Due to popular demand and seasonal viral conditions, it’s time for No, That’s Pneumonia https://twitter.com/JodiesJumpsuit/status/1176640527845994496

1. Most colds last about a week, two at most. The fever part of a regular cold should be over in two or three days: if it’s two weeks and you’re still struggling with a fever, see a doctor—it might be pneumonia.

2. Pneumonia fevers are tricky—they disappear during the day and return at night. This can lure you into a false sense of security, that you’re getting over it.
If you keep waking up sweaty and chilly, it might be pneumonia.

3. Same with the coughing—the symptoms lessen during the day, but get worse at night. Again, it lulls you into the idea that it’s going away: it’s not. Go see a doctor, it might be pneumonia.

4. Take a look at your lips: are they brighter than usual? Take a look at your skin: are you pale? Have people commented on your appearance this way? It’s a symptom of pneumonia. Go see a doctor.

5. A lot of coughing, but it isn’t productive? At night, does taking a breath come with the urge to cough? Along with the other symptoms mentioned above, go see a doctor, it may be pneumonia.

6. Along with the symptoms above, do you feel like you’re both frenzied and exhausted, like running through thick stew? Pneumonia saps your energy, and it’s easy to think it’s just a gruelling cold. Go see a doctor, it might be pneumonia.

Pneumonia can happen to the healthy and the sick, the old and the young, and can settle in very quickly. It takes long to recover from: that is why it is important to be aware of when you started feeling sick and monitoring your symptoms.

It might not be pneumonia! It could be bronchitis, a chest infection, asthma, all sorts of things! But it is important to rule pneumonia out, because when it gets you, it isn’t letting go without some strong antibiotics on your side. It, and you, needs proper medical attention.

On the subject of antibiotics: I developed an allergy to antibiotics while being treated for pneumonia a few years back. I started breaking out in hives that started on my legs and slowly went up my body. DO NOT IGNORE THE HIVES GO DIRECTLY TO THE ER.

You will be triaged and whisked through the waiting room like you’re a celebrity and people who have been sitting there for hours will give you looks but do what I did, flash a smile that says, “I know I might look fine but I might actually be dying!”
They’ll get over it.

Because ultimately pneumonia tricks you: it does everything to mimic a normal cold, and the symptoms fade during the day, helping us to think we’re actually getting better when we’re actually getting worse.
Pneumonia is a sneaky, tricky thing. Be on alert.

You always think pneumonia happens to other people until you get it. Pneumonia is no joke: it takes weeks of recovery. No one who has had pneumonia wants to see anyone else suffer one more night because they think pneumonia happens to other people.

So please, PLEASE, take care of yourselves. Pneumonia is not a joke, it’s not as rare as you think and it moves fast.

When in doubt, and the symptoms above, do not pass go, do not collect $200, go directly to your doctor: That’s pneumonia.