Immune Compromised Host Research Paper
Immune-Compromised Host: What Can I Do to Fight Pneumonia?
Pneumonia is an infection causing inflammation of the air sacs in one or both lungs. The air sacs may be filled with pus or fluid resulting to cough with phlegm or pus, chills, fever, and difficulty breathing. Bacteria, fungi, viruses, and a variety of organisms can cause pneumonia.
But what if you are an immune-compromised host? When you already have a weakened immune system and you get pneumonia, it is called “pneumonia in an immune-compromised host”. It makes it harder for you to fight off germs and you need immediate medical intervention and careful monitoring to reduce the risk of serious complications.
People with weakened immune systems tend to have more difficulty in fighting
off the virus or bacteria causing pneumonia. Below are some of the reasons why your risks can be higher:
Health conditions:
Heart disease
HIV/AIDS
Bone marrow or organ transplants
Diabetes
After any in-patient surgical procedure
Chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD)
Medications:
Ask your doctor as to what the labels of your medications mean. They might increase your risk of a weak immune system. Radiation therapy, steroid medications, and chemotherapy make people more susceptible to pneumonia because these drugs can only work with a suppressed immune system.
Lifestyle:
Smoking and air pollution can leave a person vulnerable and weak making it easy for bacteria to invade the body. Once these bacteria get trapped in the lungs, the result is bacterial pneumonia. Cities with poor air quality and high levels of fume exposure will have difficulty in resisting pneumonia.
Pneumonia in the Hospital:
A prolonged stay in the hospital makes a person becoming more prone to hospital-borne infections and pneumonia. There is an alarming increasing rate of people 65 years old and above contracting pneumonia from hospital through the process called intubation (a procedure in which a tube is placed within the body for any medical reason).
Observe the following symptoms of pneumonia: fever fatigue nausea and vomiting chest pain that is aggravated by coughing or deep breathing swollen glands productive cough chills/shivering headache loss of appetite shortness of breath or other breathing difficulty
Having tests like blood tests, sputum Gram stain, chest X-ray, sputum direct fluorescent antibody, bronchoscopy, chest CT scan, and lung biopsy can help diagnose pneumonia. Call Genesis Home Health Care Agency today for more information on how you can get the right services, particularly getting ventilation and other respiratory machines for your loved ones who struggle in breathing!
Pneumonia is an infection causing inflammation of the air sacs in one or both lungs. The air sacs may be filled with pus or fluid resulting to cough with phlegm or pus, chills, fever, and difficulty breathing. Bacteria, fungi, viruses, and a variety of organisms can cause pneumonia.
But what if you are an immune-compromised host? When you already have a weakened immune system and you get pneumonia, it is called “pneumonia in an immune-compromised host”. It makes it harder for you to fight off germs and you need immediate medical intervention and careful monitoring to reduce the risk of serious complications.
People with weakened immune systems tend to have more difficulty in fighting
off the virus or bacteria causing pneumonia. Below are some of the reasons why your risks can be higher:
Health conditions:
Heart disease
HIV/AIDS
Bone marrow or organ transplants
Diabetes
After any in-patient surgical procedure
Chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD)
Medications:
Ask your doctor as to what the labels of your medications mean. They might increase your risk of a weak immune system. Radiation therapy, steroid medications, and chemotherapy make people more susceptible to pneumonia because these drugs can only work with a suppressed immune system.
Lifestyle:
Smoking and air pollution can leave a person vulnerable and weak making it easy for bacteria to invade the body. Once these bacteria get trapped in the lungs, the result is bacterial pneumonia. Cities with poor air quality and high levels of fume exposure will have difficulty in resisting pneumonia.
Pneumonia in the Hospital:
A prolonged stay in the hospital makes a person becoming more prone to hospital-borne infections and pneumonia. There is an alarming increasing rate of people 65 years old and above contracting pneumonia from hospital through the process called intubation (a procedure in which a tube is placed within the body for any medical reason).
Observe the following symptoms of pneumonia: fever fatigue nausea and vomiting chest pain that is aggravated by coughing or deep breathing swollen glands productive cough chills/shivering headache loss of appetite shortness of breath or other breathing difficulty
Having tests like blood tests, sputum Gram stain, chest X-ray, sputum direct fluorescent antibody, bronchoscopy, chest CT scan, and lung biopsy can help diagnose pneumonia. Call Genesis Home Health Care Agency today for more information on how you can get the right services, particularly getting ventilation and other respiratory machines for your loved ones who struggle in breathing!