenly stops the medicines or does not follow the doctor’s instructions religiously, then some germs may still linger in his or her respiratory tract, and lead to communication. While he or she coughs or sneezes, the germs are thrown out into the atmosphere and they victimize the nearby people.
Is it important to take antibiotics?
Of course. Most of the times, people overlook symptoms of the disease and mistake it for common cold or flu. This is because they do not even realize that they have been infected with something serious. If you are suffering from flu like symptoms that do not subside within 7 days, it is important to consult your doctor. Always keep your mouth covered while sneezing or coughing, and avoid exposing yourself to crowds of people for long periods of time.
Try to stay away from a patient who has been infected with the disease, unless he or she is taking antibiotics. Always wash your hands properly before drinking, and eating and after using washroom. By doing this, you can prevent germs from entering inside your body. If your doctor has given you antibiotics, follow his instructions carefully and never stop taking the medicines even if you are feeling absolutely fine.
This article is merely informative, oneHOWTO does not have the authority to prescribe any medical treatments or create a diagnosis. We invite you to visit your doctor if you have any type of condition or pain.
If you want to read similar articles to Is Walking Pnuemonia Contagious after Taking Antibiotics, we recommend you visit our Diseases & secondary effects category.