What Is Walking Pneumonia?

Causes And Complications

The most common cause of walking pneumonia is an infection by the Mycoplasma pneumoniae bacteria. Walking pneumonia is transmitted to an individual when an infected person expels microscopic droplets of saliva from their nose or mouth. This usually happens when the individual who is infected coughs or sneezes. When the Mycoplasma pneumoniae bacteria enter an individual's mouth, nose, and airways, they multiply and colonize. This colonization allows the bacteria to spread into the lung tissues and cause damage to the linings of the throat, windpipe, and lungs. It takes the Mycoplasma pneumoniae longer than most types of bacteria to colonize in an individual's tissues and produce damage that results in visible symptoms. Due to this property of the walking pneumonia-causing bacteria, most patients who become infected are those who have spent long amounts of time with another infected individual. Siblings and immediate family members are likely to spread walking pneumonia to one another. In rare cases, complications such as asthma attacks, new asthma symptoms, hemolytic anemia, toxic epidermal necrolysis, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, erythema multiforme, serious pneumonia, encephalitis, and renal dysfunction can develop as a result of walking pneumonia.

Keep reading to learn about how to treat walking pneumonia now.