How to tell if a child has pneumonia

Pneumonia in Children - HealthyChildren.org

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The word pneumonia means "infection of the lung." While pneumonia was extremely dangerous in past generations, today most children can recover from it easily if they receive proper medical attention.

Most cases of pneumonia follow a viral upper respiratory tract infection. Pneumonia also can be caused by bacterial infections. Also, if a viral infection has irritated the airway enough or weakened a child's immune system, bacteria may begin to grow in the lung, adding a second infection to the original one.

Certain children whose immune defenses or lungs are weakened by other illnesses, such as cystic fibrosis, asthma, or cancer may be more likely to develop pneumonia. Children whose airways or lungs are abnormal in other ways may have a higher risk.

Because most forms of pneumonia are linked to viral or bacterial infections that spread from person to person, they're most common during the fall, winter, and early spring, when children spend more time indoors in close contact with others. The chance that a child will develop pneumonia is not affected by how she is dressed or by air temperature on cold days.

Signs & symptoms of pneumonia in children

Like many infections, pneumonia usually produces a fever, which in turn may cause sweating, chills, flushed skin, and general discomfort. The child also may lose her appetite and seem less energetic than normal. Babies and toddlers may seem pale and limp, and cry more than usual.

Pneumonia treatment

When pneumonia is caused by a virus, usually there is no specific treatment other than rest and the usual measures for fever control. Cough suppressants containing codeine or dextromethorphan should not be used, because coughing is helpful in clearing the excessive secretions caused by the infection. Viral pneumonia usually improves after a few days, although the cough may linger for several weeks.

Because it is often difficult to tell whether the pneumonia is caused by a virus or by a bacteria, your pediatrician may prescribe an antibiotic. All antibiotics should be taken for the full prescribed course and at the specific dosage recommended. You may be tempted to discontinue them early, but you should not do so—some bacteria may remain, and the infection might return unless the entire course is completed.

Prevention: the pneumonia vaccine

Your child can be vaccinated against pneumococcal infections, a bacterial cause of pneumonia. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all children starting at 2 months of age receive this immunization (called pneumococcal conjugate or PCV13). A series of doses needs to be given at 2, 4, 6, and 12 to 15 months of age, at the same time that children receive other childhood vaccines.

If your child did not receive the first doses at the recommended times, talk to your pediatrician about a catch-up schedule. One dose of PCV13 should be given to all healthy children who are aged 2 through 5 years who have not previously received their recommended doses before the age of 2 years and to children aged 2 years through 18 years with certain underlying medical conditions who have not previously received a dose of PCV13.

Another pneumococcal vaccine (pneumococcal polysaccharide or PPV23) also is recommended for older children (2 through 5 years of age) who have a high risk of developing an invasive pneumococcal infection. These include children with:

It's also recommended for children taking medications or who have diseases that weaken their immune system. Some children with certain underlying medical conditions may need a second dose of pneumococcal vaccine given at lease 8 weeks later.

More information:

Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine: What You Need to Know
Pneumococcal Infections
Protecting Your Baby from RSV

Last Updated: 10/30/2020

Source: Adapted from Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age Five 7th edition (Copyright © 2019 American Academy of Pediatrics)

The information contained on this Web site should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician. There may be variations in treatment that your pediatrician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.

Pneumonia (for Parents) - Nemours KidsHealth

What Is Pneumonia?

Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs. Normally, the small sacs in the lungs are filled with air. In someone who has pneumonia, the air sacs fill up with pus and other fluid.

What Are the Signs & Symptoms of Pneumonia?

The signs and symptoms of pneumonia may include:

fever
cough
chills
fast breathing
breathing with grunting or wheezing sounds
working hard to breathe
vomiting
chest pain
belly pain
being less active
loss of appetite (in older kids) or poor feeding (in babies)

What Causes Pneumonia?

Viruses, like the flu or RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), cause most cases of pneumonia. Kids with pneumonia caused by a virus usually have symptoms that happen over time and tend to be mild.

Less often, bacteria can cause pneumonia. When that happens, kids usually will become sick more quickly, starting with a sudden high fever, cough, and sometimes fast breathing. Types of bacterial pneumonia include pneumococcal pneumonia, mycoplasma pneumonia (walking pneumonia), and pertussis (whooping cough).

How Is Pneumonia Diagnosed?

Doctors will do an exam to look for pneumonia. They’ll check the person’s appearance, breathing pattern, and vital signs. They'll listen to the lungs and might order a chest X-ray.

How Is Pneumonia Treated?

People who have viral pneumonia do not need antibiotics. Antibiotics only work against bacteria, not viruses. Someone with viral pneumonia from the flu virus or COVID-19 might get an antiviral medicine if it’s early in the illness.

Doctors treat bacterial pneumonia with an antibiotic taken by mouth. Usually, this can be done at home. The antibiotic they use depends on the type of bacteria thought to have caused the pneumonia.

Some children might need treatment in a hospital if the pneumonia causes a lasting high fever or breathing problems, or if they need oxygen, are vomiting and can’t take the medicine, or have a lung infection that may have spread to the bloodstream.

Hospital treatment can include IV (given into a vein) antibiotics and fluids and breathing treatments. More serious cases might be treated in the intensive care unit (ICU).

How Can Parents Help?

Kids with pneumonia need to get plenty of rest and drink lots of liquids while the body works to fight the infection.

If your child has bacterial pneumonia and the doctor prescribed antibiotics, give the medicine on schedule for as long as directed. Keeping up with the medicine doses will help your child recover faster and help prevent the infection from spreading to others in the family. If your child is wheezing, the doctor might recommend using breathing treatments.

Ask the doctor before you use a medicine to treat your child's cough. Over-the-counter cough and cold medicines are not recommended for any kids under 6 years old. If your child doesn’t seem to be feeling better in a few days, call your doctor for advice.

How Long Does Pneumonia Last?

With treatment, most types of bacterial pneumonia are cured in 1–2 weeks. Walking pneumonia and viral pneumonia may take 4–6 weeks to go away completely.

Is Pneumonia Contagious?

In general, pneumonia is not contagious, but the upper respiratory viruses and bacteria that lead to it are. When these germs are in someone’s mouth or nose, that person can spread the illness through coughs and sneezes.

Sharing drinking glasses and eating utensils, and touching used tissues or handkerchiefs of an infected person also can spread pneumonia. If someone in your home has a respiratory infection or throat infection, keep their drinking glasses and eating utensils separate from those of other family members, and wash your hands well and often, especially if you're handling used tissues or dirty handkerchiefs.

Can Pneumonia Be Prevented?

Some types of pneumonia can be prevented by vaccines. Kids usually get routine vaccines against Haemophilus influenzae, pneumococcus, and whooping cough beginning at 2 months of age.

The flu vaccine is recommended for all kids ages 6 months through 19 years. The COVID-19 vaccine is recommended for all kids ages 5 and up. These vaccines are extra important for kids who have a chronic illness, such as a heart or lung disorder or asthma.

When possible, keep kids away from anyone with symptoms (stuffy or runny nose, sore throat, cough) of a respiratory infection. During the pandemic, masks have been very helpful in preventing the spread of viruses and bacteria that cause pneumonia.

Pneumonia in children: symptoms, treatment, prevention

Thursday, 13 December 2018

Inflammation of the lungs (pneumonia) is a serious infectious disease that affects people of all ages. And children are no exception. Recently, there has been an increase in the number of acute infectious diseases of the respiratory system, and pneumonia is the most dangerous of them. Therefore, parents should understand what it is - pneumonia, how to recognize this disease, and what to do if it occurs in a child.

Description

The danger of the disease is associated with the important role played by the lungs in the human body. After all, the lungs perform the function of delivering oxygen to the tissues of the body and, therefore, the defeat of such an important organ can have serious consequences.

The lungs receive oxygen from the upper respiratory tract during inhalation. In special vesicles of the lungs - the alveoli, the process of enriching the blood with oxygen takes place. At the same time, carbon dioxide enters the alveoli from the blood, which is thrown out during exhalation. The inner surface of the lungs has a mucous membrane, the purpose of which is to protect the lungs from negative external influences.

Each lung consists of 10 segments, which are grouped into lobes - there are three in the right lung, two in the left. With inflammation of the lungs, the infectious process affects the internal structures of the lungs, which greatly complicates the process of breathing and gas exchange. And this can affect other organs, especially the heart.

Gas exchange by no means exhausts the functions of the lungs in the body. They are also involved in the following processes:

body temperature regulation,
filtration of harmful substances,
regulation of the amount of liquids and salts,
blood purification,
detoxification,
synthesis and neutralization of proteins and fats.

With infectious diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, poisoning, injuries and burns, the load on the lungs increases many times over, and they may not be able to cope with the removal of toxins from the body. This can provoke an infectious process in the lungs.

Varieties of pneumonia

Unlike other respiratory diseases, the proportion of cases with a purely viral etiology is small. In about 80% of cases, we are talking about the defeat of the lungs by various strains of bacteria. In childhood, the bulk of pneumonia is associated with three types of bacteria - pneumococcus, mycoplasma and pulmonary chlamydia. However, other types of bacteria can also become a source of disease.

These include staphylococci, streptococci, Klebsiella, Haemophilus influenzae, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and some others. Much less often, the lungs suffer from exposure to pathogenic fungi, and even more rarely, pneumonia caused by helminths can be observed.

Pathogens are also unevenly distributed across age groups. Pneumonia in infants and preschool children is most often caused by pneumococci. At primary school age children are more often subject to mycoplasmal pneumonia. Teenagers most often get pneumonia caused by chlamydia.

According to the size and shape of the area of inflammation, pneumonia is divided into:

focal,
segmental,
drain,
coarse,
left hand,
right hand.

With focal pneumonia, there are only separate foci of inflammation about 1 cm in size, and with confluent pneumonia, these foci merge together. With segmental pneumonia, one of the segments of the lungs is affected. With a croupous type of pneumonia, the entire lobe is covered by the pathological process.

With bronchopneumonia, not only lung tissue is affected, but also the bronchial mucosa. Usually bronchopneumonia is a consequence of bronchitis.

Purely viral pneumonia is less common. The causative agents of this form of the disease can be influenza viruses, parainfluenza, adenoviruses. Bilateral pneumonia is most often caused by pneumococci and Haemophilus influenzae. Atypical pneumonia in a child is most often caused by mycoplasmas and chlamydia. This type of pneumonia can last longer and is difficult to treat with antibiotics.

Hospital-acquired pneumonia is most often caused by staphylococci, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella.

Peculiarities of pneumonia in childhood

Left-sided pneumonia in a child is most often more severe than right-sided. This is due to the fact that the lungs have an asymmetric structure, and the airways on the left side are narrower than on the right. This circumstance makes it difficult to remove mucus and contributes to the rooting of the infection.

It is well known that children are more susceptible to pneumonia than adults. This fact has several reasons. First of all, young children have rather weak immunity compared to adults. And the second reason is that the respiratory organs in a child are not as developed as in an adult. In addition, the narrowness of the respiratory passages in children causes stagnation of mucus in them and makes it difficult to remove it.

Also, in infants, breathing is usually carried out using movements of the diaphragm, which are influenced by the state of the gastrointestinal tract. Violation of its work, expressed, for example, in bloating, immediately affects the lungs - congestion occurs in them, leading to an increase in the number of pathogens. Infants also have relatively weak respiratory muscles, which prevent them from coughing up sputum effectively.

Symptoms of pneumonia in a child

How does pneumonia manifest itself? Symptoms of pneumonia in children of different ages are somewhat different. However, it is worth noting that with all types of pneumonia, there is such a symptom as respiratory failure. It is expressed, first of all, in increased breathing with pneumonia, which usually does not happen with infectious diseases of the upper respiratory tract. Normally, the ratio of pulse and respiratory rate is 3 to 1. However, with pneumonia, the ratio can reach 2 to 1 and 1 to 1. That is, if the child’s pulse is 100, then the respiratory rate can be more than 50 breaths per minute. Despite the increased frequency of breathing, it is usually superficial, shallow.

How else can respiratory failure be diagnosed? There are a number of other signs that testify to it, for example, blue discoloration of the skin surfaces, primarily in the region of the nasolabial triangle. Sometimes pallor of the skin can be observed.

Secondly, with inflammation of the lungs, there is another characteristic symptom - high temperature. The level of hyperthermia in pneumonia is usually much higher than in other respiratory diseases and can reach +39-40ºС. However, this symptom may not be observed in all types of pneumonia. Signs of atypical pneumonia in a child include subfebrile temperature or a temperature slightly above + 38ºС. Sometimes such a scenario of the disease can also be observed, when the temperature in the first days rises to high values, and then decreases. In addition, in children under one year old, due to the imperfection of the immune system, the temperature can also remain within the subfebrile range, even with the most severe forms of pneumonia.

Signs of pneumonia in a child include other respiratory symptoms. First of all, it's a cough. As a rule, it can be observed if the infection affects not only the lungs, but also the bronchi, which most often happens in practice, and also if pneumonia is a complication of acute respiratory infections. Cough can be varied, but as a rule, it is not completely dry, but is associated with sputum discharge. Or, in the first days of the disease, a dry cough appears, and then it turns into a cough with expectoration of sputum. Bilateral croupous pneumonia is distinguished by a variety of manifestations. In children, the symptoms of this form of the disease include not only cough, but "rusty" sputum, including red blood cells from damaged small capillaries.

With the development of pneumonia in a child, the symptoms will include signs of intoxication - headaches, nausea, dizziness. In some types of pneumonia in children, symptoms may include pain in the chest, sometimes in the hypochondrium.

Symptoms of pneumonia in an infant may not be as severe as in older children. Often, the symptoms of pneumonia in infants include only low-grade fever and cough (in some cases, it may be absent). Therefore, the recognition of the disease at the age of up to a year is difficult. Attention should be paid to indirect symptoms - low muscle tone, lethargy, refusal of the breast, anxiety, frequent regurgitation.

Causes

According to the causes of pneumonia, it is divided into primary and secondary. Primary pneumonias include cases of disease that arise directly from infection with pathogens. Secondary pneumonias include cases of the disease, which are complications of other respiratory diseases - SARS, bronchitis, influenza, tonsillitis, etc.

In most cases, we are talking about secondary diseases. It should be noted that viral respiratory diseases very often provoke the occurrence of pneumonia and prepare the ground for them by weakening the immune system and lowering the protective properties of bactericidal sputum formed in the lungs.

Quite rarely, pneumonia is transmitted from person to person by airborne droplets. As a rule, pathogens already live in the body, long before it starts, and are just waiting in the wings to begin their attack on the lungs. A trigger that can provoke the activation of pathogenic microflora can be an infectious disease of the upper respiratory tract, influenza, weakened immunity, for example, as a result of hypothermia.

A special group of cases of pneumonia includes the so-called nosocomial infections. They occur in hospitals, if patients are treated for other diseases. Hospital-acquired pneumonia is caused by special, hospital-acquired strains of bacteria that have increased resistance to traditional antibiotics.

Thus, congestion in the lungs associated with prolonged bed rest can also cause pneumonia. In young children, congestion in the lungs can also be caused by intestinal infectious diseases, in which bloating appears and normal ventilation of the lungs is disrupted. Also, the occurrence of pneumonia can be facilitated by frequent spitting up of food by a child, in which vomit with intestinal pathogens contained in them can partially enter the lungs.

If pneumonia occurs in newborns, then there may be two main reasons for this - either the child became infected directly in the hospital, or it was already infected in the womb.

Other factors contributing to the disease:

stresses,
beriberi,
malnutrition,
passive smoking of others.

Diagnostics

In a child, acute pneumonia can only be diagnosed by a doctor. At the first signs of pneumonia in a child, a therapist should be called. An experienced doctor can determine the focus of inflammation by listening to noises and wheezing in the lungs and tapping the chest. Other diagnostic signs are also used to recognize the disease: respiratory failure, the nature of hyperthermia, damage to the upper respiratory tract.

However, in order to unequivocally diagnose and determine the location of the focus of the disease in most cases, x-rays are required. The x-ray image clearly shows the degree of lung damage and the area of \u200b\u200bdistribution of the pathological process. This feature is the most important in the diagnosis.

However, x-rays do not always allow to determine the causative agent of the disease. But the treatment strategy largely depends on this information. For this purpose, bacteriological tests are used - the isolation of antibodies to the pathogen or the pathogens themselves from the blood and sputum droplets. True, it is far from always possible to unambiguously determine the pathogen, since several potentially pathogenic microorganisms can be contained in sputum at once. In addition, a violation of the leukocyte formula, an increase in the level of ESR (20 mm / h or more), and a decrease in hemoglobin are taken into account. However, a significant increase in the number of leukocytes accompanies not all types of pneumonia. The maximum increase in the number of leukocytes is observed in chlamydial infections (30,000 per µl).

Forecast

In most cases of pneumonia in children, subject to timely access to a doctor, the prognosis is favorable. Pneumonia in newborns and infants, especially in premature infants, poses a serious threat to life. They are also dangerous for their severe complications of pneumonia caused by staphylococci and streptococci, as well as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In most cases, with proper treatment, the chance of complications is low.

Complications

Inflammation of the lungs in a child aged 2 years can take severe forms and spread to other organs.

Among the most common complications, it is worth mentioning lung abscess, destruction of lung tissue, pleurisy, air ingress into the pleura.

Complications of pneumonia in children that affect other organs:

heart failure,
sepsis and septic shock,
meningitis,
myocarditis,
endocarditis,
pericarditis,
bleeding disorder.

Treatment

Treatment of acute pneumonia in a child can be carried out both in a hospital and at home. The choice of one or another option is made by the doctor, based on such factors:

child's age,
patient's condition,
suspected disease type,
the ability of parents to provide proper care for the child,
the presence of smokers in the family.

If acute pneumonia is not cured, then it can turn into chronic, lasting up to six months.

Treatment of bacterial pneumonia in a child is carried out mainly with the help of antibiotics. Of course, during the first examination, the doctor often does not have the opportunity to accurately determine the type of pathogen. Therefore, general antibiotics are prescribed first, or an antibiotic is selected based on rough assumptions. Subsequently, as diagnostic data accumulates, this appointment can either be canceled or confirmed. The effectiveness of the antibiotic is assessed in the first days after the appointment, usually after 2-3 days. How do you know if a drug is working? If, against the background of its administration, the patient's condition improves - a decrease in temperature, a weakening of symptoms indicative of pulmonary insufficiency, then drug therapy with this drug continues. If there is no improvement, then another drug is used. By this time, the doctor may already have at his disposal data on the nature of the infection, which can help him make the right choice.

Not every antibacterial drug can be used in the treatment of pneumonia in children. Among the drugs effective for pneumonia and permitted in pediatric practice, antibiotics of the cephalosporin and macrolide groups are most widely used. However, the choice of other drugs is also possible - penicillins, sulfonamides, amoxicillins. Fluoroquinolones and tetracyclines are used less often, only in case of severe complications and ineffectiveness of other means. It is worth considering the age of the child, for example, at 3 years old, some drugs may be suitable, but at 1 year old they are no longer.

The choice of a drug is not an easy task, and it should not be done at random, by people who do not have information about the properties of antibiotics, but by a qualified specialist with extensive practical experience and able to take into account all factors, such as contraindications, efficacy and side effects of the drug, as well as the patient's condition , his age, features of the disease. Otherwise, the use of antibiotics can only harm.

If a child has pneumonia, oral antibiotics are usually given. However, in the case of a severe course of the disease, or if taking antibiotics causes nausea or vomiting in the child, parenteral administration of drugs is prescribed.

The dosage prescribed by the doctor should be strictly observed. Irregular intake can negate the entire therapeutic effect of drugs, due to the fact that there will not be a sufficient concentration of the substance in the blood. Also, if the patient has signs of improvement, do not stop taking the drug, it is necessary to complete the course of treatment.

Among the negative factors associated with taking antibiotics, one should highlight the fact that they negatively affect the beneficial microflora of the body, primarily the intestinal one. Therefore, in parallel with taking antibiotics, probiotic preparations should also be taken.

Should I use antipyretic and anti-inflammatory drugs for pneumonia in a child? This can be done in some cases, but only with the permission of the doctor. It is not recommended to bring down the temperature with antipyretics for inflammation of the lungs, for the reason that hyperthermia is a protective reaction of the body and is designed to mobilize all its forces to fight the infection. Of course, a lot depends on how high the temperatures are. If it exceeds +39ºС, then such overheating of the body can adversely affect the patient's condition. In young children, high fever can even lead to convulsions. In such cases, it is worth giving the child an antipyretic already when the thermometer reaches the mark of +37, 5ºС. Otherwise, if the child tolerates temperature well, and he does not have any concomitant diseases in which a high temperature can be dangerous, then it is better not to lower the temperature artificially. Paracetamol and other non-steroidal drugs are most often used as antipyretic drugs.

It is also necessary to give the patient as much to drink as possible. With pneumonia in a child, the body loses a lot of fluid - this is primarily due to profuse sweating. In addition, drinking plenty of water allows you to quickly remove toxins from the body. However, with signs of pulmonary edema, fluid intake is limited.

As a rule, pneumonia in a child is combined with the formation of mucus in the bronchi and coughing, in which this mucus is excreted from the respiratory system. Therefore, an important category of drugs are cough relief drugs. They are divided into three main groups - mucolytic, expectorant and bronchodilator. Mucolytic agents reduce the viscosity of bronchial mucus, and expectorants facilitate its removal. Among expectorants and mucolytic drugs, bromhexine, ambrohexal, acetylcysteine are most often used. Among the bronchodilator drugs intended to relieve bronchospasm, eufillin is most often used.

Antitussive drugs that suppress the activity of the cough center are contraindicated because they lead to stagnation of sputum in the lungs.

Is it possible to use folk remedies?

Is it worth using traditional medicine for pneumonia detected in a child, and can they replace antibiotics? As you know, many parents are wary of antibiotics. And this concern is understandable - after all, antibiotics can have side effects, for example, dysbacteriosis and can cause allergic reactions. Therefore, they are trying to replace antibiotics in the treatment of infectious diseases with some alternative means. It is worth saying directly that such an approach in the case of bacterial pneumonia is irresponsible frivolity.

Pneumonia in a child is not a sore throat, which disappears in seven days if treated, and in a week if not treated. It is a severe and life-threatening illness that has no effective treatment other than antibiotics. This is due to the fact that the focus of inflammation is located very deep, sometimes in the lower part of the lungs, and no gargling with infusions of herbs and even inhalations can affect it. Those wishing to treat their child with folk methods should remember that before the invention of antibiotics, the survival rate of young children in case of pneumonia was about 30%. These statistics clearly show the effectiveness of folk remedies compared to modern antibiotic therapy. Of course, if a child does not tolerate some kind of antibiotic, then you should tell the doctor about it, and he will certainly be able to find a replacement.

Additional measures for treatment

As ancillary measures, massage and physiotherapy can be prescribed. They are carried out with pneumonia, when the child's temperature began to decrease.

It goes without saying that when treating at home, the patient must comply with bed rest. The air in the room where it is located should be neither too warm nor too cold. The optimum temperature is 19-20 degrees. You should also monitor sufficient air humidity, since dry air irritates the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract. In addition to drinking plenty of water, you should also pay attention to your diet. Of course, the patient should not be force-fed if there is no appetite at a high temperature. However, it is worth noting that in case of illness, the body should receive an increased amount of proteins, vitamins and trace elements, so that nutrition should be complete. Food should be easily digestible and hypoallergenic.

In stationary conditions, in a serious condition, oxygen therapy (artificial ventilation of the lungs) is carried out.

Recovery period

With proper observance of all the doctor's prescriptions, a complete recovery can occur in 10-14 days. However, even after recovery, a child attending school for several months (from 1.5 to 3) should be released from physical education and physical activity. Emotional and physical overwork of children who have had pneumonia should be avoided. They are put on dispensary records for a period of up to one and a half years. At this time, additional tests and x-rays may be prescribed. During the rehabilitation period, it is recommended to use breathing exercises.

After recovery, residual symptoms of the disease may be observed for some time, for example, a dry cough associated with insufficient restoration of the mucous membrane. For the speedy restoration of the functionality of the lungs, sanatorium treatment, inhalation of sea air is recommended.

Prophylaxis

Pneumonia in a child in most cases is a disease of reduced immunity. Therefore, the prevention of the disease in children includes measures to increase immunity - hardening, proper daily routine, physical activity, good nutrition, taking vitamin complexes. At the same time, care should be taken to ensure that the child does not receive hypothermia, for the cleanliness and sufficient humidity of the air in the apartment. And, of course, it is necessary to treat respiratory diseases in time, which can become a direct cause of pneumonia - SARS, pharyngitis, laryngitis, tonsillitis, and, first of all, bronchitis.

Vaccination of children is an important preventive measure. There is currently no universal vaccination against pneumonia, but some pneumonia pathogens, such as pneumococcus and Haemophilus influenzae, can be vaccinated. Vaccinations against pneumococcal infection are included in the National Immunization Calendar and are mandatory; children under 1 year of age are given twice with an interval of 2 months; and 6 months and a single revaccination in the second year of life.

Pneumonia in children: symptoms and treatment

February 2, 2021

Children's polyclinic No. 11 hosted a lecture on "Pneumonia in children" for medical workers. It was conducted by Dmitry Trufanov, head of the medical and preventive department. Dmitry Igorevich spoke about the symptoms and treatment of pneumonia.

Pneumonia in children is an acute infectious lesion of the lungs, accompanied by the presence of infiltrative changes on radiographs and symptoms of damage to the lower respiratory tract.

Symptoms

fever;

weakness;

headache;

pain in the chest or under the shoulder blades;

cough;

Increased intoxication.

Clinical manifestations of pneumonia to a greater extent depend not only on the type of pathogen that caused the inflammatory process, but also on the age of the child. In older children, the disease has more clear and characteristic manifestations, and in children with minimal manifestations, severe respiratory failure and oxygen starvation can quickly develop. It is rather difficult to predict how the process will develop.

At first, the baby may have a slight difficulty in nasal breathing, tearfulness, loss of appetite. Then the temperature suddenly rises (above 38 ° C) and lasts 3 days or longer, there is an increase in breathing and heart rate, pallor of the skin, severe cyanosis of the nasolabial triangle, sweating.

Cough may appear on the 5-6th day, but it may not be. The nature of the cough can be different: superficial or deep, paroxysmal unproductive, dry or wet. Sputum appears only in case of involvement in the inflammatory process of the bronchi.

Pneumonia in schoolchildren and adolescents almost always has previous minor manifestations of SARS. Then the condition returns to normal, and after a few days chest pain and a sharp rise in temperature appear. Cough occurs within 2-3 subsequent days.

Treatment of pneumonia

Reasons for hospitalization of a child with pneumonia are: age under 3 years, involvement of two or more lobes of the lungs in inflammation, severe respiratory failure, pleurisy, severe encephalopathy, malnutrition, congenital malformations of the heart and blood vessels , chronic pathology of the lungs (bronchial asthma, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, etc.