Serious coughs: Pneumonia

The following serious illnesses associated with coughing require immediate medical treatment.

This serious inflammation of lung tissue, especially the alveoli or small air sacs, remains a serious disease in under-developed countries, where malnutrition is prevalent, when it affects the young and other immune-compromised individuals. The cause is mainly bacterial, viral, fungal or parasitic, and often follows upper respiratory infection.

Identifying the cough

• Fever with shaking chills
• Productive cough
• Difficult breathing and chest pain
• Lethargy
• Loss of appetite and lack of fever are not unknown either.
• Blue tinging
• Diarrhoea and confusion are symptoms associated with some types of pneumonia, and indicate a need for emergency treatment.
• Infants of less than two months may not cough. X-ray examination and listening for the typical breathing sounds of pneumonia will usually confirm diagnosis, while sputum cultures will determine the cause.

Serious coughs: Cystic Fibrosis (CF)


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