signs that flu may be leading to pneumonia

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And even for persons usually very healthy, flu can occasionally lead to either direct viral or secondary bacterial pneumonia. An obvious warning sign is if the person starts to have trouble breathing. That is zen simplicity itself.

A non-obvious sign which I think it potentially very helpful is this:

And presumably for adults, too.

The World Health Organization, also from 2009, recommends both antivirals (such as Tamiflu) and antibiotics for suspected cases of flu-caused pneumonia. Apparently, it's often hard to tell whether it's viral or bacterial.
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/vpc_tran ... shindo.pdf

Now personally, I think it would be worth getting in and seeing a doctor or having a doctor call in prescription(s) and starting those prescriptions in like three hours. Doesn't mean that a relapse with high fever is pneumonia, but it might be. And hopefully the phrase "possible pneumonia" will work even better than a swear word in getting the doctor on the phone!






(PS meant to copy from and add below)

Last edited by AardvarkGoodSwimmer on 07 Sep 2012, 11:10 am, edited 2 times in total.

also could be pneumonia if you start to cough up green stuff.

Or green stuff with red in it.

Or just plain red.

Certainly get my attention!

But . . . I AM NOT A DOCTOR.

This is one of many reasons I think it's highly useful if you have a doctor you have a regular relationship with. Sometimes just a phone call and the doctor might feel comfortable enough to call in some prescriptions. Or, maybe the local Kelsey-Seybold, or call your insurance company for the names and numbers of three to five local doctors "on the plan." Or if need be, the local doc-in-the-box (although will be more expensive).

This still strikes me as non-obvious information.

And presumably for adults, too.