Something is flaring up in the midwest, with two unrelated children dying near Springfield, Missouri, in the fall of 2003 from some kind of atypical pneumonia. My family has been afflicted with it, and I talked to a woman at Easter services who had the same symptoms: piercing ear pain on one side, dizziness, congestion, fatigue. It is tough to shake. Mom is on her fifth course of Antibiotics ! Give us a "Bronchial Pneumonia" forum, please.

I think it's Chlamydia Pneumoniae, a bug that prefers cool, not cold, weather as in spring and fall. Chlamydia Pneumoniae is actually a naso-pharyngeal infection that creates incredibly thick mucus that affects the ears. CP drains into the bronchial passages, and paralyzes the cilia. Suppressing the cough response, this allows deeper drainage into the lungs. Time-release Guiafenesin, MUCINEX, and plenty of water is job one. I'd keep some on hand.

CP is associated with hardening of the arteries, Atherosclerosis. So this could have long-term effects if untreated. CP attacks mononuclear cells, and there is the attendant fatigue and a pattern of relapse. I hope you will pray for the healing of the sick, and especially those with this challenge. God bless!