Family Health Information – Family Health Insurance News & Articles by HealthTree

The first time I heard the term “walking pneumonia” I thought it sounded like the kind of illness that would befall a cartoon character. After all, pneumonia is a serious ailment. How could someone so easily walk around with the condition?

Walking pneumonia actually has a more technical name. It is called mycoplasma pneumonia, and while that title sounds a whole lot scarier, it is considered a mild version of the lung ailment pneumonia.

Even without treatment, walking pneumonia will generally not require hospitalization. It is spread through coughing and sneezing, and symptoms don’t generally appear until one to four weeks after exposure. Some of the early symptoms include:

• Chills
• Fever
• Headache
• Sore throat

But just because walking pneumonia doesn’t pack the lethal punch of other pneumonias, it is still an illness that deserves close attention. A lowered immune system can not only affect your ability to keep up with your normal routine, it can leave you susceptible to catching other, and more serious, ailments.So whenever I’m feeling under the weather, I trek on over to my doctor’s office and let the professionals decide the severity of my condition. After all, self-misdiagnosing any sort of ailment is only a laughing matter if you’re a cartoon character.

Amy Bowker

(photo credit: sashala)

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