pneumonia

[shikachunin]

Ok so I have pneumonia and I don't really know what it is or what it COULD do, soo... any help/advice? Oh and I missed the fist day of school so I am pissed.

[Rutherford The Brave]

pnuemonia is when mucus gets in your lungs, it is a very serious condition. I advise you talk to your doctor and lie down. It can be life threatining is some cases. As the mucus can make it hard to breathe.

[The Batman]

Pneumonia is an inflammatory illness of the lung. Frequently, it is described as lung parenchyma alveolar inflammation and abnormal alveolar filling with fluid. The alveoli are microscopic air-filled sacs in the lungs responsible for absorbing oxygen. Pneumonia can result from a variety of causes, including infection with bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites, and chemical or physical injury to the lungs. Its cause may also be officially described as idiopathic—that is, unknown—when infectious causes have been excluded.
Typical symptoms associated with pneumonia include cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty in breathing. Diagnostic tools include x-rays and examination of the sputum Treatment depends on the cause of pneumonia; bacterial pneumonia is treated with antibiotics.
Pneumonia is a common illness which occurs in all age groups, and is a leading cause of death among the elderly and people who are chronically and terminally ill. Vaccines to prevent certain types of pneumonia are available. The prognosis depends on the type of pneumonia, the appropriate treatment, any complications, and the person's underlying health.
Found on Wikipedia.

[Zazu]

Pretty good explanation of it above.

If you haven't already been to your doctors then go along now, better to get checked out then to leave it.

[Oblivion]

Agreed
As we aren't doctors, we can't judge the seriousness, especially without seeing you.
Your best bet is to go to a doctor immediately to see whats up.

[Kaleidoscope Eyes]

Well, if he hasn't gone to the doctor already, I would be doubting the diagnosis. To diagnose pneumonia, the doctor has to listen carefully to your lungs while you breathe, and may even need to take an x-ray (the fluid in your lungs actually shows up on the film). So if you have gone to the doctor already, and know you have pneumonia, relax. The doctor should have given you some antibiotics (as stated above, it can be viral or otherwise, but antibiotics will help wipe it out if it's bacterial) and possibly a cough medicine (or a recommendation for an over the counter cough suppressant). Just lie down, prop your head and chest up a bit, and try to sleep on two pillows instead of one to help things drain and keep your airway clearer, (it'll help you cough less). Mostly, just wait it out. Keep some tissues handy, your nose will likely be kinda runny. With an infection in your lungs, your nose produces more mucus to help prevent any further bacteria from getting in that way. Also, the cough will progress from a tickle in the throat maybe, to more of a barking cough that is annoying but is mostly in your throat, to the kind of cough where you can feel things being loosened up in your chest, before working back down and going away. In that middle stage, you may or may not cough things up, typically smallish globs of white or greenish slime, and you'll want to spit those out into something, rather than swallow them (yuck!).

You might be back to school in a few days, it might be more like a week or two, it varies a bit, but you should be fine. Just get a doctor's note if you'll be taking P.E. when you get back to school--you'll need to take it easy for a little while, even after you're back up and moving around. Strenuous activity and heavy breathing can still cause you to cough for a bit even after you're feeling healthier. I've had pneumonia 4 times in my life, I consider myself somewhat of an expert by now. xP But if you have any questions about a symptom, or if you don't seem to be getting any better after about a week or so, call your doctor to make sure there's nothing else he/she can do for you.

[Spinder]

I had pneumonia once - not fun at all. It's one of those things that doesn't just fix itself, so whether you suspect you have it or not, you should go to the doctor just to find what's going on. It could be a number of different things, but it's important that you leave that for the doctor to figure out.

Get well soon!

Spinder.

[Kaleidoscope Eyes]

Oh, and something helpful I forgot to mention. At your local drug store/pharmacy, or even at the grocery store, look for SudaCare Shower Soothers, near the humidifiers and all that. They're these tablets you put on the shower floor while you run hot water, and they release these really nice vapors, mostly menthol and some eucalyptus I think, and combined with the steam it can really help loosen your chest up and slow down those annoying coughing spasms, as well as clear your sinuses a bit so you can actually breathe through your nose.

[shikachunin]

Yah I went to da docters thats how I knew I had it. Thx for all da advice!