Fungal pneumonia is caused by various types of fungi that develop in the lungs and cause inflammation. Before treating the disease, the cause of its occurrence is determined, since the set of therapeutic procedures and drugs used depends on this. Self-treatment may not be beneficial, so you need to go to the doctor’s office.
Symptoms
As a rule, at first, pneumonia of a fungal nature does not have a clear clinical picture. It is characterized by common signs of respiratory diseases: fever, unproductive cough, weakness, and sometimes myalgia. The patient also has intoxication due to the ingestion of waste products of fungi into the bloodstream. Due to inadequate or untimely treatment, abscesses appear in the lungs, and then the symptoms become more pronounced.
Massive human infection with exogenous fungi causes the acute stage of the disease. Chronic appears with small doses of microorganisms, but often entering the lungs. Over time, an excess of connective tissue appears, which causes shortness of breath, hemoptysis and pulmonary hemorrhage. It should be noted that the patient tolerates monoinfection more easily than a combination of various pneumomycosis.
The course of fungal pneumonia has a different clinical picture depending on the causative agent of the disease. Aspergillus pneumonia can be acute or chronic; it has similar symptoms to abscessed pneumonia. The patient suffers from suffocation, chills, profuse sweating, bouts of wet cough, while blood and pus are released along with sputum. Appetite also disappears, due to which the patient feels constant weakness.
Candidal pneumonia causes intoxication, but the body temperature does not rise. In addition, there are symptoms of shortness of breath, coughing, the voice becomes hoarse, and pain is felt in the chest when inhaling. Secondary inflammation causes vomiting and dehydration, cough with purulent and bloody sputum, collapse of lung tissue. Pneumocystis inflammation of fungal etiology is dangerous because it has a latent course. The patient has an increasing lack of oxygen, a paroxysmal dry cough appears. This type of pneumonia is sometimes diagnosed in premature babies: such newborns suffer from negative manifestations of respiratory failure. Despite the sluggish course of the disease, it can become sharply complicated. Research in the field of pathological anatomy have shown that the disease causes structural abnormalities of the lungs.
Causes
The main factor leading to the activation of fungi in the lungs in adults and children is a decrease in immunity. This can be caused by various reasons: unhealthy lifestyle, stress, other illness. It must be remembered that immunity is weakened due to inappropriate intake of antibiotics. For this reason, the use of these funds for self-medication is prohibited.
Diabetes mellitus, HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis and a decrease in the concentration of blood cells significantly undermine human health. A long chronic course of inflammation of the larynx and bronchi, which are of a fungal nature, leads to infection of nearby organs, including the lungs.
In addition, malignant tumors have a strong negative effect on immunity. Radiation and chemotherapy have no less pronounced effect. Often, such a measure leads to the appearance of inflammations of different localization.
Among the causative agents of pneumonia are:
- aspergillosis: enters the lungs with dirty air;
- blastomycosis: dangerous because it is often transferred to other organs;
- coccidioidomycosis: spreads in countries with arid climates;
- candidiasis: the fungus is already in the body, therefore it manifests itself with a decrease in immunity;
- Histoplasmosis: The main mode of spread is through bird droppings.
Fungi can enter the lungs of a person with contaminated air. For example, in old houses with high humidity, microorganisms grow on the walls, in the corners of the rooms. It is dangerous to live or work in such premises, since the risk of fungal pneumonia increases significantly due to the contagious environment.
Diagnostics
Before treating fungal pneumonia, you need to be examined and passed the prescribed tests. First, the therapist takes a history and listens to the patient’s lungs. Then he sends the patient to an appointment with a pulmonologist, where a highly specialized specialist determines a list of diagnostic procedures. As a rule, he prescribes general and serological blood tests, bacterial culture of sputum and its microscopic examination. In severe cases, a lung biopsy is necessary: using a special needle, the affected lung tissue is taken and examined to determine the causative agent of the disease.
Among the methods of hardware diagnostics, X-ray and CT are used. Based on the images, it can be concluded that inflammation is spreading, the presence of an abscess and other pathological formations in the lung.
Therapies
First of all, the patient is prescribed medications:
- Antifungal agents: Ketoconazole, Amphotericin B.
- Antibiotics: they are ineffective against fungi, therefore they are used only for fungal-bacterial inflammation.
- Antiviral drugs: similar to antibiotics, they are prescribed for a mixed type of disease, when a virus joins the fungus.
- Detoxifying agents: necessary to relieve intoxication from the body.
- Antihistamines: are taken when allergic reactions occur: itching, sneezing, swelling.
- Immunomodulators and multivitamins. Essential for maintaining immunity.
It is recommended to use traditional medicine methods , but only as a concomitant therapy at home . To relieve cough syndrome, honey with warm milk and a banana is suitable. Decoctions of medicinal herbs help from inflammation of the mucous membranes. They are also used as solutions for inhalation.
Prophylaxis
In order to prevent the appearance of fungal pneumonia, it is necessary to lead a healthy lifestyle and quit bad habits. Smoking has an extremely negative effect on lung health and significantly slows down the cure. Inhaling fumes is also harmful, so the child must be protected from smoking adults.
An important condition is maintaining cleanliness in the house. Regular cleaning reduces the risk of allergies, fungal growth in the room and subsequent infection.
Proper nutrition plays an important role in maintaining immunity. You need to fully eat and take vitamins in the winter.
Complications
Treat pneumonia recommended immediately when the first symptoms, as it quite easily and quickly causes complications. Pulmonary candidiasis becomes the cause of miliary dissemination – small formations in the paired organ. Lung collapse is also often diagnosed, which leads to hypoxia, headaches and the potential death of brain cells.
A very dangerous consequence of untreated fungal pneumonia is spontaneous pneumothorax – a violation of the integrity of the visceral pleura, due to which air begins to flow into the pleural cavity.
With exudative pleurisy, surgery is necessary to drain the pleural cavity.
Fungal pneumonia should be noticed in time and treated. It is impossible to hesitate with this, since the disease can lead to death. It is impossible to self-medicate, since the patient does not know all the nuances of therapy. To start therapy, you need to consult a doctor and follow his recommendations.