I’m writing up background for a novel character, and as always, I gotta check with the good SDMB folk to see how accurate this is.
At age 13, the character nearly dies of walking pneumonia. He doesn’t even know he’s sick, despite hallucinations & stuff like that, until the school nurse finally takes his temperature and calls 911. He’s basically hours away from death when they figure out he’s sick. (This actually happened to an old friend of mine, so I know it’s accurate.)
He spends two weeks in the hospital, and it takes “several months” for him to fully recover. (This can be changed if needed, since it’s background, not actual story.) One lasting aftereffect, which doctors aren’t even sure if it’s connected or not, is that he’s stopped growing. He started puberty before the illness, but between ages 13-15 he hasn’t grown more than an inch or two. Doctors aren’t sure if the two are related, but they don’t want to start hormone therapy until he’s at least seventeen, since he’s still “within the curve.” (As it turns out, it’s coincidence after all…he finally hits a major growth spurt by age 16.)
Ok, now the questions:
What kind of complications result from walking pneumonia, in particuar a case where the patient wasn’t treated until he was very near death?
Would there be any long-lasting effects (esp. breathing) that would take several months to recover from? Would there be any permanent effects?
How likely is it that other effects – such as hormone/pituitary problems – would result from the illness, and how concerned would doctors be about the situation I’ve described?
I had a nasty bout of walking pneumonia at 19 years old. I just thought it was a lingering cough/cold that wouldn’t go away. Aside from respiration, coughing and phlegm, I didn’t have any other symptoms that would keep me from daily life (such as sore throat, tiredness, etc). So I went through life for 3 or 4 months, drinking Nyquil when it was bad, and hacking up the globs of gunk through the day.
Well, it got worse eventually. By the time I finally went to the doctor feeling too weak to make it to college classes, I had dropped from 150 lbs to 120 lbs and couldn’t take a full breath without going into long coughing spasms. I was restricted to heavy antibitotics and bed rest for a few weeks, and restricted activity for the next couple of months. I had to take a quarter off from college and work to recover. It took about 6 months to recover my weight and fitness back.
I have had no permanent lingering effects as of 20 years later. I wasn’t “near death” yet, but would have been if I had waited just a short while longer.
There is no such disease. There is only pneumonia that has been undiagnosed in a patient too stubborn to lie down when they’re trying to die. People know they’re sick when they have pneumonia.
Pneumonia is a respiratory illness chacterized by symptoms of shortness of breath, coughing, fatigue and fever. Signs include respirarory sounds of wheezes and rhonchi, chest x-ray shows areas of fluid density. It can be caused by bacteria, viruses, cancers or irritants. Each cause has its own specific treatment. If your character has bacterial pneumonia Pneumococcal pneumonia is the most common bacterial pneumonia in children (unvacinated ones, at least), and is serious enough, that waiting to get treatment nearly guarantees death. There are other, less deadly bacterial pneumonias, they all need intensive treatment, bur are less likely to be seen in children. Pneumococcus infection is rapidly progressive, usually less than 24 hours from onset of symptoms to unconsciousness. Death, following swiftly, without intervention. If it isn’t treated promptly, multi-system failure begins, with less than a 5% chance of survival. This is the point at which the patient is said to be circling the drain.
Viral pneumonia is much less serious, in fact, can, in most cases, be treated at home.
To my knowledge, pneumonia doesn’t ever cause growth inhibition. The doctors wouldn’t be worried about something that never happens.
If I may make a suggestion for a more believable disease, there’s E-coli 0157:H7. It causes a condition called HUS Hepatic-uremic syndrome. One of the aspects of HUS is acute renal failure, which may or may not be permanant. Either way, it can interfere with growth.
The most common community acquired pneumonia in adolescents is caused by Mycoplasma. I was always taught that this is what is commonly known as “walking pneumonia” simply because it can be bad but usually the teenagers that get it are pretty miserable but it doesn’t knock them off of their feet for too long.
It can have some extrapulmonary complications, but Mycoplasma is pretty clean in terms of serious other problems. Unlike Pneumococcus or H. flu or some of the other bugs that cause pneumonia. The most common things Mycoplasma can cause worsen or cause a first asthma attack. Next is cold agglutinin antibodies causing hemolysis. Neurologic problems happen, according to UpToDate, in 0.1% – this is bad things like aseptic meningitis, transverse myelitis, meningoencephalitis, and cerebellar ataxia, as well as peripheral and cranial nerve neuropathy. There are a few others (GI symptoms, rash which can sometimes get very severe), but renal failure and heart problems are quite rare.
Other bacteria can cause pneumonia in that age group, and these have a range of extrapulmonary complications. Growth failure is usually a bone, pituitary, or kidney problem, or from malnutrition or toxins. There are plenty of diseases which can cause these (HUS is a good one, although usually in younger kids); walking pneumonia isn’t one that would do it commonly.
In 1983 I had walking pneumonia (the viral kind). I had to stay home from work for a week and a half and was sleeping or in a daze for most of the time. Whenever I told people at the time that I had walking pneumonia, I had to restrain myself from adding “and the Boogie Woogie Blues.”
My doctor said that some people with milder cases just live with it for a week or so and don’t realize afterwards that they had pneumonia. Some people, like me, tough it out for a couple of days and then see a doctor. Some people, with more sense, see a doctor immediately.
Walking Pneumonia
Walking Pneumonia
You’ll go a-walking, Pneumonia, with me…
I had it when I was 12. (I’ll defer to picunurse’s statement, though that’s what the doctor called it.) I was put on penicillin and had to use a nebulizer every four hours, while my mom or sister did some sort of chest- and back-thumping.
So, does it just feel like a bad cold or a flu? If so, how does one know it’s time to go to the doctor? We’re discouraged from wasting doctors’ time with colds and flus.
What type of pneumonia did Jim Henson die of, Pneumococcal or Viral?
I’m starting to wonder if my friend embellished the story a bit, he was always doing stuff like that. However, I’ve heard lots of stories of this happening – the person doesn’t even realize he’s sick, or thinks it’s just a sniffle & cough, and next thing you know somebody’s calling 911, or a hearse.
As for the character…this kid’s parents are (or, at least, used to be) Christian Scientists, so he wouldn’t be vaccinated. Never mind the growth problem, it’s already unrelated – I can always pull out the “Creative License” card regarding what the doctors & parents think of that part.
How routinely are kids inoculated against pneumonia, anyway?
The vaccine has only been available for use in children since 2000. Not all doctors are on board and it isn’t required as yet, so, I’d say a lot of children are unprotected.
Johnny L.A., the penicillin notwithstanding, it sounds like you had viral pneumonia. Waaaay back then, doctors used antibiotics rather indiscriminately.
I guess, I wasn’t exactly clear. Pneumococcal pneumonia can be mistaken for the flu, but, the person does know they’re very sick. One is very sick with the flu as well. Walking around with cold symptoms isn’t typical.
I don’t know what type of pneumonia Jim Henson had, but just because he was hospitalized too late to save him, doesn’t mean he wasn’t very sick. A workaholic would drag himself to work with Ebola, if he had a deadline.
