Pneumonia Affects Millions Each Year—Here’s How to Stay Safe
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Welcome to Paging Dr. Gupta. This is the podcast where I get to answer your health questions, which I love doing. You've been sending in some really great questions, so there's a lot to get to today. And Kira, who you're getting to know, one of our producers, she's back with me. Kira, what do we have first? Hey, Sanjay. Glad to be back. So our first question today is coming from Mark in New York City. He's in his 50s and wants to know, how do I avoid pneumonia?

All right, Mark, great question. Pneumonia has been in the news quite a bit lately, and it can be a serious threat, especially as we get older. In fact, nearly a million older adults are hospitalized with pneumonia every year, and over a third of them will die within a year. So pneumonia can start to be this trajectory towards a pretty serious illness.

While older adults are the ones that we typically think about facing the highest risk, it can also be severe for young children, for immunocompromised individuals, and those with serious health conditions.

Now, there's good news here in that there's a lot you can do to lower your risk. There are vaccines for pneumonia specifically, typically for children and then at age 50 with a possible booster at age 65. Getting the flu shot, that can help prevent infections that can lead to pneumonia. And if you're eligible, there's also the RSV vaccine. This can offer some extra protection. The CDC recommends it for adults 75 and older.

and those who are 60 to 74 who are considered higher risk. So pneumonia, just keep in mind, it's an infection of the lungs. There's the upper respiratory tract, there's the lower respiratory tract. Upper respiratory tract is gonna be more in your throat, in your nose. Lower respiratory tract is pneumonia. Now people can have bronchitis, that's typically an inflammation of the airways inside your lungs, but pneumonia is an actual infection.

Typically, it's a bacterial infection, actually caused by something known as streptococcus. Now, you can take antibiotics for that. You take antibiotics for bacterial infections, but there can also be viral pneumonias, which would not respond to antibiotics. But about 60 to 70% of pneumonias are actually caused by bacteria. So the vast majority are going to be caused by bacteria. They can be diagnosed with a physical exam and a chest x-ray.

You may have also heard Mark I'll mention walking pneumonia. Walking pneumonia is kind of what it sounds like. It's a pneumonia where you can still be up walking around, so it's less severe. And oftentimes it is also diagnosed by physical exam and a chest x-ray. Interestingly, with a standard pneumonia,

it typically affects one area of the lung, so one of the lobes of the lung. With the walking pneumonia, even though it is less severe in terms of symptoms, it does tend to affect all of the lungs, all the lobes of the lungs. But with walking pneumonia, you typically don't need to take antibiotics. You can typically treat that with over-the-counter medications.

There are things that increase your risk and you should cut back on those things. Smoking is an obvious one. Heavy drinking, that can weaken your immune system, make you more vulnerable. And as I'll talk about on this podcast all the time, supporting your immune system.

Your immune system is constantly fighting off pathogens. It's doing it right now, probably as you're listening to this podcast. You want to make sure your immune system is as strong as possible. Lots of fruits and veggies and whole foods. Regular exercise. That helps release a lot of those pathogen-fighting components in your blood. Even just brisk walking can go a long way. Prioritize good sleep. Your body needs that energy to be able to fight off infections.

And, you know, when you think about pneumonia, you think about respiratory infections. The way that they spread is by coughing and sneezing and putting those respiratory droplets into the air. Someone else can breathe those in. So you may want to protect yourself, especially if you're around sick people, by wearing a high filtration mask. Those droplets can also get on surfaces and people may touch those surfaces and then touch their eyes, their nose or their mouth.

So make sure surfaces are clean. Make sure your hands are clean. Avoid people who are obviously sick. Be mindful of spending time in high-risk settings where you think a lot of viruses are going to go around. So, Mark, that's basically it. You can do a lot of things to try and prevent or at least reduce your risk of getting pneumonia. And you're already on the right track just for asking. Okay, we've got time for one more question right after the break.

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These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. All right, Kira, sounds like it's time to answer another page. Yes, it is. We have Casey here who called in for her question from San Diego, California. Take a listen.

Hi Sanjay, it's Casey. And I was going to suggest some future topics that are of interest to me, mostly for selfish reasons, I'm not going to lie. But one was about people who are night owls.

That's me and how their brains are different. I was listening to Abby Phillips and she was talking about being a night owl and, you know, having to deal with being perceived as being lazy by everybody. So I just thought that was interesting because I suffer that same characterization by people. So thank you for your time. Bye. Okay. Really interesting, Casey. Thanks for calling in. First of all, I just want to say that I know Abby Phillips.

I know her well. She's a colleague. She's a friend. She is not lazy. She works really hard. You have no idea how hard it is to anchor some of these shows and the amount of work you got to do to make them as good as she does on a regular basis. Let me start off by saying this. Being a night owl isn't simply a matter of preference or being lazy.

In many ways, it is biological. I mean, nothing is entirely biological. There's always a nature and nurture component to just about everything. But there is a big sort of biological component to what is known as your sleep chronotype. Whether you naturally wake up early or whether you stay up late is largely driven by your own circadian rhythm. Your circadian rhythm, think of that as your internal clock that regulates all sorts of functions.

Sleep, yes, but also digestion and your body temperature and your mood. There are reasons people like to eat at certain times. There are reasons they may feel cold or colder at certain times of the day and why they may feel a little bit more anxious or energetic at certain times of the day. And obviously, again, sleep, when you may feel tired or more awake at certain times of the day. All of that has to do with your circadian rhythms. If you want to describe it even further, for night owls,

Melatonin, which is the hormone of darkness, the hormone of sleep. Melatonin, something that people will take to help fall asleep.

You naturally produce this. But for night owls, that production starts later. And that makes it natural to be more alert at night and to sleep in later in the morning. Now, I'm the opposite. I'm an early bird. I've always been an early bird. I think it's one of those things that probably helped me get through a pretty brutal seven years of neurosurgical residency.

I was getting up at 5 o'clock in the morning to make rounds on time, but I was really good at that time of day. I spring out of bed first thing in the morning. My wife, incidentally, is a night owl. So that makes for an interesting marriage. I think it actually works, especially when our kids were young, because I'd get up early with them. She'd stay up late with them. It's a whole thing.

Now, there is some research to prove for you, Casey, that night owls have some advantages. There was a study from Imperial College which found that night owls actually scored on average higher on cognitive tests than early risers. I was surprised to read this study, you know, being an early morning person myself, but they actually studied over 26,000 people and they categorized them by this chronotype that I'm talking about. Morning person, night owl, or somewhere in between.

But the findings, I think, they help challenge the stereotype that you're raising about early risers versus night owls being more productive or successful. Now, there are some downsides, as there are for most things in life. Other studies have shown that night owls are at higher risk for chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, even depression.

But what they find when they dig into that a little bit more deeply is that that is often tied to lifestyle choices that go along with being a night owl. What are you doing when you're staying up late? Doom scrolling on your phone, probably skipping breakfast the next day, and you might have more irregular sleep. And that just throws off your internal clock.

But if being a night owl worries you, there are some things you can do to help flip your body switch from night to day, at least a little bit. Again, there's a nature-nurture component to everything. First of all, as soon as your alarm goes off in the morning, turn on the light and try and get as much natural light as possible. I always say open your shades before you look at your phone. Just get that natural light into your eyes. That kind of helps reset your internal clock, makes waking up earlier easier.

Next, stop eating at least three hours before bed. And if you regularly exercise, which you should, try and do it earlier in the day.

Also, those screens. I mean, those screens have really changed how we sleep overall as a world, not just a country. Turn off the screen earlier. This allows your body to start producing melatonin, the hormone of darkness. That helps you wind down. If you are still awake, try replacing the screen time with reading or even meditation. I've started doing Yoga Nidra. If you don't know what that is, look it up. It can be very, very relaxing.

Whatever helps you relax, do something like that. Bottom line, Casey, you are not lazy. Neither is Abby Phillip. Your body just works differently. Focus on getting enough quality sleep and finding a routine that works for you.

I think that's all we have for today's episode. But if you have other health questions that are keeping you up at night, literally or figuratively, I want to know. I love these questions. Record a voice memo, email it to asksanjayatcnn.com, or give us a call, 470-396-0832, and leave a message. Thanks for listening. I'll be back next Tuesday.

Chasing Life is a production of CNN Audio. Our podcast is produced by Aaron Mathewson, Jennifer Lai, Grace Walker, Lori Gallaretta, Jesse Remedios, Sophia Sanchez, and Kira Dering. Andrea Cain is our medical writer. Our senior producer is Dan Bloom. Amanda Seeley is our showrunner. Dan DeZula is our technical director. And the executive producer of CNN Audio is Steve Liktai.

With support from Jamis Andrest, John D'Onora, Haley Thomas, Alex Manasseri, Robert Mathers, Laini Steinhardt, Nicole Pesereau, and Lisa Namoureau. Special thanks to Ben Tinker and Nadia Kanang of CNN Health and Katie Hinman.

There's a reason the Sleep Number smart bed is the number one best bed for couples. It's because you can each choose what's right for you whenever you like. Firmer or softer on either side, Sleep Number does that. One side cooler and the other side warmer, Sleep Number does that too. You have to feel it to believe it. Sleep better together. Why choose a Sleep Number smart bed? So you can choose your ideal comfort on either side. And now save 40% on the new Sleep Number special edition smart bed. Limited time.

exclusively at a Sleep Number store near you. See store or sleepnumber.com for details.