Inflammation of the lungs is a serious disease that affects both adults and children, and even newborns. That is why every parent should know what are the symptoms of pneumonia in a child. After all, this disease is extremely dangerous, especially at such a tender age. And the sooner treatment is started, the less the likelihood of certain complications.
Pneumonia in children and its causes
Before you learn about the symptoms of pneumonia in a child, you should also familiarize yourself with the main risk factors. Pneumonia is caused by different groups of bacteria and viruses. Moreover, the infection can enter the respiratory tract both directly from the external environment and from other foci of inflammation in the body. For example, pneumonia is often a complication of colds, as well as measles, chickenpox, rubella, etc. In some cases, infection occurs during childbirth - in such cases, signs of inflammation are noticed already in the first days of the baby's life.
On the other hand, overall he alth is also of great importance. Children with a weakened immune system, anemia, rickets, diseases are more prone to pneumonia.central nervous system, heart defects, chronic diseases of the respiratory system.
Classification of pneumonia
Today, there are several classification systems for such a disease. Of course, first of all, doctors pay attention to the nature of the pathogen - pneumonia can be of bacterial, viral and even fungal origin. In addition, depending on the intensity of the symptoms, a severe and mild form of inflammation is distinguished. Pneumonia can affect one lung (then they talk about left- or right-sided inflammation) or be bilateral. In addition, the inflammatory process can affect one lobe of the lung (this is lobar pneumonia), several alveoli (alveolar), segments (segmental), etc.
Symptoms of pneumonia in a child
In fact, the main signs, as well as their intensity, depend both on the form of inflammation and on the general condition of the child's body. However, at the beginning of the disease, the body temperature rises (up to 38-39 degrees). Shortness of breath and cough are also symptoms of pneumonia in a child. Moreover, the cough can be both dry, suffocating, and accompanied by sputum. Along with this, there are also the main signs of intoxication of the body - weakness, dizziness, headache, loss of appetite. In some cases, children complain of chest pain. In addition, if you undress and put the child on a horizontal surface, you can notice the retraction of the skin between the ribs during breathing - this is a dangerous sign.
As noted earlier, pneumonia is an extremely serious disease. The clinical picture in this case is similar to bronchitis and some other diseases of the respiratory system. Therefore, with fever, shortness of breath and coughing, the child should urgently be shown to the pediatrician - only after the examination, the specialist will be able to make an accurate diagnosis.
Pneumonia treatment
Of course, in this case, you can not self-medicate - only a doctor can determine the features of therapy. Moreover, it is the doctor who will decide whether it is worth treating in a hospital. As a rule, antibiotics are prescribed for the child to begin with - this is the only way to get rid of the infection. In addition, doctors also use drugs that eliminate the main symptoms - these are antipyretics, as well as drugs that facilitate sputum discharge.
