Symptoms
Most cases of pneumonia begin with a cold in the head or throat. The patient generally feels chill, shivering, difficulty in breathing and sharp pain in the chest. This may be followed by a cough with pinkish sputum which may later become brownish. The patient usually suffers from fever and headache. In more serious cases of pneumonia, the sputum may be of rusty colour. In your children, the disease may cause delirium and convulsions. Most patients feel very miserable
and sweat profusely. The temperature may rise to 105 o F and pulse may go upto 150 beats per minutes.

Causes
Pneumonia is caused by various types of germs such as streptococus, staphyloccus and pneunococcus variety. At times, certain viruses are also responsible for the disease. Other causes of diseases are fungal infection, irritation by worms, inhaling foreign matter, irritant dust or noxious gases and vapours 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, resulting from wrong feeding and faulty life style. Persons with healthy tissues and strong vital force are unlikely to catch pneumonia. It is only when the system is clogged with the toxic matter and the vitality is low that the germs of pneumonia invade a person.

Treatment
To begin with, 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 or vegetable juice diluted with warm water every two or three hours. Fruits such as orange, mosambi, apple, pineapple and grapes and vegetables like carrots, tomatoes may be used for juices. After a diet of raw juices, when the fever subsides, the patient should 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 foods , seeds, and grains, vegetables and fruits with emphasis on fresh fruits and raw vegetables. The patients should be given warm warm enema daily to cleanse the bowel during the period of raw juice therapy and all fruit diet and thereafter, when necessary.

Home Remedies
Certain home remedies have been found beneficial in the treatment of pneumonia. During the early acute stage of this disease, a herbal tea made from fenugreek seeds will help the body to produce perspiration, dispel toxicity and shorten the period of fever. In can be taken up to four cups daily. 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.

Symptoms
The onset of pleurisy is generally marked by a sharp and stabbing pain, which may be felt in any part of the chest wall or over the diaphragm. Deep breathing or coughing increases the pain. In many cases, the diseases begins with a chill, followed by congestion of the pleura and later by fever. The degree of the fever determines the severity of the disease. The inflammation destroys the tissues and chokes the circulation within the tissues. Breathing becomes difficult due to the clogging of the circulation, and by pain and swelling within the chest. Later a liquid effusion escapes from the pleura, filling the open spaces in the chest cavity till the effect of the distension becomes oppressive. After absorption takes place or after the drainage of the effusion, the pressure is lowered, the pain is reduced and the patient feels relieved. It is sometimes dry pleurisy, a form where there is little or no effusion or the effusion may be circumscribed. The effusion may become gangrenous, or become mixed with blood, or be of a dirty brown colour with an offensive odour, leading to much suffering.

Causes
The most common among the immediate causes of pleurisy is that of ‘catching cold ‘ followed by congestion and swelling of the pleural membrane. It is a disease that is not caused by germs. There will be germs of putrefaction later in the ooze of serum from the tissue. The disease may be a complication of pneumonia, or pneumonia may be a complication of pleurisy. In a few cases , the diseases may also occur in rheumatic fever , uraemia and other conditions.

Treatment
At the first sign of pleurisy, the patient should observe a complete fast, abstaining from all liquid and solid foods. Nothing should be taken except plain water, hot or cold, as desired. Water may have bad taste, but at least three or four glasses should be taken daily for the first few days. The quantity of water should be gradually increased to five or six or more glasses each day. It would be helpful if during this period of fasting , a full hot enema is also taken once daily.