CHF

Congestive Heart Disease

DM2

Type II Diabetes

ALZ

Alzheimer's Disease

COPD

Chronic Obstructive
Pulmonary Disease

Pneumonia is one of the most serious things that can happen to a person with CHF. Luckily, antibiotics, a medication, are great at killing pneumonia germs. We even have a saying, ‘Kill ‘em early. Kill ‘em all!’

What It Is

What To Do About It

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an awful lung infection caused by pneumonia germs. Pneumonia can
Make it hard to breathe.

Make your lungs fill with water and phlegm (that can make your lungs hurt).
Give you a really high temperature.
Put you in the hospital.
Kill you.

Antibiotics

Antibiotics are a medication that kills germs, and that includes pneumonia germs, the little creatures that move into your lungs and make you sick.

So, if your doctor prescribes antibiotics because you feel fluey, or you have a cough or a runny nose, take ‘em! Kill those germs!

A note about antibiotics -- An important thing about antibiotics is that the best way to use them is early in an infection, when there are only a few pneumonia germs—they’re easier to kill then. We have a saying about how to use antibiotics to kill germs: "Kill 'em early. Kill 'em all."

How Pneumonia Happens

People with congestive heart failure collect water.

The most dangerous place they collect water is in the lungs. That’s because water in the lungs can invite pneumonia. For pneumonia germs, water in the lungs is like a motel “VACANCY” sign:

Because of your heart failure, water collects in your lungs. This makes it a little hard to breathe because the water covers some of the surface of your lungs, meaning that all the oxygen doesn’t make it all the way to your lungs for the hand-off to your body.
Even worse, pneumonia germs see that VACANCY sign, and move into that water in your lungs, just like pond scum collects in a stagnant pond—and the moment they move in, two things start to happen.

First, Your body mounts a counter-attack against the pneumonia germs by sending thick, infection-fighting phlegm to your lungs (and your throat and nose). That’s good, because you need to fight the germs. But it’s also bad, because your lungs get filled with thick, gunky phlegm (yecch). If you thought that water blocked oxygen, trust us, thick, gunky phlegm is worse—now your chest hurts, you have a cough, and you’re even more short of breath (Uh Oh).

Second, those germs start doing what they do best the moment they move in—They start making germ babies! You might have 100 pneumonia germs on day one (and not feel so sick)—and 100,000,000 pneumonia germs on day four.

Now you’ve got a terrible wracking cough, your chest hurts every time your breathe, you’ve got a temperature of 102, and you just wish all this would go away.

You’re so sick you have to go to the hospital.

Which leaves you with two important questions —

Why didn’t I call the doctor 4 days ago?

and

What do I do now?

"Kill ‘em all! Kill ‘em early!” — That’s what we think you should do about pneumonia germs.

Call the doctor when the first signs of a respiratory problem appear — the sniffles, a little cough, some yellow snot, a head cold, whatever. Give your doctor the opportunity to commit some ‘antibiotic mayhem’ when there are only a few pneumonia germs to wipe out (before the germ babies).

Note to self — It’s way easier to kill 100 germs today than it will be to kill 1,000,000 (or 100,000,000) in a few days.

Make those 100 germs regret the day they moved in. Ka-boom.

And one more important note—don’t forget the mop-up. Take all the antibiotics your doctor prescribes. Every single one. Even if there are only a few germs left, they can start making babies again. So take all your antibiotics—take an opportunity to kill every single one of those pneumonia germs.

End them! Once and for all!

What It Is

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an awful lung infection caused by pneumonia germs. Pneumonia can
Make it hard to breathe.

Make your lungs fill with water and phlegm (that can make your lungs hurt).
Give you a really high temperature.
Put you in the hospital.
Kill you.

Antibiotics

Antibiotics are a medication that kills germs, and that includes pneumonia germs, the little creatures that move into your lungs and make you sick.

So, if your doctor prescribes antibiotics because you feel fluey, or you have a cough or a runny nose, take ‘em! Kill those germs!

A note about antibiotics -- An important thing about antibiotics is that the best way to use them is early in an infection, when there are only a few pneumonia germs—they’re easier to kill then. We have a saying about how to use antibiotics to kill germs: "Kill 'em early. Kill 'em all."

How Pneumonia Happens

People with congestive heart failure collect water.

The most dangerous place they collect water is in the lungs. That’s because water in the lungs can invite pneumonia. For pneumonia germs, water in the lungs is like a motel “VACANCY” sign:

Because of your heart failure, water collects in your lungs. This makes it a little hard to breathe because the water covers some of the surface of your lungs, meaning that all the oxygen doesn’t make it all the way to your lungs for the hand-off to your body.
Even worse, pneumonia germs see that VACANCY sign, and move into that water in your lungs, just like pond scum collects in a stagnant pond—and the moment they move in, two things start to happen.

First, Your body mounts a counter-attack against the pneumonia germs by sending thick, infection-fighting phlegm to your lungs (and your throat and nose). That’s good, because you need to fight the germs. But it’s also bad, because your lungs get filled with thick, gunky phlegm (yecch). If you thought that water blocked oxygen, trust us, thick, gunky phlegm is worse—now your chest hurts, you have a cough, and you’re even more short of breath (Uh Oh).

Second, those germs start doing what they do best the moment they move in—They start making germ babies! You might have 100 pneumonia germs on day one (and not feel so sick)—and 100,000,000 pneumonia germs on day four.

Now you’ve got a terrible wracking cough, your chest hurts every time your breathe, you’ve got a temperature of 102, and you just wish all this would go away.

You’re so sick you have to go to the hospital.

Which leaves you with two important questions —

Why didn’t I call the doctor 4 days ago?

and

What do I do now?

How It Happens

"Kill ‘em all! Kill ‘em early!” — That’s what we think you should do about pneumonia germs.

Call the doctor when the first signs of a respiratory problem appear — the sniffles, a little cough, some yellow snot, a head cold, whatever. Give your doctor the opportunity to commit some ‘antibiotic mayhem’ when there are only a few pneumonia germs to wipe out (before the germ babies).

Note to self — It’s way easier to kill 100 germs today than it will be to kill 1,000,000 (or 100,000,000) in a few days.

Make those 100 germs regret the day they moved in. Ka-boom.

And one more important note—don’t forget the mop-up. Take all the antibiotics your doctor prescribes. Every single one. Even if there are only a few germs left, they can start making babies again. So take all your antibiotics—take an opportunity to kill every single one of those pneumonia germs.

End them! Once and for all!

What To Do About It

Related Entries

The Hard Road of a Caregiver

Vel elit scelerisque mauris pellentesque pulvinar pellentesque habitant morbi tristique. Congue mauris rhoncus aenean vel elit scelerisque.

Sleep Problems

Egestas pretium aenean pharetra magna ac placerat vestibulum lectus mauris. Ultrices gravida dictum fusce ut placerat orci nulla pellentesque dignissim.

Venous Stasis Ulcers

Sed velit dignissim sodales ut eu sem integer vitae justo. Egestas pretium aenean pharetra magna ac placerat vestibulum lectus mauris.

Depression

Most people with advanced congestive heart failure are depressed.That probably doesn’t come as a big surprise. They can barely leave the house.

QUIZ-A-RAMA

[h5p id="5"]