Pneumonia is caused primarily by bacteria, though viruses and fungi can also cause it.  Its symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, sweating, chills, chest pain, fatigue or muscle aches. Since these symptoms are similar to a cold or flu, many people don’t realize they have pneumonia. If you experience any of these symptoms for more than 10 days, or if they get more severe as time goes by, see a doctor in case you do have pneumonia.

If you have a bacterial-based pneumonia, there are some antibiotics that will treat it. If it is viral pneumonia, you may be given an antiviral medication to speed your recovery. You can also help to relieve your symptoms by using over-the-counter medicines for coughing. Make sure to take all prescribed medications—if you stop using an antibiotic early, it could make you immune to the antibiotic.

Pneumonia is contagious, so you need to take steps to prevent from spreading it. Unfortunately, many people don’t realize they have it and spread it unknowingly. But once a person has been diagnosed, it is contagious for the first 2 days or so after taking antibiotics. If you have a viral pneumonia, it may be contagious for longer.

Pneumonia is most serious for people over age 65 or under 2 years old, since their immune systems tend to be weaker than the rest of the population. Still, people of any age can catch serious cases of pneumonia.

If you catch pneumonia, you’ll likely be sick for several days. You can prevent it by washing your hands regularly and avoiding people you know are infected. Don’t touch your mouth or nose, especially in public places, and don’t share utensils or cups with other people.

But if you do catch it, how long is pneumonia contagious? It’s contagious for about 2 days after you’ve been on antibiotics, though many people don’t know they have it and spread it anyways.

There are dozens of viruses that cause a cold. You can catch a cold when someone who is sick breathes on you, shakes your hand after coughing, or shares a utensil or a cup with you. Cold symptoms include coughing, sneezing, watery eyes, and a runny nose.

A cold can be contagious for a couple of days to several weeks, depending on the severity of your symptoms. Doctors suspect you are contagious as long as your symptoms are present—so as long as you’re sneezing or coughing, it’s possible you could pass on your cold to someone else.

Since a cold is caused by a virus, it can’t be treated by antibiotics. You simply have to wait it out. You can help treat the symptoms of a cold with over-the-counter products like acetaminophen, aspirin and other types of medicines. Just be careful to follow the directions and don’t take too much.

Occasionally, a cold can turn into a bacterial infection that needs to be treated with antibiotics. If your cold gets worse or lasts longer than a couple of weeks, see a doctor to get checked out.

You can avoid getting a cold by washing your hands frequently and not touching your mouth or face. If you have a cold, you can help keep from spreading it by washing your hands frequently, coughing into your arm instead of your hands, and not sharing utensils with others.

So how long is a cold contagious? It can be anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks, depending on how long your symptoms are there. If you’re sick and have to go to work, just show courtesy and use the tips mentioned above.

The luteal phase starts the day after ovulation, which is the point during a woman’s cycle when her egg drops into the fallopian tubes. It is a crucial part of the reproductive process since it helps to incubate a fertilized egg if a woman conceives during ovulation. It usually lasts 12-16 days, depending on the woman’s normal menstrual cycle. The luteal phase needs to last at least 10 days in order for implantation to take place. Implantation takes place when the embryo connects to the wall of the uterus. This can’t happen without the luteal phase. If a woman’s luteal phase is less than 10 days, she may have trouble getting pregnant and may be prescribed medication to help.

It’s important to point out that the luteal phase is not delayed and does not cause late periods—delayed ovulation is what causes that to happen. The luteal phase is always the same, no matter what. On the other hand, ovulation can be delayed by a number of things, including stress, medication, or increased activity.

A woman can find out her exact luteal phase through blood work. If she knows how long this phase is, she should be able to calculate the exact time of ovulation, which will increase her chances of getting pregnant. To do this, she would simply subtract the number of days of her luteal phase from the total number of days of her menstrual cycle. Ovulation should occur on that day. For example, if your phase starts on day 11 and your cycle is 28 days long, you will ovulate on the 17^th day of your cycle.

So if you’re a woman who’s asking herself “how do I figure out how long my luteal phase is”, you can estimate it based on when you ovulate or you can get blood work done to identify the time frame exactly.

The purpose of the digestive system is to take the nutrients your body needs from the foods and drinks you consume as it moves through the digestive tract and is excreted. During this process, food is broken down into smaller molecules so those nutrients can be absorbed into your bloodstream.

After food is chewed and swallowed, it enters the esophagus, which is about 8 inches long. The esophagus is a muscle that contracts to push the food down into the stomach. Its job is to keep the food from leaving the digestive system before it enters the stomach. It’s lined with tissue called mucosa and runs between the windpipe and the heart.

The next step of the digestive process takes place in the stomach. Here, enzymes break the food down further and stomach muscles mix the food up until it’s in liquid form. Next, the food moves through the 20-foot long small intestine, where cells line the walls on all sides. These cells absorb the nutrients from the food as it is passing through. The next stop is the large intestines, or colon. It’s the large intestine’s job to regulate how much water is leaving the body, so it will either add or remove water from the waste, depending on what is needed. After this process, any remaining waste is excreted through a bowel movement.

So to recap, how long is the esophagus in the digestive system? It is about 8 inches long and helps to push down the chewed food into the stomach.

Though the flu is a common illness, it can be serious for some people. It causes respiratory symptoms like a cough, sore throat, and runny nose. Unlike the common cold, a flu bug can also cause fever along more severe muscle aches and fatigue. Unfortunately, if you catch the flu you may not know it right away. You can have the flu and have no symptoms for 1-4 days. Since you’re contagious one day before your symptoms develop, it’s possible you could spread the flu before you even know you have it. Once you do get symptoms, you are contagious for about 5-7 days. Young children can pass it around for even longer, since they usually don’t practice the same restraints that adults do (touching their mouths, washing their hands frequently, etc.).

You can try to prevent the flu by washing your hands a lot or using hand sanitizer. You can also avoid places where you know people are sick. Don’t touch your mouth or nose, especially when you’ve been in a crowded place.

If you get the flu, you should show common courtesy to try to help from spreading it. Wash your hands frequently and cough on your arm or in a tissue instead of your hands.

To treat the flu, you can take over-the-counter flu mediations to ease your symptoms. But you will have to let it run its course—the flu is a virus, which means it can’t be treated by antibiotics, so you’ll have to wait out your symptoms. Try to get plenty of rest, Vitamin C and fluids, which can help speed up your recovery.

So if you do catch it, how long is the flu contagious? For about 5-7 days after your symptoms develop, though it can be contagious the day before as well.

Pink eye is normally caused by a bacterial infection that gets into the eyes. It causes redness in the lower lids and is usually accompanied by a crusty, mucus-like substance that excretes from the eyes. It is highly contagious, which is why it is more common in younger children and in school settings.

Once diagnosed, a doctor will usually prescribe an oral antibiotic or eye drops to treat the infection. In most cases, children will see relief within 1-2 days and will no longer be contagious. You can tell because the eyes will be less red and the leaking will stop. Most schools will let children back in after being on an antibiotic or 24 hours. But it’s still important to take the antibiotics for as long as directed by the doctor, even if your symptoms are better.

Pink eye is occasionally caused by a viral infection, in which it can’t be treated by antibiotics. In this case, the symptoms may last longer and the child may be contagious for a longer period of time.

Pink eye can be spread by touching an infected person or an infected object, then touching your own eye. Occasionally it can start as the result of allergies as well. To prevent catching it, make sure to wash you hands regularly or use hand sanitizer if you’re not near a sink. Don’t touch or rub your eyes without a clean tissue.

If you or your child has pink eye, stay away from crowds while contagious. Wash your hands regularly and don’t share towels, tissues, or anything else that may spread the infection.

So how long is pink eye contagious? Usually for 24-48 hours for a bacterial infection once treated by antibiotics. A viral infection may last a little longer.

Colds can cause a myriad of symptoms including a stuffy nose, sore throat, cough, congestion, body aches, sneezing, fever, or watery eyes. You may have one or all of these symptoms and they will usually manifest within 1-3 days after catching the cold virus. Though colds are uncomfortable, they don’t usually cause high fever or tiredness like a flu bug or bacterial infection. That’s why many people choose to work through them, rather than get proper rest.

A common cold will usually last about a week or so. If it lasts longer or if you get a high fever or severe symptoms, make sure to see your doctor since the cold may have developed into a bacterial infection. If this happens, you may need an antibiotic.

There isn’t a cure for colds, you simply have to wait it out. The best way to get over your symptoms is to get plenty of rest and drink plenty of fluids.

You can help prevent a cold by practicing good hygiene. Make sure to wash your hands a lot and use hand sanitizers if you don’t have access to a sink. Avoid friends and family who are sick and don’t share utensils or other materials that may spread the virus. Don’t touch your mouth or nose after touching doorknobs or other items.

If you have a cold, you can help avoid spreading it by coughing on your arm (instead of your hands) and by washing your hands often. Avoid going into heavily populated places until your symptoms have subsided.

So how long does a cold last? For most people, it will last a week or so—if it lasts longer than 10 days, make sure to check in with your doctor to make sure it’s not something more serious.

Antibiotics are bactericidal, which means they stop the multiplying of bacteria. They are also effective on fungi and parasites. Penicillin was the first antibiotic to be regularly prescribed and is still widely used today in different forms. There are other types available today, including erythromycin (which is often prescribed for people who are allergic to Penicillin).

Antibiotics can come in pill or liquid form, though they can also be administered intravenously (though only under severe circumstances). Most adults will be prescribed pills that need to be taken for a week or so. Infants and young children will get liquid antibiotics that need to be taken for 10 days or so.

Most antibiotics will begin working in 24-48 hours, though that time frame will vary depending on the severity of the infection. It’s important to take the prescribed amount of the antibiotic, and to take it for as long as the prescription says. You may be feeling better quickly, but the medicine needs that time to prevent a quick reemergence of the bacteria.

Antibiotics will not kill viruses, so they are completely ineffective against influenza or the “flu” or the common cold. The only remedy for this type of illness is time and rest. Virus symptoms can often lead to bacterial infections (pink eye, sinus infections, etc), so if you have a prolonged cold, it’s worth a trip to the doctor for a check-up.

So how long does it take for an antibiotic to work? The answer is 24-48 hours, but that can vary depending on the severity of the bacterial infection.

Mono spreads through saliva, tears, and mucus. It’s often called the “kissing disease” because it’s most common in teens and can be spread through a kiss. You can also get it if you share a toothbrush or eating utensil with someone who is infected with the virus.

Once you contract the mono virus, you’ll always be carrying it. The good news is that even if the virus is active, you won’t get symptoms again. The bad news is that if it is active, you can infect someone else without even knowing it.

Symptoms of mono include high fever, swollen glands, sore throat, and extreme fatigue. You’ll usually experience these symptoms 4-6 weeks after contracting the virus.

To treat mono, you’ll need plenty of rest. You can take acetaminophen for pain and take throat lozenges for your sore throat. Do NOT take aspirin to treat mono. Since it’s a virus, antibiotics won’t help mono, so you’ll need to wait it out. You will most likely start to feel better in a few weeks, though it’s important to listen to your body and rest if you’re tired.

In rare cases, mono can cause your spleen to swell and burst. That’s why you need to avoid sports and physical exertion for about a month when you have mono. You’ll need to get your doctor’s permission before you should try any kind of sports since that can trigger the spleen to burst. Seek emergency care if you experience intense pain in the upper left area of your belly.

Mono is very common, particularly in teenagers. If you need to know how long mono will last, the answer is several weeks.

The first step to embalm a corpse is to clean it. Many morticians clean the eyes, nose and mouth first, since those areas decay easily. Next, rigor mortis has to be stopped, which is the stiffening of the corpse shortly after death. Once those two things are done, the mouth is closed. Next comes the draining of the blood and filling the arteries with formaldehyde. The same has to be done for the internal organs as well. The final task is to trim the hair and cover the person with makeup to hide any bruises or other unsightly marks.

The length of time embalming will last depends on how well the job was done, how the person was buried, and the conditions of the area where the person was buried. Corpses in mausoleums tend to decompose faster because more heat reaches the corpse. A body buried deep underground may not decompose for some time. In fact, there have seen some instances where bodies have been exhumed as much as 5 years after being buried and were still in decent shape.

Embalming is a common practice that is used if there is going to be some sort of viewing ceremony, or if a corpse has to travel by plane. It is also very customary in some cultures to embalm a body.

Overall, how long it takes an embalmed body to decompose depends on where it’s buried, how it’s buried, and how good a job the embalmer did.