Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs. A variety of infectious agents cause this illness, including viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites. Kids Health, a consumer information website operated by the Nemours Foundation, explains that pneumonia commonly begins after a common respiratory tract infection, such as the cold or the flu. Symptoms of pneumonia begin two or three days after the original illness. Pneumonia in the elderly, infants and others with weakened immune systems can be serious.
Fever
Pneumonia often causes an elevated temperature. The National Institutes of Health points out that it may be mild or high. Other symptoms associated with an elevated body temperature include sweating, chills and clammy skin. Persistent fever or one that is 102 degrees Fahrenheit or higher requires medical attention. MayoClinic.com suggests that a fever that appears suddenly, especially following another illness, can be a serious sign of lung inflammation and should be treated by a doctor.
Cold and Flu Symptoms
Whether pneumonia follows the common cold or the flu, it may bring about the same type of symptoms. Shared symptoms of these illnesses include fatigue, cough, nausea, vomiting, joint pain, muscle stiffness and headache. Patients with pneumonia are likely to feel much worse than if the symptoms were due to the cold or flu.
Respiratory Symptoms
Respiratory symptoms with pneumonia tend to be more pronounced or severe. An individual may be short of breath, feel pain when inhaling or exhaling and have noisy breathing. Kids Health describes other symptoms of pneumonia as unusually rapid breathing, grunting or wheezing when breathing and labored breathing. In a child labored breathing can be recognized by the nostrils flaring or the skin is pulled taut across the ribs, making them more prominent. Severe signs of pneumonia that require emergency treatment are those indicating circulation or breathing is inhibited, such as bluish or gray coloration of the lips or fingernails.
