Piers Morgan revealed a recent health struggle after fans on social media called him out for looking “old”. After appearing on his show, Piers Morgan Uncensored, one of his Twitter followers pointed out that he looked different.
They wrote: “Wow Piers is really starting to look old.” Piers defended himself, and wrote: “I do apologise for my appearance – I’ve had ‘walking pneumonia’ for a week. I’ll put more make-up on tomorrow.”
What is walking pneumonia?
Also known as atypical pneumonia, walking pneumonia describes a mild form of pneumonia.
Pneumonia is a lung infection that causes a person’s airways to swell, the air sacs in their lungs to fill with mucus and other fluids, and a high fever and cough with mucus.
The Cleveland Clinic advises: “If you have walking pneumonia, you may feel well enough to walk around and carry out daily tasks without realising you have pneumonia.”
It adds the main differences between walking pneumonia and regular pneumonia are walking pneumonia is milder and usually doesn’t require bed rest or hospitalisation.
Walking pneumonia symptoms
According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms may include:
- Cough
- Fever
- Sore throat
- Headache
- Runny nose
- Ear pain
- Chest pain from coughing
Symptoms usually appear within two to three weeks of becoming infected and can continue for weeks. A could could go on for months.
The medical centre also advises: “With walking pneumonia, you may feel like you have a cold. But symptoms are usually mild, so you likely won’t need bed rest or a hospital stay.
“You may not feel the need to stay home from work or school. So you may be out walking around. That’s how the illness got its name.”
How to prevent walking pneumonia
Walking pneumonia is contagious – spread through airborne droplets from close contact with someone who’s infected, such as coughing, sneezing or speaking.
Possible complications of walking pneumonia may include a more serious form of the infection, swelling and irritation of the brain (encephalitis) and hemolytic anemia, a type of anemia caused by the breakdown of too many red blood cells.
So to help prevent walking pneumonia you should practice good hygiene – wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds.
People who are infected should cover their nose and mouth with a tissue when they sneeze and cough.
