Pneumonia Symptoms

Pneumococcal pneumonia may begin suddenly. You may first have a severe shaking chill which is usually followed by:

High fever
Cough
Shortness of breath
Rapid breathing
Chest pains

Nausea
Vomiting
Headache
Tiredness
Muscle aches

Diagnosis

Your health care provider can diagnose pneumonia based on your

Symptoms
Physical exam
Lab tests
Chest x-ray

Other bacteria and germs also can cause pneumonia. Therefore, if you have any of the pneumonia symptoms, you should get diagnosed early and start taking medicine, if appropriate.

Your health care provider can usually diagnose pneumococcal pneumonia by finding S. pneumoniae bacteria in your blood, saliva, or lung fluid.

Treatment

Your health care provider usually will prescribe antibiotics to treat this disease. The symptoms of pneumococcal pneumonia usually go away within 12 to 36 hours after you start taking medicine.

Some bacteria such as S. pneumoniae, however, are now capable of resisting and fighting off antibiotics. Such antibiotic resistance is increasing worldwide because these medicines have been overused or misused. Therefore, if you are at risk of getting pneumococcal pneumonia, you should talk with your health care provider about what you can do to prevent it.