Medications to treat pneumonia in adults are often prescribed based on the cause of the infection along with medications to help relieve symptoms. Let’s find out more!
Pneumonia is a lung infection caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi that causes inflammation and fluid, even pus, in the alveoli of the lungs. Pneumonia often makes people have difficulty breathing, accompanied by symptoms of fever, coughing up yellow or green phlegm, or coughing up blood. The disease can cause a number of serious complications such as sepsis, lung abscess, pleural effusion, respiratory failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and multi-organ failure.
Treatment will depend on the cause and severity of the disease. The goal of treatment is to stop the infection and prevent possible complications.
3 drugs to treat pneumonia in adults
Based on the cause of pneumonia, the doctor will choose the appropriate treatment medication to destroy the pathogen. However, in many cases where the cause cannot be determined, the prescribed pneumonia medications will focus on treatment to reduce symptoms and prevent the disease from getting worse. Medicines to treat pneumonia in adults include:
Antibiotics, antivirals or antifungals
In mild to moderate cases of pneumonia, patients can be prescribed medication and recover at home without needing to be hospitalized. After diagnosing the cause of the disease, the doctor will prescribe appropriate medication to treat pneumonia in adults, specifically as follows:
- Antibiotics are used for cases of pneumonia caused by bacteria. It can take time to determine the type of bacteria causing pneumonia and choose the best antibiotic to treat it. If your symptoms do not improve, your doctor may recommend a different antibiotic. Hospital-acquired pneumonia and ventilator-associated pneumonia need to be treated with antibiotics as soon as possible (within the first hour if accompanied by septic shock). Initially, the doctor will prescribe an empirical treatment regimen for pneumonia in adults with antibiotics and then adjust the medication after obtaining the results of bacterial and antibiogram tests.
- Antiviral drugs treat pneumonia caused by viral infections. Viral pneumonia usually does not require treatment with antiviral drugs and can go away on its own. However, doctors can prescribe a group of antiviral drugs including oseltamivir, zanamivir, peramivir… to reduce the duration of the disease and the severity of symptoms.
- Antifungal medications can help treat pneumonia caused by fungal infections.
Pneumonia medicine helps relieve coughs
Cough medications are also prescribed to treat pneumonia in adults to relieve coughs and help you feel more comfortable. In fact, coughing is a natural reflex of the body to expel mucus from the lungs. Therefore, coughing should not be stopped completely.
Also, you should know that very few studies have looked at whether over-the-counter cough medications reduce coughs caused by pneumonia.
Medicines to treat pneumonia in adults: Antipyretics and pain relievers
Common fever-reducing and pain-relieving drugs such as paracetamol and ibuprofen also help patients reduce the discomfort caused by fever and body aches when suffering from pneumonia.
In addition, you should also apply the following home treatments to help the disease heal quickly:
- Drink plenty of water to thin phlegm.
- Take hot baths and use a humidifier to help keep your airways open and make it easier to breathe.
- Stay away from cigarette smoke so your lungs have time to heal themselves.
In cases of severe pneumonia, there are many risk factors such as advanced age (over 65 years old), impaired kidney function, low blood pressure, rapid breathing, heart rate too low or too high, cases requiring respiratory support ,… you need to be hospitalized for treatment and may receive intravenous fluids and antibiotics. Oxygen therapy is also prescribed to increase the amount of oxygen in the blood, sometimes even requiring a ventilator.
Notes when using drugs to treat pneumonia in adults
The time to recover from pneumonia can be quick or long depending on the severity of the disease, the cause of the disease, age, health status, and other comorbidities. Most people still feel tired after about a month. Therefore, you need to rest as much as possible, even after treatment, to fully recover and avoid relapse.
Note that when using antibiotics to treat pneumonia in adults, the medication period usually lasts 7 days. However, treatment time can be longer up to 15-21 days depending on the type of bacteria causing the disease and the patient’s condition. You need to follow the treatment exactly as prescribed by your doctor, taking the full dose of medicine for the full day even if you no longer have symptoms to avoid antibiotic resistance.
When treating hospital-acquired pneumonia or ventilator-associated pneumonia, the patient also needs comprehensive treatment including intensive resuscitation, treatment of complications, respiratory care, treatment of comorbidities, nutrition, and prevention. prevent thrombosis…
