Those two symptoms—dry cough and shortness of breath—are two of the most common symptoms of something called interstitial lung disease, a condition (technically a group of diseases) that about 400,000 people in the US are currently dealing with, according to the American College of Chest Physicians' Chest Foundation. That's a large number—primarily because interstitial lung disease (ILD) includes more than 100 specific diseases. Overall, it's estimated that ILD accounts for about 15% of cases seen by pulmonologists (aka lung doctors), per National Jewish Health.

ILD can often be difficult to diagnose; according to the Chest Foundation, because symptoms of ILD are so often similar to other lung conditions, half of all cases are initially misdiagnosed. Here, pulmonologists explain what you need to know about ILD, including the most common symptoms and causes, as well as how physicians typically treat the condition.

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What exactly is interstitial lung disease?

Interstitial lung disease, at its core, is a group of lung diseases that cause lung inflammation and/or scarring (aka fibrosis), according to the Chest Foundation. While sometimes ILD is referred to as interstitial pneumonia, that's not entirely correct. For the most part, typical pneumonia is inflammation in the lungs due to infection, but "interstitial lung disease is a broad category of lung diseases that cause inflammation in the lung tissue in the absence of infection," Thomas Monaco, MD, assistant professor of pulmonary medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, tells Health.

• Pneumoconioses: This group of ILDs are caused by inhaling certain dusts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This is typically caused by occupational or work-place exposure.
• Granulomatous: A granuloma is technically a small area of inflammation, according to the Mayo Clinic. In this type of ILD, granulomas are found in the lungs.
• Collagen vascular disease: This type of ILD can occur when someone has an autoimmune disease, in which their immune system mistakenly attacks its own body.
• Drug toxicity: These ILDs are typically caused by drugs including chemotherapy and methotrexate, among others.
• Rare causes: According to the Chest Foundation, these types of ILDs are extremely rare and "have special features that distinguish them from other ILDs."
• Idiopathic and rare idiopathic ILD: There's no known cause for these ILDs, which include acute interstitial pneumonia (AIP), lymphoid interstitial pneumonia (LIP), and cryptogenic organizing pneumonia (COP).
• Chronic fibrosing: The Chest Foundation says these types of ILDs take quite a while to develop and cause symptoms—and, when detected, are usually irreversible.
• Smoking-related ILD: Though smoking can rarely cause ILD, it can still happen—and in that case, the first step to treatment is to stop smoking.

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What causes interstitial lung disease?

Because there are so many types of ILD, there are also quite a few different potential causes. "Many different things can cause interstitial lung disease, and we are learning about more causes all the time," says Dr. Monaco.

According to National Jewish Health, there are four main causes of ILD:

• Autoimmune or connective tissue diseases: According to Dr. Monaco, having a preexisting autoimmune condition (think: lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease) can raise your risk of ILD.
• Exposure to an agent that can damage the lungs: This can happen in an occupational environment, like when someone is exposed to asbestos or coal dust, Shweta Sood, MD, MS, a pulmonologist at Penn Medicine, tells Health. But it can also include instances of smoking, or using certain medications.
• Genetics: "Some interstitial lung diseases are inherited and passed down from one generation to the next," Dr. Monaco says. Those can include diseases like neurofibromatosis and Gaucher disease.
• Idiopathic: These are essentially unknown causes for ILD. The types associated with this cause include: sarcoidosis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and acute interstitial pneumonia, among others.

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What are the symptoms of interstitial lung disease?

This relates to the many different types of ILD, as well—the symptoms are usually quite nonspecific. "The symptoms of interstitial lung disease are challenging because they're vague," says. Dr. Sood. That, again, is why many cases of ILD are often misdiagnosed at first. Many patients have even reported going without a diagnosis for more than a year after the onset of symptoms, according to the Chest Foundation.

According to Dr. Sood, "the uniform feature is some sort of lung scarring that can make it hard to breathe." Though every person is different, these are the most common symptoms reported with ILD in general, according to Stanford Health Care:

• Shortness of breath or trouble breathing
• Dry cough
• Fatigue and weakness
• Loss of appetite
• Unexpected weight loss
• Chest pain or discomfort
• Bleeding in the lungs

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How is interstitial lung disease diagnosed and treated?

Like with any diagnosis, your doctor will first take stock of your own personal medical history as well as your family's. You'll also have a complete physical exam, and possibly a high-resolution computed tomography (CT) scan, Jewish National Health says.

Past that, more tests that your doctor may want to perform include: certain blood tests, lung function tests, imaging tests, and tissue sampling tests, per the Chest Foundation.

As far as treatment goes, "you have to treat the underlying cause," says Dr. Panettieri. If someone is experiencing ILD from another autoimmune condition, corticosteroids or immunosuppressive medications can help tamp down the body's immune response, he says. If a person developed ILD from exposure, however, there's a chance the "lung disease will resolve and the lungs will begin to heal as soon as the offending substance is removed," says Dr. Monaco.

There are also medications called anti-fibrotics that interrupt the process of scars forming and "significantly slow" the process of replacing lung tissue with scarring over time, Dr. Monaco says—but those are nly Ultimately, "the treatments are almost as varied as the causes of interstitial lung disease," he adds.

Other therapies that don't involve medical intervention include pulmonary rehabilitation, oxygen therapy, or even lung transplantation ("[ILD is] one of the most common reasons why people get lung transplants these days," says Dr. Sood).

If you or someone you know has ILD, it's also important to take stock of your current wellness routine and make changes accordingly—that means quitting smoking, focusing on maintaining a healthy lifestyle, keeping up with medications, and protecting yourself against the flu, COVID-19, or other respiratory diseases through proper hygiene, mask-wearing, and vaccination.

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"The different types of pneumonia can sometimes require very different treatments," Thomas Monaco, MD, assistant professor of medicine-pulmonary at the Baylor College of Medicine, tells Health. "For example, one group of bacteria that causes pneumonia may not respond to the same antibiotic as another group, and antibiotics will not help at all if the cause of the pneumonia is due to a virus or some of the more uncommon causes of pneumonia."

6-Different-Types-of-Pneumonia-Explained-By-Doctors-GettyImages-478188273 (CDC), and it can cause mild to severe illness in people of all ages. 

Again, there's not one type of pneumonia, and each form has a slightly different cause. Here's a breakdown of the different types of pneumonia, according to experts.

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Bacterial pneumonia

Bacterial pneumonia is pneumonia that's caused by bacteria—most commonly, Streptococcus pneumoniae. This is a bacteria that normally lives in your upper respiratory tract that can make its way down into your lungs and cause an infection, Raymond Casciari, MD, a pulmonologist at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, Calif., tells Health. Bacterial pneumonia infects more than 900,000 Americans each year, according to the American Lung Association (ALA), and you can develop this form of pneumonia on its own or after you've had a virus, like the cold or flu. 

Streptococcus pneumoniae isn't the only type of bacteria that can lead to bacterial pneumonia—Dr. Casciari lists off Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydophila pneumoniae, and Legionella pneumophila as other possible causes. 

"We have very good and specific antibiotics to treat bacterial pneumonia," Dr. Sood says. "We need to first identify the bacteria and use the antibody that's specific for that bacteria."

Viral pneumonia 

Viral pneumonia is caused by a virus, and there are plenty that can make you sick, Medline Plus says. Those include:

• Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)
• Influenza virus
• Parainfluenza virus
• Adenovirus
• Measles virus
• Coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19

Unfortunately, antibiotics don't treat viral pneumonia, but there are some medications that may help if the infection is caught early, including antiviral drugs and corticosteroids, to try to help reduce inflammation, Dr. Casciari says. In more severe cases, you may need supplemental oxygen as a treatment. For milder cases of the illness, though, Dr. Sood says that your doctor will probably recommend that you rest at home and get plenty of fluids. 

You do have the option, however, to prevent some of the viruses that can cause pneumonia—the flu, measles, and COVID-19 all have vaccines available to prevent severe illness.

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Fungal pneumonia

Fungal pneumonia isn't common in most parts of the US, and people are usually infected when they breathe in certain fungal spores, Dr. Casciari says. However, there is a condition called valley fever, which is a type of fungal pneumonia caused by the fungus Coccidioides, which lives in soil in the southwestern U.S.

Fungal pneumonia is usually more of a concern for people with weakened immune systems, like those who have diabetes, AIDS, or cancer, Marc Sala, MD, a pulmonologist at Northwestern Medicine, tells Health. 

Treatment usually involves antifungal medications like fluconazole, Dr. Casciari says.

Walking pneumonia

To be fair, the term "walking pneumonia" isn't necessarily a true medical diagnosis, but doctors (and many people) know what the phrase means

"What it implies is that whatever the cause of your pneumonia is, it's not severe enough to put you in bed," says Dr. Casciari. Dr. Sood echoes that statement, saying that, with walking pneumonia, you can feel sick, "but you're still able to do most activities."

Walking pneumonia can come from any of the main causes of pneumonia—bacterial, viral, or fungal—according to Dr. Casciari. But the CDC says it's most commonly the result of an infection by the Mycoplasma pneumoniae bacteria, which causes milder infections in the respiratory system.

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Chemical pneumonia

Chemical pneumonia is caused by a toxin that you inhale, Reynold A. Panettieri, Jr., MD, professor of medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and director of the Rutgers Institute for Translational Medicine & Science, tells Health. "Classic chemical pneumonia was caused by chlorine gas, which was used as a weapon in World War I," he says. But it's possible to get chemical pneumonia from other things, including by accidentally breathing in large amounts of fumes from cleaning supplies, pool equipment, or even air fresheners, if they're sprayed directly into someone's airways, Dr. Casciari says. "These things can physically irritate the lungs," he explains. 

For treatment, you'll first need to get away from the source that's injured you. "If your eyes are burning, your lungs are, too," Dr. Casciari says. Then, doctors will usually provide supportive care until your lungs can heal themselves. "That might involve supplemental oxygen, fluids, and even mechanical ventilation," Dr. Casciari says.

Aspiration pneumonia

Aspiration pneumonia is an infection that can happen when you accidentally inhale substances into your lungs, like your own stomach acid or food particles. That causes inflammation and "sometimes this injury can be followed by a secondary bacterial infection," Dr. Monaco says.

This condition is more common in people who have a brain injury, neurological disorder, trouble swallowing, or have used drugs or alcohol—anything that can interfere with the gag reflex that would help keep these substances out of the lungs, Dr. Casciari says.  

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How you get pneumonia matters, too

The way you get pneumonia can generally be classified into two camps: Community-acquired pneumonia and health care–acquired pneumonia.

"Community-acquired pneumonia is someone living their normal life, who gets sick and is diagnosed with pneumonia," Dr. Sood says. "Most of the time, they can be treated safely with rest at home and antibiotics."

But health care–acquired pneumonia is different. "That's a term we use for patients that are in the hospital or are going to hospital-like settings and get pneumonia," Dr. Sood says. "They tend to get infected with bugs that require more aggressive therapy and antibiotics."

A more common way that someone gets health care–acquired pneumonia is from the use of a ventilator, Dr. Panettieri says. "With a ventilator, the tube goes through your windpipe so you can still maintain oxygen to your heart and brain," he explains. "But that tube, which is a foreign object, can be a conduit for any bacteria to get directly into the lungs." This is a big concern for doctors with ventilator use, since people who are on a ventilator are often sick to begin with. "The mortality of that is very high," Dr. Panettieri says. 

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At the most basic level, pneumonia is an infection of the lungs that causes inflammation and fluid buildup in the lungs' air sacs or alveoli, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It can cause mild to severe illness in people of all ages. While you're more likely to get pneumonia if you're a smoker or have underlying medical conditions like diabetes or heart disease, any person of any age can get pneumonia, Raymond Casciari, MD, a pulmonologist at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, California, tells Health.

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Bacteria

Bacterial pneumonia is usually caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, which lives in the upper respiratory tract, Dr. Casciari says. "This is the most common cause of pneumonia," he adds. 

You can develop bacterial pneumonia as a complication of a viral infection, like the cold or flu; due to aspirating or inhaling fluid like saliva or vomit; or you can just develop it on its own. "It used to be thought that the lungs were a sterile environment, devoid of bacteria. We now know that this is not true and that the lungs are 'colonized' by bacteria that are harmless under ordinary circumstances," Marc A. Sala, MD, a pulmonologist and assistant professor of medicine at Northwestern Medicine, tells Health. But, in some situations, like after a viral infection that disturbs the balance of bacteria in your lungs, you can develop bacterial pneumonia, he says. 

While Streptococcus pneumoniae is the main cause of bacterial pneumonia, it's not the only cause, says Dr. Casciari. Other types of bacteria known to cause pneumonia, per the US National Library of Medicine's MedlinePlus resource, include:

• Legionella pneumophila (pneumonia caused by this bacteria is more commonly known as Legionnaires' disease)
• Mycoplasma pneumoniae
• Chlamydia pneumoniae
• Haemophilus influenzae

Bacterial pneumonia is usually treated with oral antibiotics, Dr. Casciari says. But, in more severe cases, a patient may be given IV antibiotics, breathing treatments, or oxygen therapy, MedlinePlus says. Also worth noting, per the CDC: The pneumococcal vaccine can help lower your risk of contracting bacterial pneumonia from Streptococcus pneumoniae.

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Viruses

There are a lot of viruses that can lead to viral pneumonia. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common cause of pneumonia in children, but the influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, are the main causes of pneumonia in adults, Dr. Casciari says. MedlinePlus says the common cold also has the potential of leading to pneumonia.

"The typical way that one develops pneumonia is by being exposed to the droplets or aerosols of someone who has an active infection, resulting in inflammation and an immune response, which we then refer to as pneumonia," Dr. Sala says. Viral pneumonias can also have a secondary bacterial infection, Dr. Casciari says. 

Treatment for viral pneumonia usually involves the use of an antiviral treatment like oseltamivir (Tamiflu) or remdesivir, Dr. Casciari says. And just like with bacterial pneumonia, people with severe cases may need supplemental oxygen or breathing treatments. 

Some vaccines can help lower your risk of developing viral pneumonia, including the flu vaccine and COVID-19 vaccine, Dr. Casciari says. 

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Fungi

Fungal pneumonia is more of a potential issue for people with chronic health complications or weakened immune systems. Nicola Hanania, MD, a pulmonologist at the Baylor College of Medicine, tells Health that doctors "don't really see fungal pneumonia in people with normal immune systems." But for people with diabetes, AIDS, HIV, or cancer, it may be a risk, she says. 

"By and large, fungal pneumonia is not an issue for most people in the US, with the exception of a few organisms," adds Dr. Sala. The fungal infections most commonly linked to pneumonia, per MedlinePlus, include:

• Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP), caused by the fungus Pneumocystis jiroveci
• Valley fever or coccidioidomycosis, caused by the Coccidioides fungus
• Histoplasmosis, caused by the Histoplasma fungus
• Cryptococcosis, caused by the fungi Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii

With fungal pneumonia, people are often infected when they breathe in certain fungal spores, Dr. Casciari says. Doctors will usually treat fungal pneumonia with antifungal medications like fluconazole.

If you're experiencing any of the common signs of pneumonia—fever, chills, cough, and shortness of breath, among others—doctors say it's important to seek treatment, no matter what could be behind it. "Pneumonia is serious," Dr. Casciari says. "It can be deadly."

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But very rarely (if ever) will a doctor dole out a pneumonia diagnosis and send you on your way—they may tell you it's bacterial or viral, whether it's in different spots of the lung, or if it's confined to a single lung or has taken up residence in both.

What-Is-Double-Pneumonia-GettyImages-1046133486

What is double pneumonia?

So again, double or bilateral pneumonia is a term used to describe when there's inflammation caused by an infection in the air sacs in both lungs, Thomas Monaco, MD, assistant professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine, tells Health.

The parts of the lungs that are affected by pneumonia—either bilateral (double, or both lungs) or unilateral (single, or one lung)—are called the alveoli, or the small, balloon-shaped air sacs in lungs that move oxygen and carbon dioxide into and out of your blood stream. When those air sacs become infected and inflamed, they begin to fill up with fluid or pus, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). That, in turn, can cause all of those unwelcome symptoms like cough, fever, chills, and difficulty breathing.

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What are the symptoms of double pneumonia?

There's no real difference in the symptoms of double pneumonia versus pneumonia that affects a single lung, Raymond Casciari, MD, a pulmonologist at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, California, tells Health. But because double pneumonia affects both lungs, it may feel more severe. "With single pneumonia, you can get chest pain, but it will only be on one side," he says. "With double, it may be on both sides."

Generally speaking, the most common symptoms of pneumonia, per the NHLBI, include:

• Chest pain when you breathe or cough
• Chills
• Cough with or without mucus
• Fever
• Low oxygen levels in your blood, measured with a pulse oximeter
• Shortness of breath

Some people with pneumonia may also experience other symptoms like headache, muscle pain, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, NHLBI says.

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What causes double pneumonia?

Pneumonia is usually caused by either a bacteria, virus, or fungi—and that's true whether you have double or single pneumonia, says Dr. Casciari. However, he adds that viral infections are usually more likely to show up in both lungs. "The list of infections that can cause pneumonia of both lungs is long, but viral infections are a common offender," says Dr. Monaco, citing SARS-CoV-2, or the virus that causes COVID-19, as a prime example.

However, Dr. Monaco references another type of bacteria that can also more commonly lead to double pneumonia. "There are also a group of atypical bacteria [Mycoplasma pneumoniae] that cause pneumonia, a less severe, more mild case of the illness. Another form of bacteria—Legionella pneumophila—is also known to affect both lungs quite extensively, Reynold Panettieri, MD, a pulmonary critical care expert and director of the Institute for Translational Medicine and Science at Rutgers University, tells Health.

But it's not always about the type of microbe that caused the infection—a person's underlying risk factors matter too, Shweta Sood, MD, a pulmonologist and assistant professor of clinical medicine at Penn Medicine, tells Health. The following factors, per the NHLBI, can raise your risk of having more severe pneumonia:

• Being a smoker
• Being a heavy drinker
• Having heart disease
• Having lung disease, like asthma or COPD
• Being immunocompromised
• Being very young or very old
• Having another underlying disease, like diabetes or cancer

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How is double pneumonia treated?

Treatment usually depends on what caused your pneumonia in the first place, Dr. Sood says. Here's a breakdown of possible treatments:

• Antibiotics. "If someone is relatively healthy and they get bacterial pneumonia, we can usually treat them as an outpatient with antibiotics," Dr. Sood says. In more severe cases, you'll need IV antibiotics in the hospital.
• Rest. If you have viral double pneumonia, you may not need anything, Dr. Panettieri says. 
• Anti-virals. Doctors usually recommend rest and fluids if you have viral pneumonia. However, in more severe situations, an antiviral medication like remdesivir may help, Dr. Casciari says.
• Antifungals. An antifungal medication can help treat fungal pneumonia, Dr. Sood says. And, like antibiotics, if you have a more severe form of double pneumonia, you may be given the medication through an IV.
• Breathing support. "Patients with pneumonia in both lungs are more likely to need supplemental oxygen or possibly support from a mechanical ventilator," Dr. Monaco says.

As far as prognosis goes, it's important to note that pneumonia is one of the top 10 causes of death in the US, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—and "it's serious, but even worse when it involved both lungs," Dr. Casciari says. 

If you develop double pneumonia, though, don't panic. "Fortunately, most patients with pneumonia will recover without any long-lasting effects," Dr. Monaco says. If you do begin to feel any of the symptoms most commonly associated with pneumonia, it's best to let your primary care provider know so they can take a thorough look. If you are feeling symptoms that signal more of an emergency—severe trouble breathing, a very high fever, or extreme chest pain—seek medical care immediately.

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But here's the tricky part: It's really tough for you (and sometimes even doctors) to determine whether your cough is caused by pneumonia or something less severe. "Most pneumonia coughs usually are difficult to distinguish from regular coughs," Shweta Sood, MD, a pulmonologist and assistant professor of clinical medicine at Penn Medicine, tells Health.

While it may be difficult to distinguish pneumonia from a cold or allergies from cough alone, there are clues that you can (and should) pay attention to that can help signal if you're deal with a true pneumonia cough. Here, pulmonologists break down the signs that can show your cough is due to pneumonia—and how to help get rid of it.

Pneumonia-Cough-GettyImages-1227312292 resource. Pneumonia can range from mild to severe, and it all depends on a slew of factors, including the type of germ that caused the infection, your age, and how healthy you are overall.

Pneumonia is usually caused by bacteria, virus, or fungus, but each often causes a cough, along with other uncomfortable symptoms. 

Anyone can develop pneumonia, but factors like having a weakened immune system, being very young or very old, and certain lifestyle habits like smoking and heavy alcohol use can raise your risk, MedlinePlus says. 

RELATED: COVID-19 Can Cause Pneumonia—Here's What to Know, According to Experts

What are the most common symptoms of pneumonia?

The symptoms of pneumonia can vary a little, depending on what is causing the infection, Raymond Casciari, MD, a pulmonologist at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, California, tells Health. In general, he says, pneumonia in the US is most commonly caused by either a bacteria or a virus, and the symptoms can be slightly different.

When pneumonia is caused by bacteria, the Cleveland Clinic says symptoms can include:

• High fever up to 105 degrees Fahrenheit
• Fatigue
• Rapid breathing or shortness of breath
• Sweating
• Chills
• Cough with mucus that might be greenish in color or have a small amount of blood
• Chest pain and/or abdominal pain, especially with coughing or deep breathing
• Loss of appetite
• Confused mental state or changes in awareness 

Viral pneumonia symptoms include the following, per the Cleveland Clinic:

• Fever
• Dry cough that can turn into a cough with mucus
• Headache
• Sore throat
• Loss of appetite
• Muscle pain
• Weakness

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What does a pneumonia cough sound (and look) like?

Keep this in mind: "The cough itself isn't necessarily different, but a cough in the setting of pneumonia-like symptoms is concerning," Khalilah Gates, MD, pulmonary and critical care specialist at Northwestern Medicine, tells Health. Meaning you (and your doctor) should take into account other factors to see if you could, in fact, be dealing with pneumonia, like whether you have a fever and loss of appetite.

The cough itself, though, can signal that something is off. "It is a new cough or a cough that has changed from the patient's usual cough that alerts physicians to investigate it further to figure out if there is a pneumonia," Dr. Sood says. Dr. Casciari adds that pneumonia coughs tend to sound "deeper" than regular coughs.

As far as what you actually cough up with pneumonia, that can depend on what type of pneumonia you have and what stage it's in. With early-stage viral pneumonia, you may not cough up anything. But if your viral pneumonia has progressed or you're dealing with a bacterial pneumonia, it's likely to be "more productive of mucus," Dr. Casciari says. Meaning, you should be able to cough up something. It can be greenish or yellowish in color, Dr. Casciari says.

"Usually, patients with pneumonia don't cough forever and nothing happens—they cough and something comes out," Dr. Casciari says. In addition to mucus, a pneumonia cough can be bloody. "Blood-tinged mucus is always abnormal and needs to be diagnosed," Dr. Casciari says. "But a severe cough for any reason can cause a blood vessel to break and mucus to be blood-tinged."

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How to treat a pneumonia cough

If you're uncomfortable, you should call your doctor, whether you suspect that you have pneumonia or not. A painful cough can be a sign of a range of health issues, and it's really a good idea to get it checked out if it's bothering you and isn't getting better, Dr. Gates says. You should also seek help ASAP if you have a high fever and "significant" shortness of breath, she says. 

If your doctor diagnoses you with bacterial pneumonia, they'll likely prescribe an antibiotic to treat your infection—and your cough. If it's viral and caught early, they may prescribe an anti-viral medication and, if it's fungal, they'll likely have you take an antifungal medication, Dr. Casciari says. Of course, those medications treat the underlying infection and, while they should help you to feel better, it may take a little time for your cough to clear up. 

In the meantime, doctors say there are a few things you can do to help your cough:

• Get some rest. That will help your body recover, so you have energy to fight the infection, Dr. Sood says. 
• Drink something with honey. "Beverages with honey can often be soothing for patients and reduce cough too," per Dr. Sood.
• Drink plenty of water. "Any kind of liquid helps with mucus production," Dr. Casciari says.
• Do steam treatments. This can be with a humidifier or even just from hanging out in your steamy bathroom. "Inhaling humidified vapor can help get bacteria out," Dr. Casciari says.
• Try a cough suppressant. This is "particularly helpful when you can't sleep because you're coughing," Dr. Gates says. 

Just keep this in mind, per Dr. Gates: "The cough probably won't get better until the actual pneumonia is treated."

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But pneumonia can be much more complicated than that—it can be caused by different things (a virus, bacteria, or fungus), acquired in different environments (in the community or at the hospital), and can even differ in how much of the lungs are affected by the infection.

Multifocal pneumonia is just one specific classification of pneumonia, which can help doctors determine the most effective form of treatment. Here's what you need to know about multifocal pneumonia—including the most common symptoms, what can typically cause it, and how doctors tend to treat the illness.  

RELATED: Is Pneumonia Contagious? What to Know, and How to Protect Yourself

Multifocal-Pneumonia-GettyImages-1299730658 (ALA). Your right lung is divided into three lobes, and your left lung has two lobes. 

While pneumonia, in general, is an infection in one or both lungs, multifocal pneumonia narrows the diagnosis down a little more to how much of the lung is affected. Essentially, multifocal pneumonia is a term that's used to describe pneumonia in different spots of the lung, Raymond Casciari, MD, a pulmonologist at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, Calif., tells Health. "Multifocal could be two spots in the same lobe, or two spots in different lobes," he says. 

Doctors can further break down multifocal pneumonia by calling it unilateral multifocal pneumonia and bilateral multifocal pneumonia, Shweta Sood, MD, MS, a pulmonary medicine physician and assistant professor of clinical medicine at Penn Medicine, tells Health. "Unilateral pneumonia refers to pneumonia only affecting one lung—right or left," she explains. "Bilateral pneumonia tends to affect both lungs."

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What causes multifocal pneumonia?

Technically, multifocal pneumonia can be caused by the same things that cause other types of pneumonia—viruses, bacteria, and fungi. But "if it's multifocal, it's more likely to be caused by a virus, like we've seen with COVID-19," Khalilah Gates, MD, a pulmonary and critical care specialist at Northwestern Medicine, tells Health. Other potential causes of viral multifocal pneumonia include respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and some common cold and flu viruses, according to the US National Library of Medicine's MedlinePlus resource.  

Multifocal pneumonia can also be caused by a bacteria like streptococcus pneumoniae or legionella pneumophila, or a fungus like pneumocystis pneumonia, coccidioidomycosis, or cryptococcus, Dr. Casciari says. "Having multifocal pneumonia doesn't automatically signify what's causing the pneumonia," he says. "We still have to investigate."

RELATED: COVID-19 Can Cause Pneumonia—Here's What to Know, According to Experts

What are the symptoms of multifocal pneumonia?

Symptoms of multifocal pneumonia are usually the same as other types of pneumonia but "in general, multifocal pneumonia tends to be more severe," Dr. Casciari says. Those symptoms can include:

• Cough
• Fever
• Shortness of breath
• Sputum
• Chest pain
• Coughing up blood

"Some patients can be quite sick when they develop multifocal pneumonia," Dr. Sood says. But, she adds, "most people may only have mild symptoms and be able to recover at home."

RELATED: Bronchitis vs. Pneumonia: How to Tell the Difference, According to Experts

How is multifocal pneumonia treated?

Doctors like to try to catch pneumonia early so that they can treat it appropriately and catch it before it progresses too far, Dr. Gates says. But the actual treatment depends on what's causing the pneumonia in the first place. "You've got to find the cause," Dr. Casciari says. 

Once doctors figure out what's behind the pneumonia, they'll prescribe a treatment based on that. "For patients with mild symptoms, treatment centers around rest, hydration, and good nutrition," Dr. Sood says. If the pneumonia is bacterial, the patient will be given antibiotics, she says. But, Dr. Sood points out, "most patients with viral pneumonia do not require antibiotics." Instead, they may be treated with an antiviral medication like oseltamivir (Tamiflu) or remdesivir, depending on the cause of the infection. And, if a patient has fungal pneumonia, it will be treated with antifungal medication, Dr. Casciari says. 

A person's overall health matters with recovery from multifocal pneumonia. "Most healthy people with minimal underlying medical conditions usually recover from pneumonia with no issue over the course of several days," Dr. Sood says. "Patients who have underlying medical conditions still may have good recovery but it may take longer. In very severe cases, pneumonia can cause death."

Still, doctors say that many people with multifocal pneumonia end up OK. "The main thing about multifocal pneumonia is getting the patient over the acute phase," Dr. Casciari says. "If we can, they generally do very well and the lungs heal well."

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Aspiration-Pneumonia-Still-GettyImages-97236469 are caused by a viral or bacterial infection that leads to inflammation in the lungs (specifically the air sacs or alveoli which fill with fluid or pus), aspiration pneumonia occurs when food or liquids (including saliva and vomit) are inhaled (or aspirated) instead of swallowed.

To the lungs, those substances are foreign. Sometimes, the aspiration clears up on its own; other times, it can lead to a bacterial infection. "First, you get inflammation, usually a day or two after you aspirate," Nicola Hanania, MD, a pulmonary and critical care physician at the Baylor College of Medicine, tells Health. Then, Dr. Hanania says, it turns into bacterial pneumonia "most of the time."

RELATED: Is Pneumonia Contagious? What to Know, and How to Protect Yourself

What are the symptoms of aspiration pneumonia?

The symptoms of aspiration pneumonia are the same as the signs for other forms of pneumonia, Dr. Casciari says. According to the National Library of Medicine's MedlinePlus resource, those include:

• Chest pain
• Coughing up greenish or dark phlegm or phlegm that contains pus or blood
• Fatigue
• Fever
• Shortness of breath
• Wheezing
• Smelly breath
• Excessive sweating
• Problems with swallowing
• Confusion

What causes aspiration pneumonia?

There's a laundry list of potential causes and risk factors for aspiration pneumonia. Marc A. Sala, MD, assistant professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the Northwestern Medicine Feinberg School of Medicine, tells Health that the condition is more likely to happen in older people or those who are immunocompromised. "When one's physical or immune defenses are impaired, as they can be with old age or certain neurological diseases, aspiration can become a problem and lead to infection," he says.

Dr. Casciari lists off other potential causes, including being hit in the stomach, having a hiatal hernia (a condition where part of the stomach pushes up through the diaphragm muscle), and even being intoxicated as leading to aspiration pneumonia. "One of the worst cases I've ever had of aspiration pneumonia was a young man who got drunk and passed out at a fraternity party," he says. "All of your natural refluxes that protect your airway are hampered when you're drunk. He vomited and it made its way down to the lungs—and he got incredibly sick."

According to MedlinePlus, these factors can raise your risk of aspiration pneumonia:

• Being less alert due to medicines, illness, surgery, or other reasons
• Being in a coma
• Drinking large amounts of alcohol
• Receiving general anesthesia for surgery
• Old age
• Poor gag reflex in people who are not alert after a stroke or brain injury
• Problems with swallowing

RELATED: Viral vs. Bacterial Pneumonia: What's Really the Difference?

How is aspiration pneumonia diagnosed and treated?

Diagnosis usually starts with a healthcare provider listening to your chest with a stethoscope for the sound of crackling or unusual breathing sounds. They may also tap on the wall of your chest to listen and feel for abnormal sounds in your chest, Medline Plus says. If your doctor suspects you have pneumonia, they'll likely order a chest X-ray.

From there, it depends on how severe the aspiration pneumonia is, regarding treatment. "Treatment is almost always antibiotics," Sala says. Your doctor also may recommend positions you can lay in, to help drain your lungs, Dr. Casciari says.

In more severe cases of aspiration pneumonia, people need to be hospitalized and sometimes put on a ventilator to help with breathing. Those with more severe cases are also at a greater risk of developing complications, including lung abscess, shock, the spread of the infection to other areas of the body, including the bloodstream, respiratory failure, and death, Medline Plus says.

"Most of the time, [aspiration pneumonia is] treated well with antibiotics," Dr. Hanania says. A lot of how well someone does with the condition depends on factors like their health before getting pneumonia, the type of bacteria that caused the pneumonia, and how much of the lungs are involved, Dr. Casciari says.  

How can you prevent aspiration pneumonia?

If you develop aspiration pneumonia, you may be more likely to develop it again, so your doctor will want to try to figure out why it happened so you can avoid future issues. "Attempts at preventing it from occurring again in the future are key to avoiding long term damage to the lung tissue," Dr. Sala says.

If you have a condition like reflux, your doctor may recommend keeping the head of your bed elevated while you sleep, to help keep your stomach contents where they belong, Dr. Hanania says. If you have a swallowing problem, you may benefit from speech therapy, he says.

And, Dr. Casciari says, you want to be cautious of using things like alcohol, opiates, and tranquilizers. "These sedative-like drugs will affect your body's ability to control itself—and that can raise your risk of aspiration pneumonia," he says.

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For others, the virus takes on a more severe hold—and in some cases, that can include the development of pneumonia, a severe complication of the virus, sometimes resulting in hospitalization, ventilation, or even death.

Pneumonia caused by COVID-19 may also affect the body differently than other types of pneumonia. Here's what you need to know about COVID-19 pneumonia, including symptoms of the illness, and treatment options that have typically been used during the pandemic.

RELATED: Is Pneumonia Contagious? What to Know, and How to Protect Yourself

COVID-Pneumonia-GettyImages-1296010493 (CDC). Pneumonia is an infection of the tiny air sacs in the lungs (called alveoli) that can cause mild to severe illness in people, the CDC says. 

Some patients with COVID-19 develop pneumonia—in fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) first called the virus novel coronavirus-infected pneumonia (NCIP), before shortening the name to COVID-19. The SARS-CoV-2 virus was also first identified in Wuhan, China due to cases of "pneumonia of unknown etiology," or unknown cause, the WHO reported in January 2020.

It's not uncommon to develop pneumonia as the result of any virus, Raymond Casciari, MD, a pulmonologist at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, California, tells Health. In the case of COVID-19, the virus can damage your alveoli and cause fluid to build in your lungs as your body fights the infection, he explains. That can also lead to the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which is a serious form of respiratory failure that makes the alveoli fill with fluid. "The immune system starts attacking the lung itself, which results in ARDS," Dr. Casciari says.

RELATED: Why Do Some People Die From Pneumonia?

How is COVID-19 pneumonia different from other types of pneumonia?

COVID-19 pneumonia is different from other forms of pneumonia in that it doesn't necessarily cause people to get seriously ill right after they're infected. "You don't get sick immediately like you do with a lot of other viruses," Dr. Casciari says. "Then, in some people, the virus just explodes in the lungs, causing severe illness." 

COVID-19 pneumonia also tends to be more severe than other forms of pneumonia, pulmonologist Marc Sala, MD, an assistant professor of medicine at Northwestern Medicine, tells Health. "[Pneumonia caused by] SARS-CoV-2, when compared to other forms of pneumonia including influenza, has been shown to create an even more inflammatory type of infection that might be responsible for its severity and prolonged course in some people," he says. 

A study published in the journal Nature found that COVID-19 infects several small areas of the lung at once, which is different from many forms of pneumonia that infect large areas of the lung. Then, COVID-19 takes over the lungs' own immune cells and uses them to spread across the lung over a period of days or weeks. As the infection spreads, it damages the lungs and causes fever, low blood pressure, and damage to the kidneys, brain, heart, and other organs. The researchers said in the study that the severe complications of COVID-19 (compared to other types of pneumonia) could be because the virus causes a longer illness. 

Another study, published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, analyzed CT scans and lab tests of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, compared to those with other types of pneumonia. Researchers discovered that people with COVID-19 pneumonia were more likely to have pneumonia that impacted both lungs and a "ground glass" appearance on scans—known more formally as "ground glass opacities"—which indicates abnormalities in the lungs.

Essentially, pneumonia associated with COVID-19 is a type of "very severe pneumonia," Nicola Hanania, MD, a pulmonologist at the Baylor College of Medicine, tells Health. 

RELATED: Viral vs. Bacterial Pneumonia: What's Really the Difference?

What are the symptoms of COVID-19 pneumonia?

The symptoms of COVID-19 pneumonia are basically the same as they are for other forms of pneumonia, Dr. Casciari says. Those include:

• Cough
• Fever
• Shortness of breath
• Stabbing chest pain that gets worse when you breathe deeply or cough
• Loss of appetite
• Fatigue

People with COVID-19 pneumonia will often also have symptoms of COVID-19, Dr. Casciari says. According to the CDC, those include:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

RELATED: 3 Ways to Tell the Difference Between the Flu and Pneumonia

Who is more likely to get COVID-19 pneumonia?

Doctors can't necessarily predict who will develop COVID-19 pneumonia. "It is not yet understood why some people get pneumonia and others do not," Dr. Sala says. But, he adds, some people are considered higher risk than others, including people with the following health conditions or risk factors

• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Older age
• Underlying lung conditions

RELATED: 5 Preexisting Conditions That Can Make It Harder to Fight Coronavirus

How do doctors diagnose and treat COVID-19 pneumonia?

First and foremost, your doctor will want to confirm that you do indeed have COVID-19, likely through a swab or sample of respiratory secretions that can detect the genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Once it's confirmed that you have COVID-19, your doctor will then perform imaging tests like a computed tomography (CT) scan, which can help your provider see inside your lungs to look for any abnormalities. In addition to these scans and tests, your doctor will also be able to gain more information for a diagnosis based on any symptoms you may be having.

As far as treatments go for pneumonia caused by COVID-19, that's where things get a little complicated. In general, there's no cure for viral forms of pneumonia, which is the classification COVID-19 pneumonia would fall under, Dr. Hanania says. However, doctors have typically been treating pneumonia from COVID-19 with the antiviral medication remdesivir, and anti-inflammatory medications like the steroid dexamethasone.

In some cases, patient may be given monoclonal antibodies, which are laboratory-produced molecules that act as substitute antibodies that can restore, enhance, or mimic the immune system's attack on your cells, Dr. Casciari says. "They're not widely available, though, and they're not used often," he says. 

Overall, doctors say that if you develop symptoms of COVID-19 pneumonia, seek care immediately. "This can be very serious," Dr. Casciari says. According to the CDC, symptoms of COVID-19 that require emergency medical treatment include trouble breathing; persistent pain or pressure in the chest; and pale gray- or blue-colored skin, lips, or nail beds. Keep in mind too that this is not an exhaustive list—if you have any symptoms that are concerning to you, you should contact your provider.

The information in this story is accurate as of press time. However, as the situation surrounding COVID-19 continues to evolve, it's possible that some data have changed since publication. While Health is trying to keep our stories as up-to-date as possible, we also encourage readers to stay informed on news and recommendations for their own communities by using the CDC, WHO, and their local public health department as resources.

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Another thing that the specific type of pneumonia can shed light on: whether or not it's contagious. (Yes, you heard that right: some forms of pneumonia are indeed able to be passed between people). To get more information on those types—and what you need to know about how they present and how to avoid them—we tapped some infectious disease experts. Here's what you need to know about the contagious forms of pneumonia.

Pneumonia can be severe, and sometimes even fatal. "Pneumonia can kill you," David Cutler, MD, a family medicine physician at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif., tells Health. "It used to be one of the leading causes of death in this country and the world. It's only since the development of antibiotics and vaccines to prevent pneumonia that it's no longer the case."

RELATED: Should You Get the Pneumonia Vaccine? Here's What Experts Want You to Know

Is pneumonia contagious?

So, yes, it can be. Here's where the certain types of pneumonia come into play, since whether or not pneumonia is contagious depends on which type you have (or someone you know has).

In the most basic terms, pneumonia can be caused by either a bacterial, viral, or fungal infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Out of those three main causes, the ones that are communicable (i.e., passed from person to person) are those of the bacterial and viral variety. (Fungal pneumonia, according to the American Lung Association, is typically seen in people with compromised immune systems and occurs after they've been exposed to large amounts of certain fungi, usually in soil or bird droppings.)

Though both are contagious, there are some differences between bacterial and viral pneumonia—here's what to know about each.

Bacterial pneumonia

Bacteria are a common cause of pneumonia in adults, the NHLBI says. And, while plenty of types of bacteria can cause bacterial pneumonia, Streptococcus pneumonia is the biggest cause in the U.S. However, Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Legionella pneumophila can also cause bacterial pneumonia.

You can get bacterial pneumonia on its own, or "you can develop it as a secondary infection after having the cold or flu," pulmonary critical care expert Reynold Panettieri, MD, director of the Institute for Translational Medicine and Science at Rutgers University, tells Health.

Bacterial pneumonia can be treated with antibiotics, and you shouldn't be contagious after a few days of being on the medication, John E. McGinniss, MD, a pulmonologist with Penn Medicine, tells Health.

Viral pneumonia

Viral pneumonia can happen as a direct result of viruses that infect your airways and lungs, like the flu (which is caused by the influenza virus) or the common cold (rhinovirus), the NHLBI says. In children, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common cause of viral pneumonia.

But viral pneumonia isn't just caused by the cold and flu. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can also cause pneumonia, Dr. McGinniss points out.

As a whole, "viral pneumonia is more contagious than bacterial pneumonia," Dr. McGinniss says. That's why, if you're around someone who has viral pneumonia, it's important to take precautions like wearing a mask and practicing careful hand hygiene, he says. However, according to the ALA, most viral pneumonias are not as serious as bacterial pneumonia, nor do they last as long. (The exception to that is pneumonia caused by the influenza virus, which can be very severe and fatal in some cases.)

Viral pneumonia is usually treated with anti-viral medication, according to the NHLBI, although they're not effective against every virus that causes pneumonia.

RELATED: How to Tell if You Have Pneumonia: 8 Symptoms You Shouldn't Ignore

How can you catch pneumonia—and who’s most at risk?

When pneumonia is caused by either bacteria or viruses, it can spread between people in a variety of ways: being exposed to viral particles through uncovered coughs or sneezes, sharing drinks or utensils with an infected person, or even touching a tissue from or taking care of a person with pneumonia. It's important to note that these are mainly examples of community-acquired pneumonia, which occurs when someone develops pneumonia in the general community, per the CDC.

Anyone can get pneumonia, according to the ALA, but some people are at a greater risk for having severe pneumonia than others. Those include:

• People age 65 and over.
• Children under two years old.
• People with chronic lung diseases like COPD or cystic fibrosis.
• People with serious chronic illnesses, like heart disease, diabetes, and sickle cell disease.
• People with a weakened immune system due to HIV/AIDs, an organ transplant, chemotherapy, or long-term steroid use.
• People with difficulty swallowing.
• Those who had a recent respiratory infection, like a cold, laryngitis, or the flu.
• People who have been recently hospitalized.
• Smokers.
• People who abuse drugs and alcohol.
• Exposure to certain chemicals, pollutants, or toxic fumes, including secondhand smoke.

RELATED: What Exactly Is Pneumonia–and How Can You Protect Yourself?

Is there any way to prevent getting a contagious form of pneumonia?

Here's where some vaccines come into play—there are actually a few different ones that can significantly lower your risk (as long as your doctor gives you the all-clear).

• The flu vaccine: "The flu vaccine is actually very effective at preventing bacterial pneumonia, since influenza predisposes you to bacterial pneumonia as a secondary infection," Dr. McGinniss says. He points out that it can also be helpful at preventing viral pneumonia from the influenza virus.
• Pneumococcal vaccines: There are twovaccines available to prevent infections from the pneumococcus bacteria, the most common type of bacteria that causes pneumonia— pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) and the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23). These are usually recommended for adults over the age of 65 or older, people with chronic diseases, and people who smoke. "The current vaccines are very effective," Dr. Panettieri says.
• The Hib vaccine: Hib stands for Haemophilus influenzae type b, which is a type of bacteria that can cause pneumonia and meningitis. It's recommended for all children under the age of five in the U.S., and is given to babies as young as two months old, the NHLBI says.
• The COVID-19 vaccine: While the vaccines are new, they have been proven to lower your risk of contracting a severe form of the virus, which can include serious complications like pneumonia, Dr. McGinniss points out.

Aside from getting vaccinated, experts stress the importance of careful hand hygiene and doing your best to avoid people who are sick to lower your risk of pneumonia.

If you do happen to develop symptoms of pneumonia, your best bet is to call your doctor and schedule an appointment—they can give you a once-over and determine exactly what you're dealing with (and, if it is pneumonia, possibly which type) so you can receive the correct treatment.

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Of course, anytime you're presented with the opportunity to prevent a deadly disease, you should seriously consider taking it—but it turns out, this specific kind of vaccine isn't recommended for everyone. That means, if you don't meet certain criteria, it's unlikely your doctor will even suggest it to you.

That said, experts agree that the pneumonia vaccine, aka the pneumococcal vaccine, is a good idea for most people at some point in their lives. Here's what you need to know about the pneumonia vaccine, plus how to know if (and when) it's right for you.

RELATED: How to Tell if You Have Pneumonia: 8 Symptoms You Shouldn't Ignore

Pneumonia-Vaccine-GettyImages-478188273-1173102561 (CDC). There are actually two types of pneumococcal vaccines in the US:

• Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, known as PCV13
• Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine, known as PPSV23

PCV13 protects against 13 types of bacteria that cause pneumococcal disease, the CDC says, and specifically works against the most serious types of pneumococcal disease, including pneumonia, meningitis, and bacteremia. PPSV23 protects against 23 types of bacteria that cause pneumococcal disease and helps prevent infections like meningitis and bacteremia.

The pneumococcal vaccines can be lifesaving. Pneumococcal pneumonia kills about one in 20 older adults who get it, according to the CDC. The vaccines offer a lot of protection. PCV13 can protect three in four adults ages 65 and up against invasive pneumococcal disease and nine in 20 adults ages 65 and older against pneumococcal pneumonia, per CDC data. One shot of PPSV23 protects up to 17 in 20 healthy adults against invasive pneumococcal disease.

RELATED: What Exactly Is Pneumonia–and How Can You Protect Yourself?

Who should get the pneumonia vaccine?

So that depends on which specific pneumonia vaccine you're talking about.

The CDC recommends that these groups get PPSV23:

• All adults 65 years or older.
• People ages 2 through 64 with certain medical conditions
• Adults 19 through 64 years old who smoke cigarettes

The CDC recommends that the following groups get PCV13:

• All children younger than 2 years old.
• People 2 years or older with certain medical conditions.

Here's where things get a little tricky: The CDC specifically says that adults 65 years or older should discuss and decide with their doctor if they should get PCV13—that's because that pneumonia vaccine used to be recommended for all older adults in the US, but the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)—a group of top medical and public health experts in the country—helped to change that in 2019. The organization released a report at that time saying that PCV13 simply may not be necessary for healthy adults aged 64 and older.

"The effectiveness of this vaccine in kids is driving down cases in adults," John E. McGinniss, MD, a pulmonologist at Penn Medicine, tells Health, adding that it's "probably overkill" to give most adults PCV13, along with PPSV23.

David Cutler, MD, family medicine physician at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, agrees. "We've done such a good job vaccinating children that we've found there's less of a need to give it to adults," he tells Health.

The CDC does, however, recommends that adults 19 years or older with an immunocompromising condition, cerebrospinal fluid leak, or cochlear implant, get PCV13 before starting PPSV23.

RELATED: Why Do Some People Die From Pneumonia?

Who shouldn’t get the pneumonia vaccine?

If you don't meet the recommendations for the pneumonia vaccine, you really don't need to get it, pulmonary critical care expert Reynold Panettieri, MD, director of the Institute for Translational Medicine and Science at Rutgers University, tells Health. "It's a risk-benefit ratio," he explains. "If you're under 65 and are otherwise healthy, your likelihood of developing pneumococcal pneumonia is unlikely," he says.

But there are some people who explicitly shouldn't get the vaccines, per the CDC. Those include:

• People who have had a life-threatening allergic reaction to PCV13, PPSV23, an early pneumococcal conjugate vaccine called PCV7, the DTaP vaccine, or any parts of these vaccines. Talk to your doctor if you're unsure.
• People who are currently ill. (The CDC says you can "probably" get vaccinated if you have a cold, but you should probably wait if you have a more serious illness.)

RELATED: Could You Have Walking Pneumonia? Here's How to Tell

What are the side effects of the pneumonia vaccine?

Most people don't usually have serious side effects from either vaccine, but it's possible to have some mild symptoms.

The most common side effects with PCV13 include:

• Redness where the shot was given.
• Swelling where the shot was given.
• Pain or tenderness where the shot was given.
• Fever.
• Loss of appetite.
• Feeling tired.
• Headache.
• Chills.

The most common side effects with PPSV23 include:

• Redness where the shot was given.
• Pain where the shot was given.
• Fever.
• Muscle aches.

If you do happen to have side effects, CDC says they'll usually go away within two days.

RELATED: Viral vs. Bacterial Pneumonia: What's Really the Difference?

What’s the best time of year to get the pneumonia vaccine?

It's really up to you. "You can get it any time of the year," Dr. Panettieri says. "Pneumonia is most common in the winter and fall, but you can get the pneumococcal vaccine any time."

Just a heads up, per the ACIP: If you and your doctor decide that you should get PCV13, you'll want to wait at least a year until you get PPSV23. Research has found that waiting at least a year between these vaccines created the best immune response.

If you have any questions about the pneumonia vaccine and whether it's right for you, talk to your doctor for guidance.

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