Pneumonia is a lung infection that usually results as a complication of an upper respiratory infection like the common cold or influenza. Viruses commonly caused pneumonia, but it may also be due to bacteria, parasites, or the aspiration of fluid into the lungs. Children and the elderly tend to suffer more serious cases of pneumonia. Bacterial pneumonia develops quickly with high fevers greater than 103 F. Viral infections tend to develop more slowly than bacterial infections. Pneumonia is highly contagious. It is transmitted from person to person by air droplets expelled in coughs and sneezes, or if you share handkerchiefs, drinking glasses, or eating utensils. Risk factors include recent surgeries or hospitalizations, smoking, certain diseases (tuberculosis, congestive heart failure, diabetes, chronic lung infections, or asthma), unsanitary living conditions, alcoholism, and immunosupression (decreased resistance to fight disease due to steroid use or chemotherapy). Pneumonia is categorized as either a hospital-acquired or community acquired infection.

Symptoms may include:

• Shortness of breath with rapid, labored breathing
• Profuse sweating, chills and fever
• Chest wall pain that increases with cough or breathing
• Headache, joint and muscle pain, and body fatigue
• Productive cough and sputum (thick mucus that may be green, yellow, gray or clear)
• Lack of appetite and abdominal pain
• Increased anxiety and restlessness
• Sputum covered with blood
• Use of ribs and chest accessory muscles to breathe
• Nausea and vomiting
• Noisy respirations such as grunting or wheezing (high pitched sound made during exhalation)
• Pale skin and bluish fingertips and nails
• Crackles during respiration (heard with a stethoscope)

What your doctor can do:

• Diagnose that disease by asking about your symptoms, doing a physical exam, and ordering laboratory blood tests and a chest x-ray.
• Ordering blood and sputum cultures to try to identify the microbes (e.g., bacteria or virus that causes infection) if possible
• Prescribe antibiotics to fight bacterial infections, medications to fight parasitic infections, and supplemental oxygen
• Hospitalize you if you are very ill to receive intravenous (IV) fluids and medications; to remove fluid and secretions from the lungs; and to provide mechanical ventilatory (breathing) support if necessary.

What you can do:

• Make sure your child takes all the antibiotics, even if they start to feel better.
• Increase fluid intake, especially of water, to at least 8 glasses daily. This will help to loosen and thin secretions so that your child may be able to cough them up.
• Use a cool-mist humidifier in the bedroom. Remember to clean the unit daily
• Do not use cough suppressant medications if your child is coughing up sputum. (May use expectorant if ordered by your doctor) Contact your doctor before using ANY cough suppressant.
• Hot compresses or a moist heating pad can be used to relieve chest discomfort. Use several times daily for 15-20 minutes at a time.
• Get plenty of rest until fever, shortness of breath and chest wall pain resolves
• Use acetaminophen (Tylenol) to reduce fevers greater than 101 F and for minor aches and pains.
• Do not give aspirin to children with fevers or viral infections. Aspirin may provoke Reye's syndrome (a serious brain infection)

Preventive Measures:

• See your doctor if your child develops symptoms of an upper respiratory infection.
• Get a vaccination to prevent pneumonia and one yearly for influenza
• Avoid person with upper respiratory infections and pneumonia

What you can expect:

• Most people recover completely with treatment within 1 to 2 weeks.
• Some complications may include acute respiratory failure, meningitis (infection of the membrane that covers the brain and spinal cord), lung abscess (collection of pus surrounded by a wall of tissue), pleurisy (inflammation of the lining that covers the lungs) and even death.

Contact your doctor if your child develops symptoms of pneumonia or if the symptoms persist for more than 2 weeks.

Seek immediate medical assistance if your infant or child develops symptoms of pneumonia with a fever greater than 101 F, or if they suffer severe shortness of breath, chest pain and pale skin with nausea and vomiting.

Contact Lake Area Pediatrics at
(936) 582-5620