Pneumonia: Prevention

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Prevention

There are a number of steps you can take to help prevent getting pneumonia.

• Stop smoking. Smoking makes it more likely you will get pneumonia.
• Avoid contact with people who have respiratory tract infections, such as colds and influenza (flu). Pneumonia may develop after these types of infections.
• If you have not had measles or chickenpox, avoid contact with people who have these infections. Pneumonia can be a complication of measles and chickenpox, so getting these infections can put you at risk for developing pneumonia.

Vaccinations

Vaccines for pneumococcal disease are available. But research indicates that they might not help everybody. The vaccine for older adults is called pneumococcal polysaccharide (PPV) (What is a PDF document?) .

Some studies show that the vaccine does not reduce the risk of pneumonia in adults, but it can prevent some of the serious complications of pneumonia, such as infection in the bloodstream (bacteremia) or throughout the body (septicemia), in younger adults and those older than 55 years with a healthy immune system.⁷

Experts recommend the vaccine for people who are older than 65 and for younger people who have a long-lasting (chronic) condition that increases their risk of pneumonia.

Other vaccines can prevent common diseases in which pneumonia may be a complication.

• Vaccination of children for measles can prevent most cases of measles. Adults may need to be vaccinated against measles if they have not had the disease or were not vaccinated during childhood.
• Yearly vaccinations for influenza may prevent you from getting the flu. Influenza often can lead to pneumonia, especially in older adults or in people who have other long-term (chronic) medical diseases. The influenza vaccine can be given at the same time as the pneumococcal vaccine but in a different arm.
• Vaccination with the chickenpox vaccine (varicella-zoster vaccine) can prevent most cases of pneumonia caused by the virus that causes chickenpox. Consider getting a vaccination if you are older than 13 and have not yet had chickenpox.

The mineral zinc may help reduce the risk of pneumonia in children. Zinc can be found in certain foods (lean red meats, seafood, beans, cereals) or added to the diet in supplements. Studies in developing countries found that the incidence of pneumonia in children dropped when zinc was added to the diet.^{8 9}

The United States recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of zinc for infants is 5 milligrams per day. Children 1 to 4 years old should have 10 milligrams per day.⁸ Always talk to your doctor before giving your child zinc supplements or any other vitamin or mineral supplement.

Last updated:	April 02, 2007
Author:	Ralph Poore
Reviewed By:	Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine, R. Steven Tharratt, MD, MPVM, FACP, FCCP - Pulmonology, Critical Care, Medical Toxicology
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Pat Truman, MATC