Gilbert is mistaken. I would advise any person with pneumonia, irrespective of his age, to consult a competent physician who practices modern evidence-based scientific medicine. I would never prescribe him/her chicken soup alone. I know that all patients with bacterial pneumonia, irrespective of age, have to be treated with antibiotics. The same with mycoplasma pneumonia. Only viral pneumonia patients, especially those with influenza virus, have no specific curative treatment available to kill the bug. They have to be advised simple rest, nutrition and fluids. The chicken soup business is a purely anecdotal tradition in the west. Here are a couple of helpful websites on pneumonia from Mayo Clinic and WebMD. Please note that they say nothing about chicken soup.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pneumonia/DS00135/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/pneumonia-treatment-overview Cheers, Santosh --- On Tue, 4/21/09, Gilbert Lawrence <[email protected]> wrote: > > Santosh (astutely) suggest antibiotics for "elderly > pneumonia patient". (see below). Fully agree. > This suggest Santosh would not rush with antibiotics for > a "NON-elderly pneumonia patient", unless of course they > have some factor that puts them at increased risk. > > So how would Santosh treat a non-elderly pneumonia patient > (who is not at high risk)? > > Likely answer: 'Chicken soup' or some home-made concoction > by Dr. Mom. >
