Tag Archives: pneumonia

The Flu and Pneumonia

When I was growing up, my mother repeatedly warned me about getting pneumonia. “Don’t got outside without a coat, or you’ll get pneumonia,” or “Stay in bed with that cough or you’ll get pneumonia.” While we now know that going outside without a coat won’t make you catch pneumonia (although it can affect some people’s immune systems), she was sort of correct on one point. If you have the flu, you can develop pneumonia. I want to point out that pneumonia is not a bad case of the flu. The flu is a viral infection, separate from pneumonia. Pneumonia is … Continue reading →

Treating Pneumonia at Home

A new study from Boston University reports that treating children who have pneumonia at home can be just as safe and effective as hospital care. Some pneumonia statistics: Pneumonia is the leading killer of children around the world. Pneumonia leads to approximately two million deaths in children under the age of five each year. In countries where hospital care is not readily accessible, treating pneumonia at home with antibiotics has the potential to significantly reduce the number of deaths. The researchers from the Boston University School of Public Health studied just over two thousand children between the ages of three … Continue reading →