Your GP can often diagnose pneumonia by asking questions about your symptoms and examining your chest. In some cases, further tests may be needed.
Pneumonia can sometimes be difficult to diagnose as it shares many symptoms of other conditions, such as the common cold, bronchitis and asthma.
To make a diagnosis, your doctor may first ask:
- whether you are breathing faster than usual
- if you feel breathless
- how long you have had your cough
- whether you are coughing up sputum and what colour it is
- if the pain in your chest is worse when you breathe in or out
Your doctor will probably take your temperature and listen to the back and front of your chest with a stethoscope, to check for any crackling or rattling sounds.
They may also listen to your chest by tapping it. If the lungs are filled with fluid, this produces a different sound to normal, healthy lungs.
Most people with mild pneumonia do not need to have a chest X-ray or other tests.
Chest X-ray and other tests
Your GP may arrange a chest X-ray or other tests if your symptoms have not started to improve within 48 hours of starting treatment.
A chest X-ray can show how much your lungs are affected. It can also help the doctor distinguish between pneumonia and other chest infections, such as bronchitis.
Your GP may also arrange:
Analysing samples of sputum or blood can help identify the bacterium or virus causing the infection.
