Top Tips for Preventing Pneumonia This Winter

Pneumonia is an infectious illness that takes thousands of lives every year. It can be caused by both bacteria and viruses or by fungi that enter the lungs and spread to the alveoli to cause an infection. As a result, the alveoli are filled with fluids or pus, and the breathing process is minimized. Despite being treatable, the disease can become life-threatening in infants, the elderly, or those who have a weakened immune system. Therefore, adopting approaches for preventing pneumonia is better than being affected.

In this article, let us dive into the top tips for preventing pneumonia during the coming winter season.

Top Tips for Preventing Pneumonia

The following are some of the preventive measures which should be adopted for the prevention of pneumonia:

1.      Get Pneumonia and Flu Vaccine

Getting vaccinated is one of the top tips for preventing pneumonia. This is because a vaccine prepares our immune system to fight the disease-causing agents when they attack the body and cause a lung infection like white lung infection. Therefore, our body is not defenseless when a pathogen or disease-causing entity attacks it.

“In the year 2022, more than 41,000 adults in the United States died due to pneumonia.”

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

It should be kept in mind that getting a vaccine is not a 100% reliable step for preventing pneumonia. Rather, it gives you an edge over non-vaccinated individuals by providing extra protection. Therefore, you should also practice other top tips for preventing pneumonia.

Vaccination is also ideal for you if you fall into the high-risk group and are therefore more prone to contracting pneumonia.

Available Pneumonia Vaccines

Currently, there are two types of vaccines available for preventing pneumonia:

Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine or Prevnar 13

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, also called Prevnar 13 or PCV13, is a suitable option for children who are either below the age of 2 or are above this age but have certain medical conditions. Multiple doses are required which start from 2 months of age. The course is completed after the administration of 4 doses at 2, 4, 6, and 12 to 15 months.

Apart from kids, pneumococcal vaccines can also be administered in adults for preventing pneumonia above the age of 65 or those with compromised immune systems as a single injection given only once. The pneumococcal conjugate vaccine is effective against 13 different types of pneumonia-causing bacteria. In addition to this particular vaccine, other versions such as PCV15, PCV20, as well as PCV21 are also available.

Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine or Pneumovax

Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine is also known as Pneumovax or PPSV23 vaccine. It has the ability to provide protection against 23 kinds of pneumococcal bacteria. It is suitable for everyone who is above the age of 2 years but is not recommended as a first choice for children.

Although both of these pneumococcal vaccines are effective in preventing pneumonia, these are administered based on the suitability given in the following table:

Pneumonia Vaccine	Age Group	Medical Conditions
Prenvar 13	Children under 2 years of age	–
	Children above the age of 2	Present
Pneumovax	2 to 64 years	Diabetes, chronic cardiac, lung, or kidney diseases, Removed spleen
	19 to 64 years	Smoking
	Above 65 years	With or without any medical condition

Am I at a Higher Risk of Getting Pneumonia?

If you have any of the following conditions, you are more likely to contract pneumonia and are therefore included in the high-risk group:

· Children less than 2 years of age · People above the age of 65 · Pregnant women (shouldn’t be vaccinated during pregnancy) · People with weak immune system ·(steroids, anticancer drugs) · Asthma · Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) · Emphysema · Diabetes mellitus · Cystic fibrosis · Dementia · Parkinson’s disease · Sickle cell anemia · Solid organ transplantation · Alcoholism · Metastatic cancer

2.      Adopt Hygienic Practices

Another top tip for preventing pneumonia is to adopt a hygienic lifestyle that minimizes your exposure to disease-causing microbes. Therefore, keeping yourself clean and protected in general as well as in the presence of a pneumonia patient helps prevent the infection.

To wash your hands, use soap and water and scrub them for at least 20 seconds followed by washing with clean water and drying with a clean towel.

3.      Minimize Exposure

Pneumonia is contagious when caused due to bacterial or viral entities which means the disease can get transmitted from an affected person to a healthy individual. This happens by inhaling the airborne droplets that come out of the patient’s respiratory tract due to deep coughing. In the case of a fungal causative agent, pneumonia is not contagious.

For preventing pneumonia occurrence after visiting a pneumonia patient, adopt the following measures:

• Wash your hands thoroughly
• Avoid using their used items
• Cover your mouth and nose by wearing a mask

4.      Cut Alcohol

People who drink too much alcohol are at a higher risk of getting an infection. This is because alcohol consumption weakens the immune system. As a result, our bodies become prone to all types of infections caused by microbes.

A similar has been seen with cases of pneumonia in which people with alcoholism become ill quickly and take longer to get well again. According to the experts, alcoholic beverages should be limited to one serving for women and two serving for men per day.

Exceeding this amount can severely affect your immune system and thus lead the way towards getting pneumonia. Therefore, alcohol should be discontinued in an effort for preventing pneumonia.

5.      Quit Smoking

According to a study published in Tobacco Induced Diseases (TID), the likelihood of getting pneumonia in smokers is 3.7 times more than that in non-smokers. This can be understood like this: every 5.1 non-smokers out of 100000 are at risk of getting pneumonia. For smokers, this number increases to 16.3.

This is because cigarette smoke reduces the ability of our immune system to fight germs. As the immunity is lowered, antibodies are not produced at the normal rate. Subsequently, when the pneumonia-causing microorganisms enter the body, they find no resistance and spread quickly in the lungs to cause the disease.

Smokers also have damaged respiratory cells which can result in inflamed inner linings of the air passageway. This way, the breathing process is already labored and is further worsened due to the occurrence of pneumonia.

In addition, smokers also have a reduced sensitivity to coughing. Being a defensive mechanism, coughing pushes the mucus out of the respiratory tract and also forces some of the microbes to come out with it. It not only makes the air passageway free from sputum but also allows the physicians to take a sample of this phlegm and detect the causative agent present in it.

6.      Get Treatment for Cold and Other Respiratory Infections

If you are already suffering from a cold, it is best to start home-based remedies immediately. These include:

• Drinking enough water and staying hydrated. This will help loosen the congested chest. You can also add honey to warm water with lemon or tea. In addition, drinking bone broth is also helpful.
• Taking vitamin C from citrus fruits or supplementation. This can boost your immune system.
• Taking zinc which is also essential for the proper functioning of the immune system. It is best to take zinc within the first 24 to 48 hours of getting infected.
• Taking a hot shower or warm bath also relieves congestion.
• Using oils such as coconut oil, eucalyptus oil, as well as beeswax can help reduce the symptoms of cold.

If these home-based remedies do not help, you should visit a healthcare provider to get a prescription for antibiotics. Doing so can prevent the occurrence of pneumonia as colds often lead to further severe infections. If you have the following symptoms after several weeks of cold, it might indicate the presence of pneumonia:

• Fever
• Shaking
• Sweating
• Chills
• Troubled breathing
• Shallow breathing
• Reduces appetite
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Confusion
• Shortness of breath
• Bluish tint in lips or nails

7.      Shift towards a Healthier Lifestyle

As for fighting or preventing pneumonia or any other disease, our body needs to be in a state where it can attack the invading disease-causing microbes and kill them. This is only possible if our immune system is well-maintained and fully functional.

If you are already there, you should strive to maintain your health. If not, here are some of the simple tips you can follow to maximize the performance of your immune system:

• Eat a balanced diet based on nutritious foods
• Get 6 to 8 hours of quality sleep every night
• Exercise regularly
• Eliminate stress and learn to stay relaxed and calm
• Maintain oral hygiene (You can use antiseptics such as chlorhexidine or coconut oil as a natural alternative)
• Minimize your exposure to pollutants or harmful chemical agents

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Bottom Line

Pneumonia is a respiratory infection that can affect either one or both lungs (double pneumonia). This is a condition that causes the patient to suffer while breathing as the process becomes labored and difficult. The alveoli are filled with fluid or pus and thus prevent oxygenation.

Although some home-based remedies, antibiotic courses, as well as hospitalization in some cases, can alleviate the disease and the patient becomes fully well, it is best to practice caution so that the infection does not occur.

Some of the top tips for preventing pneumonia include getting vaccinated, practicing hand as well as overall hygiene, wearing masks around pneumonia patients, and making a lifestyle shift towards healthier options. After all, preventing pneumonia and other diseases is far better than curing it.

For purchasing top-quality respiratory care products for managing and preventing pneumonia, reliable vendors like Health Supply 770 should be approached. They ensure the provision of quality products along with satisfactory services.

References

https://www.cdc.gov/pneumococcal/hcp/vaccine-recommendations/index.html

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7398598/

https://www.cdc.gov/pneumonia/prevention/index.html