And since you mention flu, you know that flu occasionally leads to pneumonia. Nothing to panic about, just something to know about and be skilled about. The following is perhaps the single most useful bit of information:
Quote:
New York Times, Denise Grady,
Sept. 3, 2009.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/04/healt ... .html?_r=3" . . . In children without chronic health problems, it is a warning sign if they seem to recover from the flu but then relapse with a high fever, Dr. Frieden said. The relapse may be bacterial pneumonia, which must be treated with antibiotics. . . "
And presumably, this applies to adults, too.
It's just that flu wipes out some of your body's defenses. You know those cells with the mucus and the upward sweeping motion. Well, they're your friends. And when some of them get wiped out, you're then more vulnerable to any old bug.
And I heard Dr. Sanjay Gupta on CNN say, in reference to flu, that relapses are bad and should be taken seriously.
Again, no need to panic, just handle it skillfully. Maybe the best case scenario is your doctor calling in a prescription for an antibiotic in a matter of just a couple of hours. And merely using the word pneumonia in any context, such as possibly 'pneumonia,' or worried that I might have 'pneumonia,' will hopefully get the attention of both the person answering the phone and your doctor.
Good luck! And hope you do get feeling better.