Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSymptomsRisk FactorsPreventionRecoveryWhen to See a Healthcare ProviderFrequently Asked Questions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Symptoms
Risk Factors
Prevention
Recovery
When to See a Healthcare Provider
Frequently Asked Questions
Pneumonia leads to airway inflammation and the alveoli (air sacs) may fill with fluid.
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The severity of your symptoms can range from mild to life-threatening, underscoring the importance of prevention, early diagnosis, and prompt treatment.
This article will discuss ways to prevent pneumonia so you can avoid this potentially life-threatening condition.
Symptoms vary among children, adults, and older adults, but in most cases, you will experience one or more of the following symptoms:
Your age is the biggest risk factor for pneumonia. To be clear, pneumonia can affect anyone at any age, but the two age groups at the highest risk for contracting it and for having more severe cases are children under age 2 and adults older than 65.
But age isn’t the only factor that can increase your risk of pneumonia. A host of lifestyle and health risk factors may also increase your risk, including:
Environmental factors, such as jobs that involve working with toxic substances, indoor air pollution, secondhand smoke, and living in a crowded home, can increase your susceptibility to pneumonia.
These tips can help prevent you from getting pneumonia.
Get a Pneumonia Vaccine
Vaccines are incredibly safe and effective, but they can have side effects. Speak to a healthcare provider so you know what to expect with each vaccine.
Of note, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends infants younger than age 2 take four doses of the pneumonia shot at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, and then a booster between 12 to 15 months; and that all adults older than 65 be given pneumococcal vaccines.
Do You Need the Pneumonia Vaccine?
Exercising Proper Hygiene
One of the best ways to prevent respiratory infections is to practice proper hygiene. Some useful techniques include:
Avoiding Sick Contacts
If possible it’s best to avoid people who are sick. This is even more important for young children and older adults who are at the highest risk of getting sick. If you are sick, stay away from others as much as possible to keep from getting them sick, especially those in your family or friend circle who are most susceptible to illness.
Don’t Smoke or Abuse Alcohol
As previously mentioned, the chemicals in cigarettes can compromise the immune system, lowering its ability to defend itself from the organisms that make you sick.
Chronic alcohol use increases your risk of hospitalization and damages alveolar macrophages and phagocytic cells that ingest and clear inhaled microbes as the first line of defense in lung cellular immunity.
Chronic alcohol exposure significantly interferes with alveolar macrophage function, making your lungs more vulnerable to infections that they could otherwise defend themselves against.
Maintain Good Overall Health
Having a pre-existing health condition likeobesity,diabetes,asthma,COPD, orheart diseasegreatly increases your risk of pneumonia, hospitalization, and even death.
Preventing these conditions via a combination of vaccination, healthy eating, regular exercise, and routine visits to your healthcare provider are key to preventing pneumonia.
There’s no one size fits allrecovery from pneumonia. Some people recover in a week, returning to their normal routines, while others take much longer.
If you are diagnosed with pneumonia, follow your healthcare provider’s instructions, take antibiotics as prescribed, monitor your symptoms, and allow yourself time to fully recover.
Avoiding situations that may put you into close contact with molds and getting vaccinated are also important steps that you can take to prevent infection.
If you are having trouble breathing or experiencing a high fever that is not going down with over-the-counter (OTC) medication, seek immediate medical attention.
Remember that infants and small children, older adults over the age of 65, smokers, and people with chronic conditions such as COPD, asthma, and heart disease are at high risk of developing pneumonia and should not wait to see a healthcare provider if they are experiencing pneumonia-like symptoms.
Summary
A Word From Verywell
Pneumonia can be incredibly taxing and some people may take weeks or months to recover.
The best way to do this is to get vaccinated and avoid crowded spaces where germs are easily spread. While it is not definite that you will develop pneumonia if exposed to the germs that cause it, being aware of your risk factors and safeguarding yourself against infection dramatically lowers your risk.
Learn MoreIs Pneumonia Contagious?
5 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.What is pneumonia?Manabe T, Teramoto S, Tamiya N, Okochi J, Hizawa N.Risk factors for aspiration pneumonia in older adults.PLoS ONE.2015;10(10):e0140060. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0140060Bello S, Menéndez R, Antoni T, et al.Tobacco smoking increases the risk for death from pneumococcal pneumonia.Chest. 2014;146(4):1029-1037. doi:10.1378/chest.13-2853Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Pneumonia can be prevented—vaccines can help.Simet SM, Sisson JH.Alcohol’s effects on lung health and immunity.Alcohol Res. 2015;37(2):199-208.
5 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.What is pneumonia?Manabe T, Teramoto S, Tamiya N, Okochi J, Hizawa N.Risk factors for aspiration pneumonia in older adults.PLoS ONE.2015;10(10):e0140060. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0140060Bello S, Menéndez R, Antoni T, et al.Tobacco smoking increases the risk for death from pneumococcal pneumonia.Chest. 2014;146(4):1029-1037. doi:10.1378/chest.13-2853Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Pneumonia can be prevented—vaccines can help.Simet SM, Sisson JH.Alcohol’s effects on lung health and immunity.Alcohol Res. 2015;37(2):199-208.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.What is pneumonia?Manabe T, Teramoto S, Tamiya N, Okochi J, Hizawa N.Risk factors for aspiration pneumonia in older adults.PLoS ONE.2015;10(10):e0140060. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0140060Bello S, Menéndez R, Antoni T, et al.Tobacco smoking increases the risk for death from pneumococcal pneumonia.Chest. 2014;146(4):1029-1037. doi:10.1378/chest.13-2853Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Pneumonia can be prevented—vaccines can help.Simet SM, Sisson JH.Alcohol’s effects on lung health and immunity.Alcohol Res. 2015;37(2):199-208.
National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.What is pneumonia?
Manabe T, Teramoto S, Tamiya N, Okochi J, Hizawa N.Risk factors for aspiration pneumonia in older adults.PLoS ONE.2015;10(10):e0140060. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0140060
Bello S, Menéndez R, Antoni T, et al.Tobacco smoking increases the risk for death from pneumococcal pneumonia.Chest. 2014;146(4):1029-1037. doi:10.1378/chest.13-2853
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Pneumonia can be prevented—vaccines can help.
Simet SM, Sisson JH.Alcohol’s effects on lung health and immunity.Alcohol Res. 2015;37(2):199-208.
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