Do you have kids at home? Here are the symptoms of pneumonia in kids that you should be aware of!
Pneumonia is an acute respiratory infection that can affect one or both lungs caused by a bacterial or viral infection.
Pneumonia is contagious and can be spread in several ways, through the air, through blood, especially during or after birth, or through contaminated surfaces.
Pneumonia generally occurs in infants and kids under the age of 5.
The symptoms of pneumonia in kids can be classified as mild or serious starting from fever, cough, to difficulty breathing properly.
The symptoms of pneumonia can show up quickly, within 24 to 48 hours, or they can show up slowly over a few days.
If you start to feel your kids have the symptoms of pneumonia, you may contact our doctors services through the Medi-Call application or the 24-hour call center.
Symptoms of Pneumonia in Kids
The symptoms of pneumonia in kids can be different for each kid.
This can also be influenced by the causes of pneumonia in kids.
Pneumonia caused by bacterial infection and viral infection will have different symptoms.
However, the symptoms of pneumonia in kids that you should know are generally described as follows.
- Cough
Kids who have pneumonia typically have a dry or phlegm cough that produces mucus.
Coughing up phlegm occurs when your lungs become infected and produce more phlegm than normal.
As a result, there is phlegm in the throat that comes out when you cough.
- Breathing problems
Kids with pneumonia will have fluid and pus in their lungs, causing them to have difficulty breathing.
Your kids may feel difficulty in breathing like they can’t get enough air or their chest feels very tight like being suffocated.
- Diarrhea
Pneumonia in kids can also affect the digestive tract in the form of diarrhea, and can also affect other organs.
Pneumonia and diarrhea are interrelated conditions.
This is because they have the same cause, namely malnutrition experienced by kids due to lack of exclusive breastfeeding since childhood.
- Loss of appetite
When your kids experience a loss of appetite, they will rarely feel hungry, eat less than usual, or feel full even though they have only eaten a little.
This is caused by changes in your kids metabolism during pneumonia.
This metabolic change will affect your kids’ appetite, causing your kids not to eat.
The treatment of pneumonia in kids is adjusted according to the cause.
Generally, doctors will prescribe antibiotics to treat bacterial pneumonia and antiviral drugs for viral pneumonia.
With treatment, most types of bacterial pneumonia can be treated and recovered in 1-2 weeks while it may take 4-5 weeks for viral pneumonia.
Aside from treatment, one thing that is quite important and needs to be done by parents to prevent pneumonia in kids is to give vaccines and teach your kids to always maintain cleanliness to prevent the spread of any bacteria or viruses.
You can get your kids pneumonia vaccinated by contacting our doctor to your location through our 24 Hour Call Center or Medi-Call application.