Your health should always be your greatest priority! Staying healthy by eating well, washing your hands and avoiding sick individuals offers you the best chance of avoiding illness. However, even if you do all of that, you always run the risk of getting sick.

While many illnesses are just minor nuisances and will go away on their own with time, pneumonia needs to be addressed carefully. It can turn into a dangerous situation relatively quickly, so knowing what to look for is crucial.

Our AFC Urgent Care Memphis team explains the signs of a serious pneumonia infection below, so check it out.

What Is Pneumonia?

Just like many other infections, pneumonia is an infection that spreads through air droplets. If an infected person coughs or sneezes and you breathe it in, you can become infected with it. Pneumonia affects the alveoli in your lungs, which help transport oxygen and carbon dioxide through your blood. The fluid buildup caused by pneumonia can make it harder to take a full breath since your alveoli can’t function the way they need to.

If you are infected, you can either feel your symptoms appear within 24 to 48 hours of exposure, or it can be a gradual process over several days. Oftentimes, a deep cough is one of the first signs, followed by a fever and general body aches.

Additional Signs of Pneumonia

• Difficulty taking a full breath
• Deep cough with clear or green mucus
• Chest tightness
• Fever
• General unwell feeling

Is Pneumonia Dangerous?

It can be! In most otherwise healthy adults, it usually stays mild and sufferers make a full recovery in about two to four weeks. For infants, children and people over age 65, it can be a more serious infection that leads to dangerous complications.

If you fall into one of these categories, keep a close eye on your symptoms. A worsening infection could lead to it spreading elsewhere throughout your body. If that happens, it can cause something called “bacteremia,” which is where the infection makes its way to your bloodstream. This is a serious complication that needs to be addressed by a medical team right away.

Warning Signs of a Severe Pneumonia Infection

• High fever that lasts for days
• Chest pain
• Blood in your mucus
• Fatigue and confusion

Do you have a concerning cough? Stop by AFC Urgent Care Memphis today.