Swabbing people’s mouths with friendly bacteria while they are on ventilators helps prevent pneumonia, research has found.

Because people who need help breathing are sedated and often unable to communicate, discovering the early symptoms of pneumonia can be difficult, Red Orbit reported.

However, using probiotics as a preventative measure among a random sample of 50 patients was shown to have the same effect as antiseptics.

Antiseptics are usually used to prevent bacteria from the mouth travelling into the lungs of patients on ventilators.

The study at the University Hospital in Lund, Sweden, led by Bengt Klarin and colleagues found probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum 299 as effective as antiseptic treatment.

It also had the benefit of not having the side effects antiseptic chlorhexidine would usually have.

Also at Lund university, researchers recently found Lactobacillus plantarum 299 helped prevent bloating in people with irritable bowel syndrome, the Doctor’s Guide reported.