When the weather begins to cool down, walking pneumonia cases go up. This is because the bacteria that cause this lung infection can easily be spread from one individual to another when people spend more time indoors. Here’s what you should know about walking pneumonia.

What’s Walking Pneumonia?

Walking pneumonia is also known as atypical pneumonia. It’s simply a mild form of lung infection and is common among children aged five to 15 years and adults younger than 40 years. The symptoms of this infection may be similar to those of other respiratory infections. That means you could be suffering from walking pneumonia and you’re not aware.

There are many types of pneumonia, and atypical pneumonia is among the least serious types. Its symptoms are mild, and in most cases, don’t require a hospital visit or bed rest. Your doctor may diagnose walking pneumonia after a chest X-ray or physical examination.

In all pneumonia types, an X-ray would indicate the affected part of your lung. However, if you have atypical pneumonia, the x-ray will indicate that the affected areas are patches that appear to be spread out. Another difference between pneumonia and atypical pneumonia lies in the symptoms you experience. For instance, pneumonia patients experience high fever (101-105 F), and their cough may be filled with phlegm.

Is it Contagious?

Walking pneumonia can easily spread through coughs and sneezes. However, it spreads slowly. When you are infected, you’ll be contagious (you can spread to other individuals) for about 10 days. Medical researchers believe that it takes very close contact with a walking pneumonia patient to catch it. Still, there are higher walking pneumonia or outbreaks every four to eight years.

Symptoms of Walking Pneumonia

You’re likely to start experiencing some symptoms 15-25 days after exposure to Mycoplasma (a bacterium that causes this illness) and worsen over two to four days. Some of the common symptoms include;

• Tiredness
• Sore throat
• Headache
• Chest pain, especially when you take a deep breath
• Weakness that outlasts other symptoms listed
• Fever, chills, and other flu-like symptoms
• A cough with violent spasms

Some individuals with walking pneumonia are likely to have a skin rash, an ear infection, and anemia. Others won’t need to stay in bed or visit a hospital. Instead, they’re likely to feel better over time, go to work, and maintain their routine. This is particularly true when their symptoms are almost similar to those of the common cold.

Bottom Line

Walking pneumonia is a common lung infection with mild symptoms. If you have this infection, you may have noticed some of the symptoms mentioned. Talk to your physician. He or she can prescribe the right medication to speed up your recovery. Also, early diagnosis and treatment can prevent walking pneumonia from progressing to a serious type of pneumonia.