Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.
Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.
In some cases, primary-care physicians, including pediatricians, internists, and family medicine specialists may treat pneumonia. In more severe cases, other types of specialists may be involved in caring for the patient with pneumonia. These include infectious-disease specialists, pulmonologists, critical-care specialists, and hospitalists.
Pneumonia is inflammation of the lung tissue usually but not exclusively caused by infection from bacteria, virus, or fungus. Pneumonia causes the air sacs at the end of the airways in the lungs to fill with pus. If inflammation affects both lungs, the infection is termed double pneumonia. If it affects one lung, it is termed single pneumonia. If it affects only a certain lobe of a lung, it's termed lobar pneumonia. Most pneumonias are caused by bacteria and viruses, but some pneumonias are caused by inhaling toxic chemicals that damage lung tissue. Pneumonia can cause fever, chills, cough, and difficulty breathing. Severe pneumonia can result in death.
Because pneumonia is caused mainly by infectious microbes, pneumonia can be contagious. Pneumonia caused by chemical fumes or other poisons not made by infectious agents is not contagious.
Many contagious pneumonias have names, such as bacterial pneumonia, viral pneumonia, Mycoplasma pneumonia, and MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) pneumonia, that indicate the type of pathogen infecting the lung. Some pneumonias have names that are not as clear (for example, "walking pneumonia," which indicates a milder form of Mycoplasma pneumonia). There are many other descriptive terms, such as community-acquired pneumonia, hospital-acquired pneumonia, and aspiration pneumonia (examples that suggest the source of the organism[s] causing the pneumonia). They are all potentially contagious but not as easily contagious as the flu, for example.
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Azithromycin (Zithromax, Zithromax Z-Pak, Zithromax Tri-Pak, Zmax) is an antibiotic prescribed for the treatment of a wide variety of bacterial infections such as
Side effects include:
Drug interactions, and pregnancy and breastfeeding safety information should be reviewed prior to taking this medication.
Cefdinir (brand name Omnicef has been discontinued) is an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections such as strep throat, E. coli, staph infections, streptococcus infections, ear infections, tonsillitis, bronchitis, and pneumonia. The most common side effects include
Drug interactions include antacids that contain aluminum, magnesium, and iron supplements. Dosage, uses, storage, and pregnancy and breastfeeding safety information should be reviewed prior to taking any medication.
Chronic cough is a cough that does not go away and is generally a symptom of another disorder such as
Chronic cough treatment is based on the cause, but may be soothed natural and home remedies.
Coughing is a reflex that helps a person clear their airways of irritants. There are many causes of an excessive or severe cough including:
Natural and home remedies that help cure and soothe a cough are:
Natural and home remedies to help cure and soothe a cough are:
Over-the-counter products (OTC)to cure and soothe a cough include
Prescription drugs that help cure a cough include
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis or IPF is a progressive lung disease. There is no known cause of IPF. Symptoms include:
Treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is directed at managing the signs and symptoms of the disease. The prognosis and life expectancy of idiopathic fibrosis is poor.
Pleurisy or pleuritis is an inflammation of the lining around the lungs. Some of the causes of pleurisy include TB, the flu, heart attack, some forms of arthritis, and lupus. The treatment for pleurisy is generally aimed at the underlying cause of pleurisy.
Primary immunodeficiency disease or PIDD is a group of over 250 genetic diseases that involve the immune system. Symptoms of primary immunodeficiency diseases depend upon the specific disease, but some may include:
Treatment for primary immunodeficiency disease depend upon the cause.
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