Part 1

PNEUMONIA

Its care and prevention

Copyright, 1940

John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company of Boston, Massachusetts

L63-9-40

PNEUMONIA

ITS CARE AND PREVENTION

Life Conservation Service of the JOHN HANCOCK MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY of Boston, Massachusetts

An Urgent Message:

If you suspect that someone in your family has pneumonia, it is vital that you call your doctor without a moment’s delay. If it is pneumonia, hours will count. Newly introduced drugs have proved of great value in curing pneumonia but early medical treatment and prompt nursing care are necessary if the new treatment is to do the most good.

That you may know something about pneumonia, the kind of medical treatment and nursing care required, and the ways by which the disease may be prevented, this pamphlet is sent to you.

Life Conservation Service of the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company of Boston, Massachusetts

PNEUMONIA ITS CARE AND PREVENTION

Pneumonia is an inflammation of the lungs. Despite all the progress recently made in the treatment of the disease, it remains among the most common causes of death. Pneumonia is always a serious matter, and should be regarded as an emergency calling for immediate medical care.

The inflammation of the lungs may be due to one of a number of different kinds of germ, but the bacteria known as pneumococci cause about four cases out of every five. There are several varieties, or types, of pneumococci and the treatment may vary with the type. Your doctor has at his command some new drugs but for some types of pneumonia he may combine the drug with a curative serum.

The different members of this new family of drugs, sulfanilamide, sulfapyridine, sulfathiazol, etc. are used depending upon the nature of the pneumonia.

If the inflammation is due to one of the various other germs that cause the remaining fifth of the pneumonia cases, still other treatment may be needed. It is clear, then, that your physician should be called promptly when pneumonia is suspected so that he may have the laboratory tests made that will tell him with what kind of germ infection he has to deal. Then he can decide what kind of treatment to employ.

Pneumonia Is Contagious

Pneumonia appears to be spread from person to person by contact, so it is regarded as a communicable disease. As it is contagious, the spread of infection can be stopped if precautions are taken to prevent the transfer of the infectious material from the sick to the well. The secretions from the nose and throat of persons sick with pneumonia, or convalescing from the disease, usually carry the germs that cause it. The transfer may take place through direct contact with these secretions, or inhaling droplets of moist sputum expelled by the sick person while coughing or sneezing.

Pneumonia is no respecter of persons. It may attack tiny babies, adults in the prime of life, or elderly people: so everyone must be on guard. This is especially true in late winter and early spring when the disease is most likely to occur.

Pneumonia often begins during or just after an attack of the common cold, grippe, whooping cough, or measles, and after surgical operations, especially those upon the chest. In other conditions, such as unusual and prolonged fatigue or exposure to bad weather resulting in a thorough chilling, the chance of infection is increased.

Early Signs of Pneumonia

In most cases of pneumonia the disease is readily recognized. There is often a preceding cold, but the onset of the pneumonia is usually abrupt, with sharp pain in the side, fever, a cough, a sense of chilliness or evident chills, and the expectoration of sputum streaked, or tinged, with blood.

If you should ever have any of these early signs of pneumonia, get promptly into bed and stay there. Have your doctor called without a moment’s delay. You will improve your chance of a quick recovery if you give him the opportunity to determine the cause of your infection before it is many hours old. Remember: the longer the disease exists before treatment is begun, the more difficult it may prove to cure.

Finding the Cause

The exact cause of the inflammation can be determined only by a laboratory examination of specimens of sputum or blood. Fortunately, in most sections of the country, diagnostic services are now readily available.

The kind of germ is determined earliest by examining specimens of sputum. Though the patient may have some difficulty in raising sputum, enough for laboratory needs can almost always be obtained if its importance is explained to him. The expectorated material should come from the lungs, and should be as free as possible from mixture with saliva and nasal secretions. The sputum can be collected in any clean, wide-mouthed bottle, or a cardboard sputum box, and sent without delay to the nearest laboratory. Within a short time a report is returned to your doctor advising him of the findings of the examination. If pneumococci have been found, the special type will be named.

Blood specimens are also of importance in diagnosis of the disease and determining the course of treatment.