What is Walking or Atypical Pneumonia and Its Treatments

What is Walking or Atypical Pneumonia and Its Treatments









‘Walking Pneumonia’ is a term used to identify a type of pneumonia that is not ‘serious enough’ to require bed rest.

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  The condition is also known as a ‘Atypical Pneumonia’
  
  


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  It presents some of the symptoms of an typical pneumonia, but it differs in severity
  
  


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  Most patients with the condition will feel well enough to continue with work or with their normal daily activities
  
  


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  When it comes to treatment, it is important to identify the causative agent in order to provide the proper treatment course
  
  

Walking Pneumonia Symptoms

The symptoms of the condition are atypical of pneumonia, they include:

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  Absence of lobar consolidation upon chest radiographic visualization
  
  


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  Symptoms do not respond to antibiotics commonly used in pneumonia treatment
  
  


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  No leukocytosis in a Complete Blood Count test
  
  


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  Only a small or moderate amount of sputum production
  
  


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  Absence of alveolar exudates
  
  

Patients with the condition are also likely to show extra-pulmonary symptoms that may be related to the causative agent.


Other symptoms include:

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  Fever
  
  


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  Dry cough which later turns productive
  
  


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  Headache
  
  

Despite these symptoms, patients with Walking Pneumonia usually feel well enough and do not seem to be overly affected by the disease.

Causative Agents

Some of the common causative agents for Atypical Pneumonia include:

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  Chlamydia Penumoniae
  
  


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  Chlamydia Psittaci
  
  


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  Coxiella Purneti
  
  


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  Fancisella Tularemia
  
  


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  Mycoplasm Pneumoniae
  
  

In addition to the above, a cause of atypical pneumonia may also be caused by a fungus or by a virus.

Walking Pneumonia Treatment

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  In most cases, Walking Pneumonia patients would not have to use any antibacterial agents.
  
  
  


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  Key to treating the condition is indentifying the causative agent
  
  


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  Patients are cautioned against using antibiotic medication without proper sputum testing to identify if the condition is caused by a bacterial, a fungus, a virus, or a parasite.
  
  

Some common treatment methods for this condition include:

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  The appropriate antimicrobial agent, none is used if the condition is caused by a virus
  
  


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  Increased oral fluid intake – helps to loosen phlegm
  
  


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  Antipyretic – given to patients who have a fever
  
  


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  Cough suppressants or Mucolytics – depending on the type of cough a patient has
  
  


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  Temporarily/Permanently avoid Lung Irritants that can aggravate cough
  
  

Walking Pneumonia Recovery Time

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  An infection can last for a long as two weeks or longer.
  
  


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  But, it does not often cause downtime for the patient as the symptoms are mild
  
  


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  Overall, a patient may miss work for two or three days, at most, but since the symptoms can be handled with medication fairly well, this is usually not necessary