Home Common health questions Infections Back to Infections. Is pneumonia contagious? Catching pneumonia The germs that can cause pneumonia are usually breathed in. People often have small amounts of germs in their nose and throat that can be passed on through: coughs and sneezes — these launch tiny droplets of fluid containing germs into the air, which someone else can breathe in touching an object and transferring germs on to it — someone else can touch this object and then touch their own mouth or nose Preventing the spread of pneumonia You can help prevent the spread of a pneumonia by taking some simple hygiene precautions.
These include: washing your hands regularly and thoroughly, particularly after touching your nose and mouth, and before handling food coughing and sneezing into a tissue, then throwing it away immediately and washing your hands not sharing cups or kitchen utensils with others Vaccination The pneumococcal vaccine protects against Streptococcus pneumoniae, which is the most common cause of bacterial pneumonia. Vaccination is recommended for: babies adults aged 65 or over children and adults with certain long-term health conditions, such as a serious heart or kidney condition Find out more about who should have the pneumococcal vaccine.
Your doctor will prescribe antibiotics to treat bacterial pneumonia. You should be no longer contagious a day or two after starting antibiotics and once your fever resolves, if you had one. You can also be contagious if you have viral pneumonia. The same viruses that cause colds and flu can cause viral pneumonia.
Other viruses that attack the respiratory system can be causes as well. Viral pneumonia is contagious until you are feeling better and have been free of fever for several days.
Fungal pneumonia typically occurs in people that have a weakened immune system or other serious health issues. The fungi that causes this type of pneumonia is usually found in soil.
Aspiration pneumonia is not contagious because it is caused by inhaling food or liquid into your lungs. This can happen in people who have had a stroke or have other neurologic conditions. Here are some steps that can help reduce your exposure to bacteria or viruses that can cause pneumonia:.
Read more: When to stay home sick ». Vaccines are an important and effective way to prevent both viral and bacterial infections in children and adults. Pneumonia is a common complication with many of these infections. Do you have viral or bacterial pneumonia? Learn about the symptoms of viral pneumonia and how to treat this contagious condition. Double pneumonia is a lung infection that affects both of your lungs.
Learn more about the symptoms and prognosis for double pneumonia. Pneumonia is a serious complication of COPD. Find out how pneumonia differs from other lung infections, and how this condition is treated. How is bacterial pneumonia different from viral?
Additionally, some types of pneumonia are much more contagious than others. Two examples of highly contagious strains of this illness are mycoplasma and mycobacterium. Once a person who has pneumonia starts on antibiotics, he or she only remains contagious for the next 24 to 48 hours.
This can be longer for certain types of organisms, including those that cause the disease tuberculosis. In that case, someone can remain contagious for up to two weeks after starting on antibiotics. When someone has viral pneumonia, the contagious period starts to subside when the symptoms do.
This is particularly true of fever. Keep in mind that someone who had pneumonia may still cough occasionally for several weeks, even after he or she is no longer contagious. The incubation period is the time from when you pick up the pneumonia virus to when you actively display symptoms.
Many variables affect this, including the type of pneumonia, your general health, and your age. You may assume that you have a cold or the flu when symptoms begin because they are quite similar.
However, they last longer and become more severe with time instead of less. These symptoms typically appear within three days to one week of when you first start feeling ill. When you acquire pneumonia, it could affect only one lung, both lungs, or spread from one to the other.
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