Double pneumonia isn’t technically an official medical term.
Doublepneumoniaor bilateral pneumonia as its sometimes calledis simply a way to describe an infection in both lungs.
When pneumonia is affecting both lungs, it is significantly more severe than pneumonia affecting only one lung.
FG Trade Latin / Getty Images
When you have pneumonia in one lung, your healthy lung can compensate while the lung with pneumonia recovers.
This puts you in a more delicate state.
Those with severe underlying medical conditions are more likely to experience severe forms of pneumonia.
Verywell
In turn, this makesrecovering from pneumoniaa more complicated process.
Not only will they take longer to recover, but pneumonia may also become a reoccurring condition.
More importantly, seek out emergency care if youre struggling to breathe at any point.
Successful Outcomes
With timely medical care, most people will successfully recover from bilateral pneumonia.
Some people are at a higher risk of getting pneumonia because of their age or underlying health conditions.
In that case, they will know you likely have pneumonia at this point.
Suppose they question the severity of your pneumonia or your response to treatment.
In that case, your healthcare provider may suggest getting an X-ray or lab tests.
Treatment
Treatment for bilateral pneumonia is based on many factors.
From there, they will be looking at the severitywhich with double pneumonia is often quite severe.
However, when it comes to viral pneumonia, there is not much healthcare providers can do medication-wise.
With viral pneumonia, your practitioner will be focusing on helping ease symptoms.
They will often recommend the basics: lots of rest and staying hydrated.
Coping
Most people will find comfort with some basic self-care when they are sick.
Some recommendations include:
Drinking Plenty of Fluids
Staying hydrated is essential to your recovery from pneumonia.
Many people will benefit from a drink that includes electrolytes such as Gatorade or Pedialyte.
It may also be worthwhile to try some peppermint tea.
Peppermint tea seems to help break up mucus, decrease inflammation, and soothe a sore throat.
Get Lots of Rest
Rest is crucial with any illness, but especially pneumonia.
It may be helpful to find someone who can meal prep for you or deliver meals.
Maybe they can also help with laundry and other basic household chores.
Getting help with cleaning will also prevent you from directly breathing in cleaning chemicals that could irritate your lungs.
A Word From VeryWell
Pneumonia is a common infection for both children and adults.
American Lung Association.Pneumonia symptoms and diagnosis.
American Lung Association.Learn about pneumonia.
