Coping with Pneumonia

BACK in 1954 an English workman sued his employer because he had contracted pneumonia and pleurisy. The cause, he claimed, was the cold and drafty room in which he had to work. The judge who heard the case found that the room was indeed cold, drafty and damp, especially in the early morning hours, and so granted the workman damages of 410 pounds, then valued at more than $1,100.

But was the workman’s pneumonia, which is really an inflammation of the lungs, caused solely by the conditions under which he had to work? These certainly were a factor, but there were also harmful organisms at work. In fact, there are various kinds of bacteria and viruses that can cause pneumonia. The typical case of pneumonia is an infection caused by the pneumococcus bacillus. In this most common form of pneumonia, the tiny air sacs of the lungs fill first with fluid and then with white blood cells endeavoring to fight off the infection. Red blood cells also accumulate, giving the sputum a characteristic “rusty” appearance.

Your right lung has three lobes and your left has two lobes. Just a part of a lobe may be inflamed, or, then again, one or more lobes may be completely involved. One may contract pneumonia without having had another illness preceding it, but often it hits a person after his having had influenza, cancer or kidney disease.

What are the symptoms of typical pneumonia? Among the first that you will experience are shaking chills, chest pains, a hard dry cough, bloody sputum and a high fever. There may also be profuse sweating, nausea and diarrhea. Because of the serious turn that pneumonia may take, it is wise to consult a physician at once, especially since prompt treatment may spell the difference between an early recovery and a turn for the worse​—a protracted illness or even death.

Primarily a Matter of Susceptibility

Statistics show that one of the primary factors in getting pneumonia is susceptibility. How so? In that age is a major consideration. Thus deaths from pneumonia are highest among infants under one year of age, and next highest in children from one to five years of age. After that the death rate from pneumonia is minimal, but gradually increases until one reaches the age of twenty-five, when it is about the same as among infants. According to a current medical textbook, “only one in every 500 persons of all ages in the United States may be expected to contract the disease in any one year.”​—Textbook of Medicine, Cecil-Loeb (1971).

There is as much as a 50-50 likelihood that you or anyone else is a carrier of pneumonia organisms without even being aware of it. But only a small fraction of these carriers will contract the disease. However, if you allow yourself to become greatly run down because of too much work, or overindulgence in exhausting pleasures, and should the weather also be bad, those bacteria or viruses might well take over, and then you will become the world’s next victim of pneumonia.

A preexisting condition such as a serious illness or injury can make one susceptible to so-called “secondary” or complicating pneumonia. In this regard, it might be mentioned that in many cases of kidney or heart transplants the patient died from inflammation of the lungs. The overload on the body in fighting off the foreign tissue was too much, making it vulnerable to other problems. This is in line with the observation made by the sixteenth-century English physician John Caius: “Our bodies cannot . . . be hurt by corrupt and infective causes, except there be in them a certain matter apt . . . to receive it, else if one were sick all should be sick.”

What to Do About It

Up until thirty-five years ago pneumonia was greatly feared, and rightly so, for from 30 to 50 percent of those who contracted it died. This was because the measures used for treating it, while relieving symptoms, never specifically affected the causative bacteria or viruses.

Treatment back then included enemas, hot baths, application of various wet packs and antiphlogistic poultices to the chest. Additionally, the patient was kept quiet and relaxed, was given lots of fluids to drink and was told to avoid needless expenditure of physical and nervous energy. Visits were discouraged so as not to tire the patient out. He was told to follow an old maxim ‘Keep feet warm and head cool.’ His room was kept well ventilated and clean.

But for all the tender loving care given victims of pneumonia back then, still they only had a 50-50 chance of pulling through. Today, however, in spite of the dangers associated with penicillin, 95 percent of those stricken with pneumonia are cured by it, so that it is not the dread disease of the past. Of course, in addition to treatment that kills the pneumococcus bacillus, general supportive measures, including rest and nourishment, remain very important to good treatment.

Prevention Is Better

Today more and more interest is being shown in preventive medicine. Since “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” what can you do for yourself? You can apply this principle by trying to avoid conditions that weaken you so much that you become susceptible to the pneumococcus bacillus. Additionally, be careful to dress properly so as to keep warm and dry when facing stormy or wet weather. Should your feet get wet and cold, take a hot footbath as soon as possible. Also, good ‘preventive medicine’ is to guard against overweight, malnutrition, overindulgence in liquor, the keeping of late hours and dissipation of all sorts.

Yes, acquire resistance to pneumonia by building a strong, healthy body. As Rockefeller Institute research scientist Rene J. Dubos noted, the ecological principle applies also to the human body: the harm that bacteria and viruses can do depends largely upon the condition of their environment, your body. So, to the extent that is possible, build a disease-resistant environment within your body by giving due attention to your health even when you are not sick. That means eating wholesome, nourishing food (in moderation), keeping your muscles, heart and lungs sound by necessary exercise (especially if you are a sedentary worker), and getting sufficient rest and sleep. Also, be moderate in the pursuit of strength-sapping pleasures and excitement.

Finally, take to heart the Bible principle, ‘Godly devotion along with contentment is great gain, for we have brought nothing into this world and we can take nothing out.’ The wisdom of this is obvious, is it not?​—1 Tim. 6:6, 7.