Chemical PneumoniaMedical Author:
Christopher B Beach, MD
Medical Editor:
Scott H Plantz, MD, FAAEM
Medical Editor:
Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD
Medical Editor:
James Quinn, MD
Chemical Pneumonia OverviewChemical pneumonia is an unusual type of lung irritation. Pneumonia usually is caused by a bacteria or virus. In chemical pneumonia, inflammation of lung tissue is from poisons or toxins. Only a small percentage of pneumonias are caused by chemicals.
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Chemical Pneumonia
Bacterial Pneumonia Overview
Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs. People with pneumonia usually complain of coughing, mucus production, fever, shortness of breath, and/or chest pain.
- Your body's immune system usually keeps bacteria from infecting your lungs. In bacterial pneumonia, bacteria reproduce in your lungs, while your body tries to fight off the infection. This response to bacterial invaders is called inflammation.
- When the inflammation occurs in the alveoli (microscopic air sacs in the lungs), they fill with fluid. Your lungs become less elastic and cannot take oxygen into the blood or remove carbon dioxide from the blood as efficiently as usual.
- When the alveoli don't work efficiently, your lungs are less able to extract oxygen from the air. This causes the feeling of being short of breath (dyspnea), which is one of the most common symptoms of pneumonia. Inflammation, your body's...
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Pneumonia »
Pneumonia is characterized by inflammation of the alveoli and terminal airspaces in response to invasion by an infectious agent introduced into the lungs through hematogenous spread or inhalation.
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