Walking pneumonia is often referred to as mycoplasma pneumonia or atypical pneumonia. This is a kind of pneumonia that is caused by specific kinds of bacteria. It can also be caused by the haemophilus influenza. It is known as a CAP disease or a community-acquired pneumonia, and can often be worse than hospital-acquired pneumonia, chemical pneumonia, dust pneumonia, eosinophilic pneumonia or aspiration pneumonia. It can be worse because the person acquires the disease at home and often does not take the symptoms seriously. Most people make a mistake by believing that the symptoms are not severe because they can continue to walk; thus the name walking pneumonia. CAP is also the most common kind of pneumonia.

This disease has affected a large section of the population in the past and can be fatal, if not diagnosed and treated in time. In fact, it is the 6th most common cause of death in the US, and the 4th most common in the UK. It is an infectious disease. If the affected person continues to stay at home, the disease is likely to spread quickly. Thus early detection and hospitalization is very important. The disease can easily spread through coughing and sneezing.

Diagnosing Walking Pneumonia

Often it becomes very difficult to properly diagnose this disease because its symptoms are similar to those appearing during other illness. For instance, when a physician performs a physical examination, symptoms of this disease may appear to be similar to those of other respiratory diseases like bronchitis. However, if the doctor suspects the disease to be something other than bronchitis, he or she will prescribe an X-ray. In most cases, this examination can determine whether the person is suffering from walking pneumonia or not.

In severe cases, the physician will ask the patient to undergo tests for a complete blood count, a bronchoscopy, sputum culture, urinalysis, a blood culture and sensitivity as well.

Symptoms Of Walking Pneumonia

Here are some of the most common walking pneumonia symptoms:

• Shortness of breath

• A low-grade fever

• Cough

• Rapid breathing

• Loss of appetite

• Headache

• Diarrhea

• Aches and stiffness in the muscles

• Appearance of some rashes on the skin

• Sometimes there can be an infection in the ear as well.

Some other symptoms include pharyngitis, cephalalgia, a stuffy nose, running nose or both, mild nausea, irritation in the eyes, asthmatic tightening in the chest, pain in the chest, roseola, loose bowels, inflamed lymph nodes and some others.

In the beginning, the affected person might just feel lethargic and fatigued and may not find anything to cause worry. However, as the disease spreads, the person may begin to feel cold and have a running nose and cough. Sometime later, the other symptoms will begin to appear too.

Walking pneumonia should never be taken lightly as this would be a big mistake. The disease affects a lot of people and is among the most common causes of death in the US and in other parts of the world as well.