The recent story of Glen Frey’s death caught us off guard. Frey died at the age of 67 after a battle with pneumonia along with other health conditions.
This is just one reminder that the consequences of pneumonia can be deadly-especially when health is already affected by other issues. In fact, pneumonia is the cause of over fifty thousand deaths per year. Unfortunately, many who have pneumonia don’t even know it.
Even more concerning, the symptoms of pneumonia can often be confused with those of a simple cold. Both can cause coughing. Both can make you feel tired. And both can come with excess mucus.
So just what is pneumonia?
According to the Cleveland Clinic, pneumonia is a lung infection that can come from a variety of different things (more than thirty to be exact). This health condition is said to be triggered by bacteria, viruses, and in some cases fungi. More than thirty percent of cases of pneumonia are caused by viruses - like the flu, which is the front runner in the cause of viral pneumonia amongst adults.
Pneumonia causes inflammation in which one’s airways swell. As a result, the air sacs of the lungs become filled with mucus. This affects the body’s ability to get oxygen into the blood.