Pneumonia

For a lay person:

Pneumonia is an infection that inflames the air sacs of the lungs. It causes cough, fever and breathlessness and can be serious, especially in babies, older people and those with other illnesses.

For a trained medical person:

Lower respiratory tract infection, bacterial or viral, diagnosed clinically and by chest X-ray. Severity scores guide antibiotic choice and the decision to admit.

In Chinese medicine:

Flaws and Sionneau's textbook differentiates this condition into these patterns: Wind heat external contraction; Wind cold external contraction; Phlegm-Heat Obstructing the Lung; Qi and yin deficiency, phlegm and heat joining and contending; Original qi deficiency desertion, yin and yang not interacting. Treatment follows the pattern a patient presents with, not the Western diagnosis alone.

When to get help: Get urgent care for breathlessness, confusion, blue lips or chest pain.