Pneumonia in children

Pneumonia in children - this diagnosis is very frightening to parents and causes a desire to immediately flee to the pharmacy for the best medicines. In addition, many mothers and dads, knowing that pneumonia can become a complication of a viral infection, often seek to prevent its occurrence and try to independently prescribe the child preventive measures in the form of antibiotics. Although this is not the only difference between parents (they are, by and large, excusable), but many pediatricians who prescribe antibiotic therapy without explicit evidence, just "just in case."

So, what is pneumonia in children? This acute disease, which is accompanied by inflammation of the lung tissue and is manifested by fever, violation of overall health and persistent cough lasting for a week or longer. The diagnosis is made on the basis of listening, which in doubtful cases is supplemented by a clinical analysis of the blood and a chest X-ray.

Most often pneumonia in children is a complication of viral and bacterial diseases (influenza, measles, whooping cough), including banal ARVI, especially if the child has weakened immunity or if the treatment was not done correctly. Parents should be aware that in all diseases accompanied by cough and / or high fever, the main thing they can do is to ensure the correct drinking regime and create a healing environment (often clean and air indoors, if necessary, moisten the air). And the prescription of medicines, including those of plant origin, is the task of the doctor.

Pneumonia in children is accompanied by the following symptoms:

• An increase in temperature, which can be both subfebrile (37-37.5 degrees) and very high (up to 40 degrees). If the temperature rises after a visible improvement (that is, if the child has already begun to recover, when suddenly it has become ill again), this is an alarming sign that allows the susceptibility of complications, including pneumonia, to be suspected;
• Cough, which not only does not pass, but becomes more and more stubborn, greatly fatiguing and exhausting the child. With pneumonia , both dry and wet cough accompanied by sputum discharge are possible;
• Pain in the chest, often on the right or left (although the child can not always clearly identify and explain where it hurts). Most often the child is sick of coughing and breathing deeply, although sometimes the pain can be felt constantly;
• Shortness of breath, shortness of breath. A nasolabial triangle may become bluish or pale, and sometimes it is difficult for each sigh to breathe. This is how respiratory failure develops - a complication, especially dangerous for children of the first years of life;
• General impairment of health. The child becomes sluggish, tries to lie down, refuses to eat. If pneumonia in children is accompanied by high fever and breathing problems, then this symptom is very severe, in more mild cases the child's well-being may not be severely disturbed.

Sometimes there are atypical forms of pneumonia that occur without coughing and / or rising temperatures. In these cases, it is very difficult to diagnose correctly, so parents should keep their fingers on the pulse and, if something disturbs the child, do not hesitate to contact the doctor.

Treatment of pneumonia in young children is most often carried out in a hospital, where there is an opportunity to react quickly to changing situations and take urgent measures. Children of older age, who have pneumonia in severe form, are also hospitalized. In uncomplicated cases, it is possible to treat pneumonia at home, necessarily under the close supervision of a pediatrician. It is the doctor who prescribes various medicines: antibiotics that help cope with the infection, mucolytics for liquefaction of sputum, drugs that dilate the bronchi, various physiotherapy procedures. Parents should not discontinue the treatment at their discretion, because the apparent relief after taking several antibiotic tablets (spoons) is not the ultimate cure. If you stop taking medication in this case, the disease will return with renewed vigor, and, in addition, its causative agent will develop resistance to this antibacterial drug and therapy will have to be repeated anew, with a stronger remedy.

For a child with pneumonia, proper nutrition is essential, with obligatory inclusion of foods, fruits, sour-milk and protein products into the diet, a gentle regime (not necessarily bed rest, but with noisy games, jogging and jumping), weather permitting - outdoor walks .

If the child is diagnosed with pneumonia, the parents are very concerned about the possible consequences of pneumonia in children. If the treatment was organized correctly and in a timely manner, then the child recovers in one to two weeks. But joking with pneumonia, performing medical appointments in incomplete volume or even refusing treatment, is not worth it, because in this case this disease can be very dangerous!