If you or a friend are suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a lung infection can occur at some point in time. Inflammation of the airways and damaged air sacs could make one prone to developing a lung infection, specifically pneumonia. As it is important to prevent the infections, you should also be aware of how to identify the symptoms, should they crop up.
Causes
When the pathogens collect and grow in a person’s air sacs, lung infection arise. The air sacs fill up with pus and fluid, which make breathing difficult, cause chest pain and cause coughing which is different from the normal cough one associates with their disease.
The types of lung infection include pneumonia, bronchitis and bronchiolitis. Bacteria and viruses cause such conditions. It is rare for an infection to be caused by fungi, but it’s known to happen. People with weak immune systems are more prone to fungal infections.
Frequent Symptoms
If you have certain symptoms of lung infection, you should let your doctor know immediately.
Fever
The normal body temperature is different in every person. The normal body temperature is around 98 degrees F. If the body temperature is higher than 100 degrees, you could have a lung infection and the body is fighting it off. When suffering from fever you could have chills or experience shaking.
Increased shortness of breath
The significant symptoms of COPD are shortness of breath. If in case it becomes worse, you could have a lung infection and should get in touch with the doctor.
With shortness of breath, rapid breathing and a rapid heart rate could be signs of a lung infection.
Productive Cough
As the primary symptom of a COPD is a chronic cough, if it gets worse and becomes a lot more productive, it could be a symptom of a lung infection and medical attention is needed.
Change in Mucus
Several patients have often complained about having a lot of mucus when suffering from COPD. When an infection is present, the mucus becomes thicker, stickier and changes colour. It has a bad smell to it.
Rare Symptoms
Rare signs and symptoms could depend on a particular kind of lung infection. You should seek medical attention immediately.
Pleuritic Chest Pain
Chest pain linked with lung infection is often described as a sharp aching pain on one side which worsens while breathing deeply.
Conclusion
Whatever kind of symptoms you have, which could lead to lung infections, get it checked out by a doctor. It is important to get the right medical treatment and recover quickly.
