Pneumonia is an infectious lung disease caused by several types of viruses and bacteria. The lungs become inflamed and filled with fluid, causing the patient to cough and have difficulty breathing.
How to recognize the symptoms of pneumonia in a baby?
The disease can proceed quickly and develop in just one or two days, but in some cases the infection process is delayed and lasts for several days. Often the layman is unable to distinguish pneumonia from the common cold.
The very first sign of pneumonia is a cough. Call the local pediatrician at home if the baby or infant:
- often comes in bouts of severe coughing with mucus;
- clearly not feeling well;
- lost my appetite.
Severe cases of pneumonia require adequate hospital treatment. Call an ambulance if you find the following symptoms of pneumonia inbaby:
- cough gradually worsens and mucus becomes yellow, brown or blood-streaked;
- child's body temperature rises;
- child wheezes (or whistles hoarsely when breathing);
- the baby refuses to drink water, and the total amount of fluid consumed over the past day does not exceed half of its norm;
- child breathes quickly and shallowly, with each breath the skin is pulled in between the ribs, over the collarbones or under the chest;
- the child's lips and fingernails turned blue.
Risk factors
There are circumstances that increase the risk of developing certain infectious diseases (which include pneumonia in infants). Symptoms, reviews of childbirth, especially the behavior of the baby during feeding - all this information will allow the doctor to determine whether the child is at risk.
The following groups of children are most susceptible to pneumonia:
- the youngest;
- daily exposed to cigarette smoke;
- remaining unvaccinated or vaccinated out of schedule;
- with diagnoses affecting the lungs (asthma, bronchiectasis - bronchial dilatation, cystic fibrosis);
- born prematurely;
- choking and coughing while feeding;
- suffering from chronic diseases (regardless of lesions).
Diagnosis
During a home examination, it is very difficult to diagnose such a serious disease aspneumonia in the chest. Symptoms without fever can be misleading even for doctors, since the first manifestations of pneumonia are in many ways similar to the usual, much more common cold. That is why it is necessary to show a small child to a pediatrician as soon as possible. He will listen to the lungs with a stethoscope and determine if there is fluid in the paired organ. The doctor will also check the heart rate of the baby, listen to the breath, ask the parents what other symptoms of the disease they found.
If the child's condition seems unsatisfactory to the local pediatrician, he will suggest that you go to the hospital to have a chest x-ray. An x-ray will show how infected the lungs are. You can also take a blood or sputum test to determine the causative agent of the infection and its nature (viral or bacterial).
Treatment
If a doctor finds mild symptoms of pneumonia in an infant (no cough or complications), they will likely prescribe home treatment. Bacterial pneumonia is treated with antibiotics. The viral illness may go away on its own as the child's immune system suppresses the effects of the harmful virus.
However, in order to accurately determine the type of infection, it is necessary to take the baby to the hospital for testing. If the infection is mild, the doctor may prescribe antibiotics without testing to ensure that both the virus and bacteria are cleared. There are other waysalleviate the condition of a small child.
What can you do yourself?
Whatever type of pneumonia in infants, the symptoms of the disease are always extremely unpleasant and can disrupt the child's sleep, nutrition and routine. To minimize the discomfort experienced by the baby and promote a speedy recovery, try to follow the following medical recommendations:
- Create your baby all possible conditions for a good rest.
- To reduce the temperature, give the child paracetamol or ibuprofen (Nurofen) for children, strictly adhering to the instructions for use of the drug. Paracetamol can be given to babies starting at two months old if they were born at 37 weeks or later and currently weigh more than four kilograms. Ibuprofen (Nurofen) is safe for children as young as three months old and weighing at least five kilograms. If you are in doubt about the correct dosage of the drug, strictly follow the instructions in the instructions or consult with your pediatrician.
- Pneumonia in infants, the symptoms of which are airway congestion and coughing, can lead to dehydration, since it is difficult for a small child to drink with these manifestations of infection. Constantly offer your baby a breast or a bottle of formula, regardless of the established feeding schedule, and give additional clean boiled water. If you have the financial ability, it is advisable to buy for babiesspecial drinking water designed for babies and sold in baby food departments.
Precautions
Don't give your young child any over-the-counter cough or cold medicines. Almost all medicines of this kind are intended for children over six years of age due to the increased risk of side effects in the smallest patients.
If a pediatrician diagnosed severe pneumonia in an infant, symptoms (treatment with folk remedies in such cases almost never help) gradually worsen, and antipyretic children's drugs have an extremely limited period of action, you should go to the hospital and go to the hospital. Remember that a dangerous condition does not always develop quickly - sometimes it takes several days before the baby's well-being deteriorates greatly. Be sure to go to the hospital if your child has difficulty eating or breathing.
In the hospital
During inpatient treatment, doctors will provide the child with a full volume of fluids and oxygen. If necessary, the baby will be put on a drip through which antibiotics or, in case of severe dehydration, special liquids will be administered. In cases where pneumonia develops in infants, symptoms, treatment by alternative medicine, ignoring the recommendations of the pediatrician and insufficient attention to the patient from relatives can lead to serious complications of the disease. If the baby hasbreathing difficulties and the level of oxygen in the blood has reached a critical level, a special oxygen mask will be installed on his face.
Consequences
Usually, in such a common disease as pneumonia in infants, the consequences do not pose any danger: most young children are successfully cured, and they return to their former excellent he alth very soon. However, in some cases, pneumonia is accompanied by complications that require special therapy and utmost attention to the condition of the baby.
Dangerous consequences of pneumonia in a child
- Bacteremia (the presence of microbes in the patient's blood). Penetrating from the lungs into the bloodstream, bacteria can spread the infection to other internal organs and thereby cause dysfunction of these organs.
- Abscess of the lung. An abscess means a collection of pus in the cavity of the lung. This condition is treated with antibiotics. Sometimes surgery or a drain with a long needle or tube placed into the abscess is required to remove the pus.
- Pleural effusion (exudative pleurisy) - accumulation of fluid around the lungs. Pneumonia can cause fluid to build up in the narrow space between the layers of tissue that line the lung and chest cavity (pleura). If bacteria get into this fluid, it will most likely need to be drained out with a drain or removed with surgery.
- Difficulty breathing. In severe pneumonia, breathing problems occur, and the patientthe child is unable to breathe in enough oxygen. In this case, treatment in a hospital is necessary, where a small patient will be connected to special equipment that allows minimizing the most terrible symptoms of pneumonia in infants.
Prevention
To provide a small child with all the conditions for a he althy life and minimize the risk of pneumonia, take the following preventive measures in time:
- Don't refuse vaccinations. The pneumococcal vaccine (Prevenar 13) will protect your baby from pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis (blood poisoning). In order not to look for symptoms of pneumonia in an infant with a common cold, it is also useful to vaccinate against Haemophilus influenzae type b, diphtheria, and whooping cough. The last two vaccines are part of DPT.
- Do not forget about the rules of personal hygiene. Cover your mouth and nose when you cough, and wash your and your baby's hands frequently to prevent the spread of bacteria and viruses that cause infections.
- Make every effort to minimize the negative he alth effects of cigarette smoke on babies. If you or your partner smoke, consider quitting the habit. Babies living with parents who smoke are much more likely to get sick and more prone to ailments such as pneumonia, colds, asthma and ear infections.
If you are attentive to your baby, you can not only suspect in the early stagesdisease, but also to prevent it altogether.
