Pay attention to lung health in autumn and winter
November 12 is World Pneumonia Day, and this year’s theme is “Work Together to Prevent Pneumonia and Protect a Healthy Life.” With the recent “cliff-like cooling”, pneumonia has also entered the season of high incidence in autumn and winter. Lai Yanping, director of the Respiratory Department of the Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, said that although pneumonia is not unfamiliar, it is often not taken seriously. Learn more about pneumonia, prevent the occurrence of pneumonia, and protect the health of your family and yourself.
Pneumonia is actually both familiar and unfamiliar to us. I say familiarity because we have just experienced the impact of COVID-19 and have a certain understanding of pneumonia. It’s unfamiliar because the public’s awareness and attention to pneumonia is still insufficient.
Pneumonia is an acute respiratory infection that affects the lungs and is a common disease of the respiratory system. There are many pathogens that cause pneumonia, which are divided into bacterial, viral, mycoplasma, chlamydia, etc. according to the source of infection. Bacterial pneumonia is the most common clinically, and mycoplasma pneumonia has attracted widespread attention in autumn and winter this year. Symptoms of pneumonia include cough, sputum production, loss of appetite, chills, fever, etc., which can easily be confused with a cold. Severe cases may cause chest pain, shortness of breath or difficulty, decreased blood pressure, confusion, etc. The early symptoms of pneumonia are very similar to those of a cold, including fever, mild cough, etc. If there is no symptomatic treatment and you rely on your own experience to treat the disease, it is easy to delay the disease. If you have a persistent cough for more than a week or a fever for more than 3 days, you must pay attention to it and go to the hospital in time. Severe pneumonia can be life-threatening, so you must seek medical treatment promptly.
People with low immunity, especially infants and the elderly; people with chronic diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other chronic lung diseases, diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, liver disease, etc.; people who are bedridden for a long time; people who vomit after being drunk, People who inhale by accident; smokers; and people who live in poor environments for a long time are all susceptible to pneumonia.
Pathogens that cause pneumonia, such as new coronavirus, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, influenza virus, etc., can be spread through respiratory droplets, mucosal contact, etc. However, after the pathogen is transmitted to others, the new infected person may show mild respiratory symptoms or may be asymptomatic, and it may not always cause pneumonia.
Pneumonia is preventable and controllable. To stay away from the invasion of pneumonia, you can start from some details in life to avoid being infected with pneumonia.
First of all, we should maintain a healthy lifestyle, quit smoking, exercise moderately, eat a reasonable diet, have balanced nutrition, get enough sleep, exercise on time, and enhance our immunity. For susceptible groups, such as children and the elderly, they should add or remove clothing at any time when encountering climate change to reduce the chance of catching a cold; they should use hand sanitizer or soap and running water to wash their hands before meals and after using the toilet. Whether at home, school or work, the environment must be kept clean and well-ventilated; during seasons with high incidence of respiratory infectious diseases such as autumn and winter, try to avoid going to places with dense crowds and poor air circulation to reduce contact with sick people. Opportunities of exposure; when going out normally, especially when entering crowded places, you should still wear a mask.
In addition, people at high risk of pneumonia, such as children and the elderly, can be prevented by vaccination. Vaccinations include pneumococcal vaccine and influenza vaccine.
