Symptoms of Pneumonia
The three most prevalent symptoms of all types of pneumonia include a cough with discharge, a fever, and breathing difficulties [7]. Other common symptoms include shaking and chills, rapid heartbeat, nausea, dyspnea, and chest and lung pain during breathing [1,11,12,13,14]. Some atypical pneumonia symptoms may include but are not limited to diarrhea, hemoptysis, fatigue, wheezing, confusion, muscle pain and extrapulmonary manifestations [12,14]. However, these atypical symptoms are insufficient in distinguishing typical and atypical pneumonia [11]. Symptoms vary among age groups as well. Among the elderly, symptoms are often delayed, and additional symptoms may include loss of appetite, decreased mental capacity, or weakness. Young children may be asymptomatic or may have restlessness, difficulty eating, vomiting, or cough [13]. In comparing viral and bacterial pneumonia, viral pneumonia often has a more extensive set of likely symptoms, including wheezing and chest wall indrawing [2]. Additionally, mycoplasma pneumonia tends to cause more violent coughs and expulsion of whitish mucus [10].