Medical Questions » Lungs Questions » Question No. 595
| Question: | I have recently been very ill with double pneumonia. Why is double pneumonia different to ordinary pneumonia? |
| Answer: | Pneumonia occurs when a bacteria enters the tiny ait bubbles that fill your lung, and starts multiplying to cause an infection. Usually only one part of the lungs, often at the bottom of your chest, is affected at first, but the problem soon spreads to other parts of the lung.
If a sample of the sputum you cough up is sent to a laboratory, the specific bacteria causing your pneumonia can be identified. Once one bacteria is in residence, your resistance to further infection is lowered, and it is much easier for a second type of bacteria to infect the lungs as well. When this happens, both types of bacteria can be identified by the laboratory, and you are said to have double pneumonia. It is possible to have triple, and rarely even quadruple pneumonia if you are particularly unlucky!
The laboratory will also be able to tell which antibiotics will kill the various types of bacteria infecting your lungs. The appropriate combination of antibiotics can then be given by the doctor to cure the condition. Expectorants and chest physiotherapy are the other mainstays of treatment in any type of pneumonia.
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