Diagnosis of Bacterial Pneumonia

To diagnose pneumonia, the doctor begins with a medical history and physical examination. By placing a stethoscope on the chest, the doctor may be able to hear crackling sounds, coarse breathing, wheezing and/or the breathing may be faint in a particular area of the chest. Additionally, the doctor may order a chest x-ray, a sputum gram stain and a blood test. The chest x-ray may show a blotchy-white area, where fluid and pus has accumulated in the lung's air sacs. The sputum grain stain and the blood test may determine the cause and severity of the condition.

If these tests are inconclusive, the doctor may perform a procedure called a bronchoscopy. In this procedure, a flexible, thin and lit viewing tube is inserted into the nose or mouth after a local anesthetic is administered. The breathing passages can then be directly examined by the doctor and specimens from the infected part of the lung can be obtained.

Treatment of Bacterial Pneumonia

Home Treatment

If you suspect pneumonia based on the signs or symptoms, see your doctor as soon as possible. There is no home treatment for pneumonia. Although cough suppressants, expectorants, or fever-lowering drugs may be helpful, they should not be started without discussing their use with your doctor.

Medical Treatment

If you have a bacterial pneumonia, you will need to take an antibiotic. The antibiotic choice depends on your age, your chronic medical conditions, whether or not you smoke or drink alcohol, and other medications you are taking. Tell your doctor about allergies or bad reactions to any medicines you have taken before and bring a list of your current medicines with you.

Drink plenty of nonalcoholic fluids to stay hydrated. This helps your body fight the pneumonia. Anti-fever medicines such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil) may also help you feel better. Because coughing helps clear infection out of your lungs, your doctor may recommend that you not use a cough suppressant.

You must avoid cigarette or other tobacco smoke while you recover from pneumonia. Smoking hurts your body's ability to fight infection and makes your healing process take a lot longer. If you are severely short of breath, or if you are getting poor oxygen levels in your bloodstream, you may need to be admitted to the hospital. You will get extra oxygen to help you breathe, and you can get your antibiotic by IV through your veins.

If your pneumonia is very severe, you may need a breathing tube in your windpipe so that a machine can do the work of breathing for you. If you need a breathing machine, you will be admitted to an intensive care unit in the hospital.