Patients should see a steady improvement in symptoms after starting treatment, but full recovery is likely to take months:6

·       week 1: fever should have resolved

·       week 4: chest pain and sputum production should have reduced substantially

·       week 6: coughing and breathlessness should have reduced substantially

·       month 3-4: fatigue may still be present

·       month 6: most people will feel back to normal.

The British Lung Foundation advises that gradually stepping up activity and deep breathing exercises, such as taking long slow deep breaths or blowing through a straw into a glass of water, will help recovery. In addition, five to 10 deep breaths followed by a cough may help move mucus.17

To help reduce the risk of pathogen transfer, preventive hygiene measures of regularly washing hands, sneezing or coughing into a tissue and disposing of it, and avoiding sharing cups or utensils should be adopted.18

Smokers and heavy drinkers are at increased risk of chest infections, so pneumonia could be another reason to cut down or quit.9,19