Early Signs of Pneumonia
In most cases of pneumonia the disease is readily recognized. There is often a preceding cold, but the onset of the pneumonia is usually abrupt, with sharp pain in the side, fever, a cough, a sense of chilliness or evident chills, and the expectoration of sputum streaked, or tinged, with blood.
Immediate medical and nursing care are vital in pneumonia.
If you should ever have any of these early signs of pneumonia, get promptly into bed and stay there. Have your doctor called without a moment’s delay. You will improve your chance of a quick recovery if you give him the opportunity to determine the cause of your infection before it is many hours old. Remember: the longer the disease exists before treatment is begun, the more difficult it may prove to cure.
Finding the Cause
The exact cause of the inflammation can be determined only by a laboratory examination of specimens of sputum or blood. Fortunately, in most sections of the country, diagnostic services are now readily available.
The kind of germ is determined earliest by examining specimens of sputum.[B] Though the patient may have some difficulty in raising sputum, enough for laboratory needs can almost always be obtained if its importance is explained to him. The expectorated material should come from the lungs, and should be as free as possible from mixture with saliva and nasal secretions. The sputum can be collected in any clean, wide-mouthed bottle, or a cardboard sputum box, and sent without delay to the nearest laboratory. Within a short time a report is returned to your doctor advising him of the findings of the examination. If pneumococci have been found, the special type will be named.
[B] Blood specimens are also of importance in diagnosis of the disease and determining the course of treatment.