Living with White Lung Pneumonia:

Tips for Managing Symptoms and Improving Lung Health

In the winter of 2023, a rare respiratory illness was reported in multiple patients, especially children, first in China and then in Ohio, United States. All of these patients tested positive for pneumonia but also displayed white patches on their chest X-rays. This was new to the experts as pneumonia generally does not cause such indications. Hence, the disease was named “White Lung Pneumonia”.

But what exactly is white lung pneumonia, and how does it differ from pneumonia? Let us address some of these questions in the following article.

What is White Lung Pneumonia?

White lung pneumonia or white lung syndrome is itself not a disease. Rather, it is the non-official term used for pneumonia that can be seen as white patches on the chest X-ray. These white patches are an indication of denser tissue of the lungs, a state caused by the fighting between pneumonia-causing bacteria and our body’s white blood cells.

What are the White Patches in White Lung Pneumonia?

To explain it further, let us put it this way. Our lungs have a large number of air-filled sacs called alveoli which are responsible for gaseous exchange i.e. taking in oxygen from the air and getting out carbon dioxide.

When a causative agent of bacterial pneumonia (Mycoplasma bacteria in this case) enters our lungs, it attacks these alveoli and causes lung inflammation. As a result, pus and other fluids start filling up in them. The alveoli thus become denser and appear as white sacs or patches when a lung X-ray is performed. This respiratory infection affects one or both lungs.

What Causes White Lung Pneumonia?

Unlike pneumonia which can be caused by a dozen bacteria, respiratory viruses, or fungal entities, the causative agent of white lung pneumonia is a bacterium known as Mycoplasma pneumoniae. The bacteria belonging to this species remain unaffected by most antibiotics.

What are the symptoms of White Lung Pneumonia?

White lung pneumonia has most symptoms just like those that occur in viral pneumonia as well as in other respiratory infections. However, it might display some distinct ones as well. The symptoms of white lung pneumonia include the following:

• Runny nose
• Stuffy nose
• Sore throat
• Extreme and persistent cough with phlegm, sputum, or mucus
• Yellow or greenish appearance of mucus
• Bloody discharge in the mucus
• Chills
• Shaking
• Fever
• Fatigue
• Sharp chest pain
• Shortness of breath
• Sweating
• Increased breathing rate
• Low energy levels
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Confusion
• Loss of appetite
• Headache

Person-to-Person Transmission of Respiratory Infections

Like almost all forms of pneumonia, it varies depending upon the agent causing it. White lung pneumonia is also contagious. It spreads from one person to another when a healthy individual inhales the minuscule droplets from the air which are released when an infected person coughs, sneezes, talks, or even breathes.

Management of White Lung Pneumonia Symptoms

If you are positive for white lung pneumonia, take the following measures to manage your symptoms:

Take Steam Therapy

For a stuffed or runny nose, take a warm shower or inhale steam. This helps clear the sinuses and relieve congested airways. You can also use a humidifier for this purpose.

Increase Fluid Intake

Drinking a lot of fluids or simply water can also help manage dehydration. Being hydrated helps the pneumonia patients with dryness they feel after frequent bouts of coughing.

Take Proper Rest

Take rest as it will help with confusion and shaking.

Use OTC Medications

For chills and fever, using over-the-counter or OTC drugs is your best option. You can take ibuprofen (Advil), aspirin, or acetaminophen (Tylenol). In addition to reducing fever, these also manage body aches, muscle aches, as well as headaches.

Use Oxygen Therapy

Take oxygen therapy to increase the oxygenation in your blood. People dealing with pneumonia often have a bluish appearance on their nails and lips because of poor oxygenation. Here, oxygen therapy comes to the rescue.

Avoid Smoking

Avoid smoking or inhaling secondhand smoke as it can worsen cough and leave you breathless.

How to Prevent White Lung Pneumonia?

To protect yourself from white lung pneumonia as well as many other seasonal respiratory illnesses, adopting the following preventative measures is necessary:

• Wash your hands regularly. For this purpose, use soap and clean water. If these are not available, using a hand wash or hand sanitizer can also help fight the germs.

In this regard, using GOJO Purell Gel-Based Hand Sanitizers is a great option. These stick on the hands for longer and kill up to 99% of the germs within no time. Their active ingredient is ethyl alcohol. Similarly, a good quality hand wash is VioNexus Antiseptic Hand Rub which is a no-rinse formula and comes in spray form. Order them now by clicking the link given as follows.

• Wear a mask when you are around a pneumonia patient. This will prevent you from inhaling the respiratory droplets that contain the bacterial entities responsible for white lung pneumonia.
• Treat your common cold and flu as these respiratory infections can progress and give way to pneumonia. For this purpose, use antibacterial or antifungal agents depending upon the type of microorganism causing the disease. As for antiviral pneumonia, employ home-based remedies.
• Use over-the-counter (OTC) drugs if you have a fever and body aches along with the common cold and flu. These include ibuprofen (Advil), acetaminophen (Tylenol), as well as aspirin.
• Get vaccinated as currently two pneumonia vaccines are available in the US. These include pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (also known as Prenvar or PCV13) and pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine which is often called Pneumovax or PPSV23.

How to Improve Lung Health?

Pneumonia, as well as other respiratory illnesses, can be avoided if you have healthy lung tissue. As most of us live in cities that have extremely high levels of air pollution, it becomes mandatory to take care of our lung health by practicing the following simple steps:

“Every day, we take approximately 23,000 breaths.”

1.      Adopt Hygienic Practices

First and foremost, it is necessary to practice good hygiene. You should make a habit of washing your hands after coming home, using the restroom, as well as before and after meals. The duration of washing should not be less than 20 seconds. You should also rinse your hands with clean water. In places where soap is not available, keep a good quality hand wash or hand sanitizer in your bag. According to the studies, you can reduce the risk of respiratory illnesses by 25% by practicing hand hygiene.

2.      Start Deep Breathing Exercises

Taking deep breaths allows the oxygen to reach the deeper tissues of the lungs. This helps in increasing both strength as well as endurance of your lung tissue. As a result, the lungs can take in larger amounts of air which then brings more oxygen into the body. Similarly, exhalation capacity is also elevated which helps release maximum percentages of carbon dioxide out of the body.

3.      Improve Air Quality

The air we breathe in is not the same as what people used to breathe a century ago. Since the industrialization of our society, massive amounts of pollutants have been added to the environment on a daily basis. These pollutants include both primary and secondary agents many of which are irritant to the lungs and even carcinogenic i.e. cancer-causing.

Similarly, household chemicals also add to the poor quality of the air. Therefore, it is necessary to improve your air quality indoors so that your body gets clean air most of the time. For this purpose, clean your home thoroughly, remove any dust that is trapped in corners or edges of your room or furniture, as well as minimize the use of scents and chemicals.

In addition, invest in good quality air purifiers that keep cleaning the air by removing the harmful agents from it.

4.      Minimize Exposure to Air Pollutants

No matter how much you keep your indoors clean, you are still likely to inhale pollutants as going out for work or running errands is unavoidable. The best thing you can do to minimize your exposure is to wear a mask. By doing so, most of the pollutants as well as infectious agents will be filtered out from the air you are inhaling.

5.      Get Vaccinated for Respiratory Illnesses

Another way to keep your lungs healthy is to get vaccinated for respiratory illnesses. This reduces the frequency of overall illnesses per year which in turn keeps the lungs in good shape.

The vaccines which are available include those for pneumonia as mentioned above, COVID-19, as well as RSV. Consult your healthcare provider to get the necessary shots.

6.      Quit Smoking

When we smoke, our lungs keep trapping the harmful chemicals present in tobacco smoke. These chemicals turn our lungs black and less functional than a healthy pair of lungs.

To improve the health of your lungs, it is essential to quit smoking. In addition, you also need to avoid secondhand or passive smoking as it is equally, if not more, dangerous.

7.      Schedule Annual Check-Ups

In addition to taking the above-mentioned measures, it is also a good habit to get your lungs checked on an annual basis. These regular check-ups allow an early identification of any sort of lung disease that your body might be harboring. Resultantly, an early diagnosis will lead to a timely onset of treatment which can save you much trouble later.

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Bottom Line

At the end of last year, many new cases of respiratory illnesses were reported all over the world. Some of these had been caused by supposedly ‘new microbial agents’. One such disease is white lung pneumonia, a lung condition characterized by the appearance of white patches on chest X-rays.

At that time, people believed it to be something new but, as a matter of fact, white lung pneumonia is just a form of pneumonia which is caused by a bacterial species known as Mycoplasma pneumoniae which causes the alveolar tissue to swell and fill up with pus thus becoming denser than usual. This dense tissue appears as white patches.

Hence, white lung pneumonia is neither a new disease nor the worst form of pneumonia. It is preventable as well as treatable. For purchasing top-quality medical products, reliable vendors like Health Supply 770 should be approached. They ensure the provision of quality products along with satisfactory services.

References

https://globalhandwashing.org/about-handwashing/why-handwashing/health/#_edn7