Jennifer Welsh is a Connecticut-based science writer and editor with over ten years of experience under her belt. She’s previously worked and written for WIRED Science, The Scientist, Discover Magazine, LiveScience, and Business Insider. 

Chris Vincent, MD, is a licensed physician, surgeon, and board-certified doctor of family medicine.

If you’ve been diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia, you’ll likely be prescribed antibiotics to treat it. Antibiotics kill bacteria or render them unable to replicate.

Your doctor may prescribe one of many antibiotics for pneumonia. Review what pneumonia is, what treatment for pneumonia may entail, and why your doctor may pick one pneumonia medication over the other.

Pneumonia is a lower respiratory infection. These are infections of the lungs or lung structures, like the bronchi. Pneumonia may make it harder to breathe because the air sacs in the lungs that exchange oxygen with carbon dioxide fill up with fluid.

Viruses or bacteria can cause different types of pneumonia. Less commonly, a fungus can be the culprit.

Viral pneumonia, caused by the viruses that also cause the common cold or flu, typically goes away on its own with enough time and rest. This type of pneumonia tends to be more seasonal in the fall and winter when cold and flu viruses spread.

Recovering from viral pneumonia could take up to three weeks. You can treat pneumonia's fever and pains with over-the-counter medicines. Antibiotics won't help you get better quicker if a virus causes your pneumonia.

Bacterial pneumonia is more common and needs to be treated with antibiotics to resolve fully, which may take a month or more. Bacterial pneumonia may be caused by the same pathogen that caused the original illness. Or it can be a secondary bacterial infection after a viral illness.

One of the best ways to prevent bacterial pneumonia is vaccination. There are currently four vaccines available in the United States (PCV13, PCV15, PCV20, and PPSV23) that help protect against a number of bacteria that cause pneumonia and other pneumococcal disease. Regular use of these vaccines has lowered bacterial pneumonia rates, even in nonvaccinated adults, due to herd immunity.

PCV13 (Prevnar 13) is recommended for:

PCV15 (Vaxneuvance) or PCV20 (Prevnar 20) is recommended for:

PPSV23 (Pneumovax23) is recommended for:

There are multiple types of antibiotics that work in slightly different ways. Some are more commonly used to treat pneumonia than others based on things like:

The types of antibiotics that your doctor might typically prescribe for pneumonia include the following:

Antibiotics prescribed for children with pneumonia include the following:

In addition to antibiotics, lifestyle interventions and over-the-counter treatments can also help ease symptoms. These may include getting rest, drinking fluids, and taking fever reducers.

Your doctor will select the right antibiotic for you based on multiple factors, including:

Doctors typically choose your antibiotics prescription based on what medicines they think will be most effective and cause the fewest side effects.

A course of antibiotics for uncomplicated pneumonia treatment is usually for five to seven days. One course will usually be enough to cure your pneumonia. In some cases, you may need more than one course of antibiotics if your infection doesn’t start improving or it seems like it’s not responding to the medications.

Stay in touch with your doctor to ensure your infection is clearing up. You’ll likely start to feel better and have some symptom relief one to three days after you start your pneumonia treatment, but it may take a week or more for your symptoms to go away completely.

Taking your medication as prescribed, especially for antibiotics, is incredibly important. Even if you’re feeling better, you need to take the entire course.

Do not stop taking antibiotics early, even if your symptoms improve, as the infection would not be fully treated and could become antibiotic-resistant. This will make treatment more complicated. If you’re experiencing side effects, talk to your doctor. Only stop your medication if your doctor tells you it’s OK to do so.

Antibiotics are serious drugs and can have some uncomfortable side effects. These can include:

Ask your doctor about any potential severe adverse reactions to watch out for.

Antibiotics work by killing bacteria, but our bodies are full of bacteria. There are more bacterial cells in our bodies than human cells. The vast majority of these bacteria, called our microbiome, are good for us; they help us digest food and support the immune system.

But antibiotics act indiscriminately, killing any bacteria they can find, even good ones. This indiscriminate killing causes some complications, as harmful bacteria may take over parts of our bodies vacated by the bacteria the antibiotic killed.

Some research suggests that taking a probiotic or eating probiotic foods while you’re taking antibiotics can help avoid some of the immediate and long-term effects of antibiotics on your microbiome.

Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial pneumonia. Which antibiotic is prescribed is based on the type of bacteria, your age, health history, and more. You will often take the antibiotics for five to seven days. Completing the full course is important. Side effects may occur, which you should report to your doctor.

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Dandachi D, Rodriguez-Barradas MC. Viral pneumonia: etiologies and treatment. J Invest Med. 2018;66:957-965. doi:10.1136/jim-2018-000712

Jain S, Self WH, Wunderink RG, et al. Community-acquired pneumonia requiring hospitalization among U.S. adults. N Engl J Med. 2015;373(5):415-427. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1500245

Centers for Disease Control. Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine information statement.

Metlay JP, Waterer GW, Long AC, et al. Diagnosis and treatment of adults with community-acquired pneumonia. An official clinical practice guideline of the American Thoracic Society and Infectious Diseases Society of America. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2019;200(7):e45-e67. doi:10.1164/rccm.201908-1581ST

Ramirez JA. Overview of community-acquired pneumonia in adults. UpToDate.

Bradley JS, Byington CL, Shah SS, et al. The management of community-acquired pneumonia in infants and children older than 3 months of age: clinical practice guidelines by the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society and the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Clin Infect Dis. 2011;53(7):e25-e76. doi:10.1093/cid/cir531

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