The acute inflammation of the lungs is called pneumonia. It is one of the most serious infectious diseases. Lobar pneumonia and bronchial pneumonia are the two basic types of pneumonia, but they both are treated in the same way. If both the lungs are affected the disease becomes more serious. In common terms, it is called double pneumonia.

Symptoms of Pneumonia:
A person suffers from coldness in the head or the throat. He also starts shivering, has difficulty in breathing, has sharp pain in the chest, followed by a cough with pinkish sputum, which may later become brownish. However, in some cases, the sputum may turn into rusty colour in severe cases of pneumonia.

Fever and headache are also very common symptoms. The disease may cause delirium and convulsions in most cases involving young children. Most patients feel very miserable and sweat profusely. The temperature may rise to 105 F and pulse may go upto 150 beats per minute.

Causes of Pneumonia:
Various types of viruses and germs such as streptococcus, staphylococcus and pneunococcus cause pneumonia. Other causes of this disease are fungal infection, irritation by worms, inhaling foreign matter, irritant dust or noxious gases and vapors such as ammonia, nitrogen dioxide or cadmium.

The real cause of pneumonia, however, is the toxic condition of the body, especially of the lungs and air passages that results from faulty eating and life style. Persons with healthy tissues and strong vital force are unlikely to catch pneumonia. It is only when the system is clogged with toxic matter and the vitality is low that the germs of pneumonia invade a person.

Treatment of Pneumonia by Nature Cure:
Diet:
Firstly, the patient should be kept on a diet of raw juices for five to ten days, depending on the severity of the disease. In this regimen, he should take a glass of fruit juice like orange, sweet lime, apple, pineapple, grapes or vegetable juice like carrots and tomatoes diluted with warm water every two or three hours.

After a diet of raw juices, when the fever subsides, the patient should spend three or four further days on an exclusive fresh fruit diet, taking three meals a day of juicy fruits such as apple, grapes, pineapple, mangoes, orange, lemon and papaya. Thereafter, he may gradually adopt a well-balanced diet of natural foods consisting of seeds, nuts and grains, vegetables and fruits with emphasis on fresh fruits and raw vegetables. However, the patient should avoid strong tea, coffee, refined foods, fried foods, white sugar, white flour and all products made from them, condiments and pickles. He should also avoid all meats as well as alcoholic beverages and smoking.

The patient should be given warm water enema daily to cleanse the bowels during the period of raw juice therapy and all fruit diet. Sipping of cold water has also been found beneficial in the treatment of pneumonia. The patient should sip cold water at short intervals so long as the fever continues.

Home Remedies:
During the early acute stage of this disease, herbal tea atleast four cups, daily made from fenugreek seeds will help the body to produce perspiration, dispel toxicity and shorten the period of fever. The quantity should be reduced as condition improves. To improve flavour, a few drops of lemon juice can be used. During this treatment, no other food or nourishment should be taken, as fasting and fenugreek will allow the body to correct these respiratory problems in a few days.

Garlic is also a good remedy for pneumonia, if given in sufficient quantities. It brings down the temperature as well as the pulse and respiration within 48 hours. Garlic juice can also be applied externally to the chest with beneficial results, as it is an irritant.

Sesame seeds are valuable in pneumonia. An infusion of the seeds, mixed with a tablespoon of linseed, a pinch of common salt and a dessertspoon of honey, should be given in the treatment of this disease. This will help remove waste matter and phlegm from the bronchial tubes. Even rubbing oil of turpentine over the rib cage and wrapping warmed cotton wool over it can relieve the pain of pneumonia.


The juice of Tulsi leaves to which a pinch of powdered black pepper has been added should be drunk four times a day. This will is beneficial for pneumonia.