SOME SYMPTOMS MAY BE SEVERE AND SOME MAY LAST FOR WEEKS.
Pneumococcal pneumonia can come on quickly and symptoms can appear suddenly. It can take weeks before you feel like yourself again.1,2
Symptoms can include:1-3
- High fever
- Excessive sweating
- Shaking chills
- Fatigue that makes it hard to get through the day
- Difficulty breathing
- Chest pain
- Cough with phlegm that persists or gets worse
Signs and symptoms in older adults
The common symptoms of pneumonia such as fever, cough and chills don't always appear in older and frail people. Warning signs can be quite non-specific making it difficult to diagnose.5
Symptoms in older and frail people include:
- Confusion or worsening confusion
- Falls
- Reduced appetite
- Urinary incontinence
- Tiredness
- Rapid breathing
Risk for hospitalisation increases with age.
That's because the immune system weakens due to aging, making it harder to fight off infections like pneumococcal pneumonia. Even if you're healthy.
Older adults are more than 5x as likely to be hospitalised with pneumonia as younger adults.4
True or False?
Your immune system weakens as you age, putting you at higher risk for pneumococcal pneumonia.
True
False
True
It's true, your immune system does weaken with age.
That may put you at higher risk for pneumococcal pneumonia. You may also be at higher risk if you are living with chronic health conditions like asthma, chronic lung disease, heart disease, or diabetes, among others.
False
The fact is, your immune system does weaken with age.
That may put you at higher risk for pneumococcal pneumonia. You may also be at higher risk if you are living with chronic health conditions like asthma, chronic lung disease, heart disease, or diabetes, among others.
References
- Pneumonia. Health Direct. Pneumonia - causes, symptoms and treatments | healthdirect Accessed Sep 8, 2023.
- Goldblatt D, O’Brien KL. Pneumococcal Infections. Chpt 141 In: Jameson J, Fauci AS, Kasper DL, et al. eds. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 20e New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Accessed June 11, 2020.
- Pneumonia. Lung Foundation Australia. Pneumonia - Lung Foundation Australia Accessed Sep 8, 2023.
- Patel C et al. Commun Dis Intell (2018) 2022;46. doi: https://doi.org/10.33321/cdi.2022.46.28.
- Faverio P, Aliberti S, Bellelli G, et al. The management of community-acquired pneumonia in the elderly. Eur J Intern Med. 2014 April ; 25(4): 312–319.