Pneumonia is an infection that causes inflammation in the air sacs (called alveoli) of one or both lungs. This infection can be caused by a variety of organisms. Some pneumonia are caused by bacteria, some by viruses (like the current scourge, SARS Cov2, aka CoViD-19), and some by fungi.
As an effect of the infection, the air sacs may fill with fluid or pus. The filling of the air sacs in turn causes some of the most obvious signs and symptoms of pneumonia. However, there are some signs and symptoms of pneumonia that are not as obvious, and might sometimes be dismissed as a different minor illness, when it is actually already a warning of a much more serious condition. In fact, there are cases when people have pneumonia so mild that they do not even know they have it because the signs and symptoms are so unnoticeable. Indeed, pneumonia ranges in severity from the very mild to the life-threatening.
So, what are the signs and symptoms of pneumonia? And just as important, are you at risk of catching it?
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