Symptoms of pneumonia in infants. Treatment, consequences of the disease

Pneumonia is an infectious disease of the lungs caused by viruses and bacteria of several species. The lungs become inflamed and filled with fluid, resulting in a cough in the patient and it becomes difficult to breathe.

How to recognize the symptoms of pneumonia in infants?

The disease can proceed quickly and develop literally in one or two days, but in a number of cases the infection process is delayed and lasts for several days. Often, a layman can not distinguish pneumonia from an ordinary cold.

The very first sign of pneumonia is a cough. Call the district pediatrician at the house if the infant or babe:

• Often occurs in attacks of severe cough with mucous secretions;
• Clearly feels bad;
• Lost his appetite.

Severe cases of pneumonia require adequate treatment in the hospital. Call an ambulance if you have the following symptoms of pneumonia in the baby:

• Cough gradually worsens, and mucus becomes yellow, brown or with bloody veins;
• The child has a fever;
• The baby wheezes (or whimpers hoarsely at breathing);
• The baby refuses to drink water, and the total volume of liquid consumed in the last 24 hours does not exceed half of its norm;
• The child breathes often and shallowly, with each sigh his skin is drawn between the ribs, above the clavicles or under the rib cage;
• The child's lips and nails turned blue.

Risk factors

There are circumstances that increase the risk of developing some infectious diseases (which include pneumonia in the baby). Symptoms, reviews about childbirth, the behavior of the baby during feeding - all this information will allow the doctor to determine if the child is at risk.

The following groups of children are most susceptible to pneumonia:

• The youngest;
• Daily exposed to cigarette smoke;
• Left without vaccination or vaccinated in violation of the schedule;
• With diagnoses affecting the condition of the lungs (asthma, bronchiectasis - enlargement of the bronchi, cystic fibrosis);
• Born prematurely;
• Pressed and coughing during feeding;
• Suffering from chronic diseases (regardless of the lesions).

Diagnostics

At home examination it is very difficult to diagnose such a serious disease as pneumonia in the baby. Symptoms without fever can be misleading even doctors, since the first manifestations of pneumonia are in many ways similar to a common, 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 liquid in the paired organ. The doctor will also check the heart rate of the baby, listen to breathing, check with the parents what other symptoms of the disease they found.

If the child's condition appears to the district pediatrician to be unsatisfactory, he will suggest that you go to the hospital to do a chest x-ray. On an x-ray you will see how much the lungs are infected. You can also take a blood test or sputum to determine the causative agent of the infection and its nature (viral or bacterial).

Treatment

If the doctor discovers mild symptoms of pneumonia in the baby (without cough and complications), he will most likely prescribe treatment at home. With bacterial pneumonia, they fight with antibiotics. Viral disease can go on by itself - as the immune system of the child will suppress the impact of a harmful virus.

However, in order to accurately determine the type of infection, it is necessary to take the baby to the hospital for the delivery of tests. In the case of mild infection, the doctor can prescribe antibiotics without testing to ensure that both the virus and bacteria are cured. There are other ways to alleviate the condition of a small child.

What can you do yourself?

By what type of pneumonia in the baby, the symptoms of the disease are always extremely unpleasant and can disrupt the sleep, nutrition and the regime of the child. In order to minimize the discomfort experienced by the baby and promote a speedy cure, try to follow the following medical recommendations:

1. Create a baby all the conditions for a good rest.
2. To reduce the temperature, give the child child paracetamol or ibuprofen ("Nurofen"), strictly adhering to the instructions for the use of the drug. Paracetamol can be given to a baby from two months if it was born at 37 weeks and later and weighs more than four kilograms at the moment. Ibuprofen (Nurofen) is safe in treating children from three months weighing at least five kilograms. If you are in doubt about the correct dosage of the drug, strictly follow the instructions of the instructions or consult a treating pediatrician.
3. Pneumonia in the baby, the symptoms of which are expressed in the obstruction of the respiratory tract and coughing, can lead to dehydration of the body, as with the listed manifestations of infection, a small child is difficult to drink. Constantly offer the baby a breast or a bottle with a mixture, regardless of the established mode of feeding, and give additionally pure boiled water. If there is a financial opportunity, it is advisable to buy special water for babies, intended for babies and sold in child nutrition departments.

Precautionary measures

Do not give a small child any medications for cough or cold, sold in pharmacies on a non-prescription vacation. Almost all medicines of this kind are intended for children over the age of six due to the increased risk of side effects in the youngest patients.

If a pediatrician diagnoses severe pneumonia in a baby, symptoms (treatment with folk remedies in such cases almost never helps) gradually worsen, and antipyretic children's medications have a very 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 worsens. Be sure to go to the hospital if the child has difficulty with absorption of food or breathing.

In the hospital

On inpatient treatment, doctors will provide the child with a full volume of fluids and oxygen. If necessary, the baby will be given a dropper, through which antibiotics will be injected or, in case of severe dehydration, special fluids. In cases where pneumonia develops in the infant, symptoms, treatment with alternative medicine methods, ignoring the pediatrician's recommendations and insufficient attention to the patient from relatives can lead to serious complications of the disease. If the baby has difficulty breathing and the blood oxygen level has reached a critical level, a special oxygen mask will be placed on his face.

Effects

Usually, in a common disease such as pneumonia in the baby, the consequences do not pose any danger: most young children are successfully cured, and they soon regain their previous good health. However, in a number of cases, pneumonia is accompanied by complications requiring special therapy and extreme attention to the condition of the baby.

Dangerous consequences of pneumonia in the child

1. Bacteremia (the presence of microbes in the patient's blood). Penetrating from the lungs into the bloodstream, bacteria are able to spread the infection to other internal organs and thereby cause dysfunction of these organs.
2. Abscess of the lung. Abscess means accumulation of pus in the lung cavity. This condition is treated with antibiotics. Sometimes for the removal of pus requires a surgical operation or installation of drainage with a long needle or tube, which is placed in the abscess.
3. Pleural effusion (exudative pleurisy) - accumulation of fluid around the lungs. Pneumonia can cause accumulation of fluid in a narrow space between layers of tissue, lining the lung cavity and chest (pleura). If bacteria get into this liquid, most likely, it will be necessary to pump it out with the help of drainage or removed with the help of a surgical operation.
4. Labored breathing. With severe pneumonia, there are problems with breathing, and the sick child is unable to breathe enough oxygen. In this case, treatment in stationary conditions is necessary, where a small patient will be connected to special equipment that will minimize the most terrible symptoms of pneumonia in the baby.

Prevention

To provide a small child with all the conditions for a healthy life and to minimize the risk of inflammation of the lungs, take the following preventive measures in time:

1. Do not give up vaccinations. Pneumococcal vaccine (Prevenar 13) protects the baby from pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis (blood poisoning). In order not to seek out the symptoms of pneumonia in a babe who has fallen ill with an ordinary cold, it is also useful to put inoculations from a hemophilic infection of type b, diphtheria and whooping cough. The last two vaccines are part of the DTP.
2. Do not forget about the rules of personal hygiene. Cover your mouth and nose during a cough, and often wash your hands and your baby to prevent the spread of bacteria and viruses - the causative agents of infection.
3. Do your best to minimize the negative impact of cigarette smoke on the health of the baby. If you or your partner smoke, think about giving up bad habits. Infants living with smoking parents are much more likely to get sick and more susceptible to such ailments as pneumonia, colds, asthma and ear infections.

If you are attentive to your baby, you can not only suspect the disease at an early stage, but also prevent it altogether.