World Pneumonia Day is observed on November 12 to create awareness about pneumonia. This is a preventable& treatable disease but may cause death mostly in children below 5 yrs of age. Firstly, let us gain some information about Pneumonia.

Our lungs are composed of plenty of elastic air sacs. Pneumonia is an infectious disease in which air sacs get inflamed resulting in lower functionality of your lungs. Pneumonia can be caused by:

• Bacterial, viral, fungal or parasitic infection. Due to this, air sacs are filled with fluid resulting in cough, dyspnoea or may be fever with shivering.

• This infection can easily occur on contact with an infected person through droplets with sneezing or coughing.

What are the symptoms of Pneumonia?

Most cases of Pneumonia are preceded by an upper respiratory tract infection or flu like symptoms i.e. throat pain, sneezing, nose running, slight cough and fever.

In individuals with weak immunity or those who do not receive proper treatment for the upper respiratory tract infection, this can develop further and lead to infection travelling down to the lungs leading to Pneumonia.

Pneumonia is generally accompanied with:

- High grade fever – temperature 101 deg.f. and above

- Cough- which could be dry initially and then turns productive later (with phlegm)

- Expectoration with cough (phlegm) that can be white, yellowish, or red in colour

- It is accompanied by a general sense of unwell being, weakness, fatigue, loss of appetite

- In severe cases it can also lead to difficulty in breathing and drop in the blood oxygen levels requiring additional oxygen support.

Most people who have a good immunity can recover from Pneumonia within a week. In people who have an underlying disease or are immuno-compromised Pneumonia can lead to life-threatening complications. As a rule, Pneumonia in children below the age of 1 and in adults over 60 must be taken seriously and treated promptly.

World Pneumonia day focuses on the following points:

• Pneumonia can belief-threatening infection in children within 5 yrs of age. Hence, the objective is to spread its awareness & prevention.

• Promote awareness among the donors to assist in the fight against the disease.

• Collect the additional support required for Pneumonia.

• Spreading the information to common people, healthcare workers etc.

World Pneumonia Day has the following approach:

• Protection: The protection against pneumonia should be initiated since birth along with breastfeeding for at least 1st 6 months of age. The child must be fed with healthy nutrition to promote strong immunity that can protect from the disease.

• Prevention: Vaccines may prevent the severe forms of pneumonia. Along with this, healthy habits like handwashing, availability of fresh water& air can help in prevention of pneumonia.

• Treatment: Early diagnosis with proper intervention may improve the prognosis & speed up the recovery. In case of late diagnosis, the prognosis can be poor.The aim of this organisation is to stop death of children from pneumonia.

Homoeopathy for COVID-19 Pneumonia:

Homeopathy has a great scope in dealing with cases such as Pneumonia. During this threatening COVID-19 pandemic,demand for Homeopaths from all over the world has increased a lot. Homeopathy is the most natural, safe, economical &effective way of treating Pneumonia. It can very efficiently speed up the recovery time without any side effects or aggravation to the patient.

According to few researches, the mortality under conventional treatment was about 50%. Homeopathic remedies have been used on a large scale for flu-like symptoms globally. Homoeopathy when started at the early stages of Pneumonia, makes sure to cut short the disease process, reduces the recovery time and reduces the rates of complications associated with Pneumonia.

Homeopathy is one of the best alternative treatments that you can opt for Pneumonia etc. during COVID pandemic. This treatment should always be carried out along with other managements as suggested by your Homeopath. It is important to be aware of the symptoms and early diagnosis & treatment with Homeopathy will not only treat the disease but also strengthen your immune system.

At the end it is important to understand that Pneumonia is a condition that should only be treated with the guidance of qualified medical professional and not just with the help of Home remedies as it increases the chances of complications.