What Is Walking Pneumonia?

How To Treat It

Most cases of walking pneumonia are treated at home because the symptoms do not produce a need for the patient to seek medical attention. When a patient does seek medical treatment for walking pneumonia, a physician will do a physical examination and laboratory tests to determine what type of bacteria or if a virus is causing the infection. If the bacteria is not a strain that is known to be resistant to antibiotics, the patient will be prescribed a course of oral antibiotics to help eliminate the infection. Some patients who experience complications or have especially severe forms of walking pneumonia caused by the penicillin-resistant Legionella bacteria may need to be hospitalized. In a hospital setting, a patient with severe walking pneumonia can be monitored closely, receive respiratory therapy, supportive oxygen therapy, intravenous fluids, and potent intravenous antibiotic therapy to help them recover. It can take anywhere from a week to a month for a patient to recover from walking pneumonia, depending on whether they have received treatment.

Compare walking pneumonia to other types of pneumonia next.