Walking pneumonia

Walking pneumonia (a.k.a. mycoplasma pneumonia or atypical pneumonia) is a term used to describe a mild case of pneumonia. It is a lung infection that is caused by the mycoplasma pneumoniae organism. Walking pneumonia is different from other types of pneumonia in that, even if untreated, walking pneumonia would not cause a person to be confined to a bed or require a hospital stay.

Signs and symptoms of walking pneumonia usually include a severe cough, fever, abdominal pain, headaches, and chills.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae, the organism that causes walking pneumonia, can be contagious if contact with the infected person is prolonged. Walking pneumonia is transmitted through airborne droplets, which are dispersed when a person talks, sneezes, coughs or laughs.

Your doctor will prescribe antibiotics for your walking pneumonia. Any number of antibiotics may be prescribed, but the most common antibiotics for walking pneumonia are erythromycin, clarithromycin, and tetracyclines. As the antibiotics fight the infection, you will gradually get better over the next week.