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Medical Author:

George Schiffman, MD, FCCP

George Schiffman, MD, FCCP

Dr. Schiffman received his B.S. degree with High Honors in biology from Hobart College in 1976. He then moved to Chicago where he studied biochemistry at the University of Illinois, Chicago Circle. He attended Rush Medical College where he received his M.D. degree in 1982 and was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. He completed his Internal Medicine internship and residency at the University of California, Irvine.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Doctors often refer to typical and atypical pneumonias, based on the signs and symptoms of the condition. This can help to predict the type of bacteria causing the pneumonia, the duration of the illness, and the optimal treatment method.

Typical pneumonia comes on very quickly.

• Typical pneumonia usually results in a high fever and shaking chills.
• Typical pneumonia usually leads to the production of yellow or brown sputum
when coughing.
• There may be chest pain, which is usually worse with breathing or coughing. The chest also may be sore when it is touched or pressed.
• Typical pneumonia can cause shortness of breath, especially if the person has any chronic lung conditions such as asthma or emphysema.
• Because chest pain also can be a sign of other serious medical conditions, do not try to diagnose self-diagnose.
• Older people can have confusion or a change in their mental abilities as a sign of pneumonia or other infection.

Atypical pneumonia has a gradual onset.

• It is often referred to as "walking pneumonia."
• Sometimes it follows another illness in the days to weeks before the pneumonia.
• The fever is usually lower, and shaking chills are less likely.
• There may be headache, body aches, and joint pain.
• Coughing may be dry or produce only a little sputum. The person may not have any chest pain.
• Abdominal pain may be present.
• There may be other symptoms, such as feeling tired or weak.
• Often the abnormalities on the chest X-ray appear worse than what the patient appears to have clinically, hence the term "walking pneumonia."

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