Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Test Price in Pakistan: Rs 2,310

This is the situation that brings people here. Three weeks of cough, maybe a low fever early on, antibiotics that did nothing, a chest x-ray that someone called mild, and a person who is well enough to go to work and too unwell to sleep through the night.

MedlinePlus explains that with atypical pneumonia the infection is caused by different bacteria than the more common ones that cause pneumonia, and that atypical pneumonia also tends to have milder symptoms than typical pneumonia. It notes that it more often has symptoms not just related to the lungs, including headache, low-grade fever, rash, joint pain, and stomach symptoms such as diarrhoea and vomiting.

On who gets it, MedlinePlus states that pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae often affects people younger than age 40.

IgM tends to reflect a recent infection and IgG past exposure. Your doctor decides which to order.

MedlinePlus lists the less common symptoms by organism, and four of them belong to mycoplasma.

• Ear pain
• Eye pain or soreness
• Neck lump
• Rash
• Sore throat

It separately lists diarrhoea and vomiting as often going with legionella pneumonia.

So a long cough with an earache and a rash is a more specific picture than a long cough alone. Mention these to your doctor rather than assuming they are unrelated.

MedlinePlus states that pneumonia due to mycoplasma or chlamydia bacteria is usually mild, and lists the most common pneumonia symptoms as chills, cough, fever which may be mild or high, and shortness of breath which may only occur when you exert yourself.

Other symptoms it lists are chest pain that gets worse when you breathe deeply or cough, confusion most often in older people, headache, loss of appetite, low energy and fatigue, muscle aches and joint stiffness, and sweating and clammy skin.

MedlinePlus notes that people with suspected pneumonia should have a complete medical evaluation, and that it may be hard for your provider to tell whether you have pneumonia, bronchitis, or another respiratory infection, so you may need a chest x-ray.

Other tests it lists include a CBC, blood tests to identify the specific bacteria, a CT scan of the chest, arterial blood gases, a nose or throat swab, blood cultures, and a sputum culture to identify the specific bacteria. Bronchoscopy and open lung biopsy it notes are rarely needed.

So the antibody test sits inside a workup that usually starts with an x-ray.

MedlinePlus gives the self-care measures: control fever with NSAIDs such as ibuprofen or naproxen, or paracetamol, noting aspirin should not be given to children because it may cause a dangerous illness called Reye syndrome; drink plenty of fluids to help loosen secretions; and rest.

On cough syrup it is specific: do not take cough medicines without first checking with your provider, because cough medicines may make it harder for your body to cough up the extra sputum. Cough syrup is the default purchase in Pakistani pharmacies for exactly this illness.

On antibiotics it states they are usually prescribed for 3 to 5 days, although sometimes for 2 weeks or more, and then the part that matters most: finish all the antibiotics you have been prescribed, even if you feel better, because if you stop the medicine too soon the pneumonia can return and may be harder to treat.

MedlinePlus says to contact your provider if you develop fever, cough or shortness of breath, and also if you have been diagnosed with this type of pneumonia and your symptoms become worse after improving first.

On outlook it says most people with mycoplasma or chlamydia pneumonia get better with the right antibiotics. Complications it lists include brain and nervous system infections such as meningitis and encephalitis, haemolytic anaemia, severe lung damage, and respiratory failure requiring a ventilator.