This is the difference between coughing when sick with pneumonia and COVID-19

Liputan6.com, Jakarta Pneumonia is an acute infection or inflammation of the lung tissue caused by various microorganisms, such as bacteria and viruses. The symptoms that appear on the two triggers are almost the same, you know.

Symptoms when a person has pneumonia due to bacteria and viruses usually include: fever, coughing, and shortness of breath. However, how to distinguish the symptoms that appear especially when coughing?

“Usually for this pneumonia (cough) there is colored phlegm, it can be greenish or yellowish. Sometimes there can even be little blood spots. This is very different from coughing. COVID-19 which is usually dry,” said Dr. dr. Erlina Burhan, M.Sc, SpP(K) in a press conference World Pneumonia Day 2021 written Thursday, (11/18/2021).

Erlina added, the symptoms of fever will usually be equally high, accompanied by muscle or body pain. But the cough itself that makes the difference is that it is accompanied by colored phlegm.

“To expel thick phlegm, patients usually try to cough continuously, so that their breath becomes relieved. If the phlegm cannot be expelled, it is possible that patients may become short of breath,” said Erlina.

According to Erlina, pneumonia is a disease that needs attention because its incidence is increasing and is quite high. Especially on elderly or the elderly age group, and children under 5 years.

For people with old age, the incidence in Indonesia can reach 25-40 per 1,000 population. So, the number is actually very large if you add it up as a whole.

“So imagine how many of these elderly people actually get pneumonia or get pneumonia easily. We know that these elderly or elderly patients have pneumonia or inflammation in the lungs.” lungs, then the recovery is difficult and the death rate is high,” said Erlina.

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