Pneumonia, or pneumonia, is a serious and very dangerous disease. Inflammation of the lung tissue leads to a violation of oxygen metabolism in the tissues of the body, and the disease in its advanced form can lead to sepsis and other life-threatening conditions.
Since pneumonia is caused by pathogenic microorganisms, means that act directly on the causative agent of the disease are usually used to combat it. Antibiotics are a very important part of the treatment of pneumonia, and the effectiveness of treatment and the patient’s condition in the future depends on the correct choice of drugs.
How do I choose an antibiotic?
The main symptoms of pneumonia are high fever, cough with the discharge of yellow or brown sputum, shortness of breath, general malaise. The doctor listens to the patient’s lungs and, if an inflammatory process is suspected, directs him to X-rays and appropriate tests. Depending on their results and the characteristics of the patient’s body, therapy is prescribed.
As a first aid, antibiotics are prescribed experimentally (the so-called first-line medications), so the patient should go through all the studies as soon as possible, in particular, pass a sputum analysis that will determine the causative agent of the disease.
In about 60% of cases, pneumonia is caused by microorganisms called pneumococci, but in addition, the following agents can provoke the disease:
- streptococci;
- staphylococci;
- hemophilic bacillus;
- chlamydia;
- mycoplasma;
- legionella;
- enterobacteria;
- klebsiella;
- escherichia;
- fungi of the genus Candida.
What is pneumonia?
Each of the above types of bacteria has a sensitivity to a certain substance, that is, for maximum effectiveness of therapy, it is very important to determine the root cause of the disease.
On average, treatment lasts from 7 to 10 days, depending on the age and condition of the person, as well as the characteristics of the course of the disease.
It is strictly not recommended to take antibiotics on your own, since they will not only not give the desired effect, but can also cause serious harm to the body.
Basic rules for prescribing antibiotics
As with any other medical drugs, antibiotic therapy should be carried out in accordance with a number of rules. Order antibiotics at the best price!
- For pneumonia, a combination of several drugs (2-3 names) is usually used.
- First-line antibiotics, that is, those that were prescribed before the pathogen was detected, should be taken regularly so that the appropriate dosage of the active substance is maintained in the blood.
- After conducting the necessary studies, you should start taking the latest generation of drugs.
- With the symptoms of atypical pneumonia caused by chlamydia, legionella, mycoplasma, etc., the use of antibacterial drugs is necessary.
- A severe stage of pneumonia, in addition to drug therapy, requires oxygen inhalation and other similar measures.
- Antibiotics for pneumonia are usually administered to patients intramuscularly or orally (most of the new generation drugs are available in the form of tablets), and for complex forms of the disease and to achieve a quick effect, drugs can be administered intravenously.
Statistics of patients with pneumonia
With pneumonia, it is possible to use folk remedies, but it is not worth giving up traditional medicine. In addition, it is necessary to strictly monitor the patient’s condition and monitor possible allergic reactions.
General recommendations for patients
When treating pneumonia, patients should adhere to bed rest, consume a lot of fluids and adhere to a diet (light soups, vegetables, fruits, dairy products). In the absence of a high temperature, you can do breathing exercises, chest and back massage – this will facilitate the dilution and discharge of sputum.
To prevent the reproduction of harmful microorganisms, wet cleaning should be carried out regularly in the room where the patient is located. The humidity in the room (especially in the acute period of the disease) should be 50-60%.
Since pneumonia is often associated with a decrease in immunity, and antibiotic therapy can also negatively affect the patient’s immune system, treatment should be combined with taking vitamin complexes.
Modern antibiotics
Depending on the type of pathogen, the treatment of pneumonia can be carried out according to certain schemes with the use of the following modern antibacterial drugs:
- In the event that the predominance of fungal infection is detected, a combination of cephalosporins of the 3rd generation with drugs based on fluconazole is recommended.
- Pneumocystic pneumonia is eliminated using macrolides and cotrimoxazole.
- To eliminate gram-positive pathogens, staphylococcal and enterococcal infections, the use of cephalosporins of the 4th generation is recommended.
- In case of atypical pneumonia, it is advisable to use cephalosporins of the 3rd generation, as well as macrolides.
- If the results of bacteriological studies indicate the predominance of gram-positive coccal infection, the use of cephalosporins is recommended: cephalosporin, cefoxime, cefuroxime.
Combination of antibiotics
Combined antibiotic therapy with the use of several medications at once is advisable in cases where it was not possible to identify the exact causative agent of the development of the disease.
The duration of treatment can be up to 2 weeks, during which the doctor may decide to replace one antibiotic with another.
Doctors use medicines that have the ability to affect the growth and vital activity of both gram-positive and gram-negative pathogenic microorganisms.
Use injections of such combinations:
- Aminoglycosides with cephalosporins.
- Penicillins with aminoglycosides.
- With a severe course of the disease, a drip or intravenous infusion of medicines is required.
If there is a normalization of body temperature and leukocyte counts in blood plasma, a day later the patient is transferred to oral administration of an antibiotic, the use of which is discontinued after 5-7 days.
Is there a better antibiotic?
There is no such thing as the best antibiotic for pneumonia. It all depends on the form of the disease, its pathogen, the results of bacteriological studies of sputum, the individual characteristics of the patient’s body.
After reading the information about what antibiotics are used to treat pneumonia, it is recommended to refrain from using them independently.
At the first signs of the disease, you should seek help from qualified medical professionals.
Self-treatment threatens to lack the proper effect with the subsequent development of serious complications and death. Modern antibiotics
Depending on the type of pathogen, the treatment of pneumonia can be carried out according to certain schemes with the use of the following modern antibacterial drugs:
- In the event that the predominance of fungal infection is detected, a combination of cephalosporins of the 3rd generation with drugs based on fluconazole is recommended.
- Pneumocystic pneumonia is eliminated using macrolides and cotrimoxazole.
- To eliminate gram-positive pathogens, staphylococcal and enterococcal infections, the use of cephalosporins of the 4th generation is recommended.
- In case of atypical pneumonia, it is advisable to use cephalosporins of the 3rd generation, as well as macrolides.
- If the results of bacteriological studies indicate the predominance of gram-positive coccal infection, the use of cephalosporins is recommended: cephalosporin, cefoxime, cefuroxime.