PATCHS PROGRAM PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING ADVOCATES TEACHING CHILD HEALTH AND SAFETY HEALTH CARE PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE (HCPCFC)
Volume 1, Issue 18		OCTOBER 2004

Medical Information Fact Sheet

Pneumonia & Influenza:

Pneumonia is a serious infection or inflammation of the lungs. The air sacs in the lungs fill with pus and other liquid. Oxygen then cannot reach your blood. If there is too little oxygen in the blood, then body cells cannot work properly. Because of this and spreading infection through the body, pneumonia can cause death.

Causes:

Pneumonia is not a single disease. It can have over 30 causes. There are five main causes: bacteria, viruses, mycoplasmas, other infectious agents including fungi and various chemicals. About 50% of all pneumonias are caused by viruses. Streptococcus pneumoniae, also known as pneumococcal pneumonia, is the most common cause of bacterial pneumonia. It is one form of pneumonia for which there is a vaccine. Most cases of pneumonia are caused by either a virus or bacteria.

Symptoms:

Viral pneumonia symptoms are the same as influenza: fever, dry cough, headache, muscle pain and weakness. Within 12-36 hours, breathlessness increases; the cough may become worse and produce a small amount of mucus. There is a high fever and there may be blueness of the lips.
Bacterial pneumonia symptoms can vary from sudden to severe. In the most severe cases the patient may experience shaking chills, chattering teeth, severe chest pain, and a cough that produces rust-colored or greenish mucus. The person may have a high fever, sweat profusely, and have increased breathing and pulse rates. Lips and nailbeds may have a bluish color due to lack of oxygen. Patient’s mental state may be confused and delirious.
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Treatment:

If you develop pneumonia the chances of a fast recovery are greatest under certain conditions: if you’re young, if the pneumonia is caught early, your immune system is working well, if the infection has not spread, and if you are not suffering from other illnesses.

In the young and healthy, early treatment with antibiotics can cure bacterial pneumonia. There is not yet a general treatment for viral pneumonia, although antivirals are used for certain kinds. Most people can be treated at home. Besides antibiotics, patients are given supportive treatment: proper diet and oxygen to increase oxygen in the blood. Some patients may need medications to ease chest pain and provide relief from violent coughs. Adequate rest is vital to recovery.

Prevention:

Because pneumonia is often a complication of the flu it is important to get a flu shot every fall. A vaccine is also available to help fight one type of bacterial pneumonia, pneumococcal pneumonia. It is usually only given to those at high risk.
The most important preventative measure is to be alert to any symptoms of respiratory trouble that linger more than a few days. Good health habits, proper diet and hygiene, rest, exercise can help to increase resistance to respiratory infections. They also help promote fast recovery when illness occurs.

If you have symptoms of pneumonia:

• Contact your physician immediately. Early diagnosis and treatment are important in addition to antibiotics if used.
• Follow doctor’s advice. The doctor may advise a hospital stay or treatment at home.
• Continue to take the medication prescribed until you are told to stop. This will prevent recurrence and relapse.
• Even though pneumonia can be treated, it is an extremely serious illness, get treatment early.

Influenza (Flu):

Influenza, or flu, is a respiratory infection caused by a variety of flu viruses. The flu differs in several ways from the common cold, a respiratory infection also caused by viruses. For example, people with a cold rarely get fevers or headaches or suffer from the extreme exhaustion that flu viruses cause. The flu season typically last from November to March.

Transmission:

You can get the flu if someone around you with the flu coughs or sneezes. You can get the flu simply by touching a surface like a telephone or door knob that has been contaminated by a touch from someone who has the flu. The viruses can pass though the air and enter the body through the nose and mouth. If you have touched a contaminated surface, they can pass from your hand to your nose or mouth.

Symptoms:

If you get infected from the flu virus, you will usually feel symptoms 1-4 days later. You can spread the flu to others before your symptoms start and for another 3-4 days after symptoms appear. The symptoms start very quickly and may include:

• Headache
• Chills
• Dry cough
• Body aches
• Fever
• Stuffy nose
• Sore throat

Typically, the fever begins to decline on the 2nd or 3rd day of the illness. The flu almost never causes symptoms in the stomach or the intestines. The illness that people sometimes call the “stomach flu” is not influenza.

Diagnosis:

Usually, health care providers diagnose the flu based on whether it is an epidemic in the community and whether the patient’s complaints fit the current pattern. Health care providers rarely use lab tests to identify the virus during an epidemic. Health officials, however, monitor certain US health clinics and do laboratory tests to determine which type of flu is responsible for the epidemic.

Prevention:

The main way to keep from getting the flu is to get a yearly flu vaccine. You can get the vaccine at your doctor’s office or a local clinic. You must get the vaccine every year because it changes based on the virus they believe to be causing the flu that year.

Vaccination should occur about 6-8 weeks prior to flu season which begins about November. At times there are flu vaccine shortages. In this case then only those with the highest risk will be vaccinated. This includes infants and small children, and the elderly.

Treatment:

Many people treat their flu infections by simply

• Resting in bed
• Drinking plenty of fluids
• Taking over the counter medications such as aspirin and Tylenol

Do not give aspirin to children and adolescents who have the flu.
Do not take antibiotics to treat the flu because they do not work on viruses.

Complications:

You can have flu complications if you get a bacterial infection, which can cause pneumonia in your weakened lungs. Pneumonia can also be caused by the flu virus itself. Complications usually appear after you start to feel better. After a brief period of improvement, you may suddenly get symptoms including high fever, shaking chills, chest pain which each breath, coughing that produces thick, yellow-greenish-colored mucus. Again pneumonia is a serious and potentially life threatening illness. If you have any of these symptoms, contact your health care provider immediately.

Children may experience complications including seizures caused by the fever, croup or ear infections. Children who take aspirin to treat the flu may experience a condition known as Reye’s syndrome. This is why children and adolescents should never be given aspirin.

References
American Lung Association. (2002, October). Pneumonia. Retrieved on October 4, 2004 from the World Wide Web: www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=35691
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (2004, April). Flu. Retrieved on July7, 2004 from the World Wide Web: www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheeets/flu.htm

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HCPCFC PROGRAM UPDATES and ANNOUNCEMENTS!!! We would like to welcome Emeka Nwaneri to the Health Care Program for Children in Foster Care (HCPCFC). He will be covering the Metro Region and Group Home Unit. Welcome!!!!

 

Editor: Kristen Thompson, PHN, and Nicole Boyd, PHN
Contributors: Michelle Haynes, PHN, MBA, Interim Assistant Nurse Manager and Judy Earp, MHA, Director of Public Health Nursing.