How Do You Get Walking Pneumonia

how do you get walking pneumonia

As we have discussed here, walking pneumonia is a mild form of pneumonia. People with walking pneumonia usually are not sick enough, do not need hospitalization, and still can walk around. Walking pneumonia tends to be under reported because when you see a doctor, you just look fine so the doctor does not ask you to get a chest X-ray, which is the only way to diagnose any kind of pneumonia especially walking pneumonia.

Walking pneumonia is an informal term for atypical pneumonia,or pneumonia that caused by Mycoplasma pneumonia infection. This disease most often happens to young adults and older children.

How do you get walking pneumonia?

• Mycoplasma infections are not seasonal, they occur throughout the year. In a large community, walking pneumonia outbreaks can also occur. It happens mostly in fall and late summer.
• Mycoplasma infections transmit through droplets from the nose and throat when infected people cough and sneeze. Close contact in families, schools, boarding house, and institutions happens via close contact. The incubation period is approximately less than 10 days and sometimes can be longer.
• After exposure with infected droplet, symptoms of walking pneumonia begin at 2-3 weeks. The symptoms are:
• Mild fever
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Flu like symptoms: headache, tiredness
• Bronchitis
• Occasionally ear infections (otitis media)

Diagnosis 

Walking pneumonia can be diagnosed through these ways:

1. Typical symptoms, as listed above
2. Chest X-ray
3. Blood test, to differ it from other infections

Treatment

Walking pneumonia usually does not need any treatment with antibiotic because it can spontaneously resolved. If the infections symptoms are persistent, there are some effective antibiotics such as:

• Erythromycin
• Clarithromycin
• Azithromycin

Prevention

The only way to prevent from being infected by this disease is applying hand hygiene and cough etiquette.