Pneumonia in children symptoms and signs

The first signs of pneumonia in children and adults

Pneumonia is a disease that has an infectious origin and is characterized by inflammation of the lung tissue in the event of provoking physical or chemical factors such as:

• Complications after viral diseases (influenza, ARVI), atypical bacteria (chlamydia, mycoplasma, legionella)
• Effects on the respiratory system of various chemical agents - poisonous fumes and gases (see. chlorine in household chemicals is hazardous to health)
• Radioactive radiation, to which infection is attached
• Allergic processes in the lungs - allergic cough, COPD, bronchial asthma
• Thermal factors - hypothermia or burns of the respiratory tract
• Inhalation of liquids, food or foreign bodies can cause aspiration pneumonia.

The cause of the development of pneumonia is the emergence of favorable conditions for the multiplication of various pathogenic bacteria in the lower respiratory tract. The original causative agent of pneumonia is the aspergillus mushroom, which was the culprit of the sudden and mysterious deaths of researchers of the Egyptian pyramids. Owners of domestic birds or lovers of urban pigeons can get chlamydial pneumonia.

For today, all pneumonia is divided into:

• out-of-hospital, arising under the influence of various infectious and non-infectious agents outside the walls of hospitals
• hospital, which cause hospital-acquired microbes, often very resistant to traditional antibiotic treatment.

The frequency of detection of various infectious agents in community-acquired pneumonia is presented in the table.

Causative agent	Average% detection
Streptococcus is the most frequent pathogen. Pneumonia caused by this pathogen is the leader in the frequency of death from pneumonia.	3, %
Mycoplasma - affects most children, young people.	1, %
Chlamydia - chlamydial pneumonia is typical for people of young and middle age.	1, %
Legionellae - a rare pathogen, affects weakened people and is the leader after streptococcus by frequency of deaths (infection in rooms with artificial ventilation - shopping centers, airports)	, %
Hemophilus rod - causes pneumonia in patients with chronic bronchial and lung diseases, as well as in smokers.	, %
Enterobacteria are rare pathogens, affecting mainly patients with renal / hepatic, cardiac insufficiency, diabetes mellitus.	, %
Staphylococcus is a frequent pathogen of pneumonia in the elderly population, and complications in patients after the flu.	, %
Other pathogens	, %
The causative agent is not installed	3, %

When the diagnosis is confirmed, depending on the type of pathogen, the patient's age, the presence of concomitant diseases, a corresponding therapy, in severe cases, treatment should be performed in a hospital setting, with mild forms of inflammation, hospitalization of the patient is not is required.

Characteristic first signs of pneumonia, the vastness of the inflammatory process, acute development and danger of serious complications in untimely treatment - are the main reasons for the urgent circulation of the population for medical help. At present, a sufficiently high level of medical development, improved diagnostic methods, and a huge the list of antibacterials of a wide spectrum of action has considerably lowered a death rate from an inflammation of lungs (cm. antibiotics for bronchitis).

Typical first signs of pneumonia in adults

The main symptom of the development of pneumonia is a cough, usually it is first dry, obtrusive and persistent. protivokashlevye, expectorants with a dry cough), but in rare cases cough at the beginning of the disease can be rare and not strong. Then, as the inflammation develops, the cough becomes pneumatic with pneumonia, with a discharge of mucopurulent sputum (yellow-green color).

Any catarrhal virus disease should not last more than 7 days, and a sharp deterioration of the condition later 4-7 days after the onset of an acute respiratory viral infection or influenza indicates the onset of an inflammatory process in the lower respiratory ways.

Body temperature can be very high up to 39-40C, and can remain subfebrile 3, -3, C (with atypical pneumonia). Therefore, even with a low body temperature, coughing, weakness and other signs of malaise, you should definitely consult a doctor. Caution should be a repeated temperature jump after a light gap during the course of a viral infection.

If the patient has a very high temperature, one of the signs of inflammation in the lungs is the inefficiency of antipyretic drugs.

Pain with deep breath and cough. The lung itself does not hurt, as it is devoid of pain receptors, but involvement in the pleura process gives a pronounced pain syndrome.

In addition to cold symptoms, the patient has dyspnea and pale skin.
General weakness, increased sweating, chills, decreased appetite are also characteristic for intoxication and the onset of the inflammatory process in the lungs.

If such symptoms appear either in the midst of a cold, or a few days after the improvement, these may be the first signs of pneumonia. The patient should immediately consult a doctor to undergo a complete examination:

• To pass blood tests - general and biochemical
• To make a roentgenography of a thorax, if necessary and a computer tomography
• Sputum for culture and sensitivity of the pathogen to antibiotics
• Sputum for culture and microscopic determination of mycobacterium tuberculosis

The main first signs of pneumonia in children

Symptoms of pneumonia in children have several characteristics. Attentive parents may suspect the development of pneumonia with the following discomforts in the child:

• Temperature

Body temperature above 38C, lasting for more than three days, not knocked down by antipyretics, there may also be a high temperature of up to 3, especially in young children. At the same time, all signs of intoxication are manifested - weakness, increased sweating, lack of appetite. Small children (as well as elderly people), can not give high temperature fluctuations with pneumonia. This is due to imperfect thermoregulation and immaturity of the immune system.

• Breath

There is frequent shortness of breath: in children up to 2 months of age, 60 breaths per minute, up to 1 year, 50 breaths, after a year, 40 breaths per minute. Often the child spontaneously tries to lie down on one side. Parents may notice another sign of pneumonia in the child, if you undress the baby, then when breathing from the patient lung can be noticed the retraction of the skin in between the ribs and the lag in the process of breathing one side of the chest. There may be irregular breathing rhythm, with periodic stops of breathing, changes in the depth and frequency of breathing. In infants, shortness of breath is characterized by the fact that the child begins to nod his head in time with the breath, the baby can stretch his lips and inflate his cheeks, foamy discharge from the nose and mouth can appear.

• Atypical pneumonia

Inflammation of the lungs caused by mycoplasma and chlamydia differ in that first the disease passes like a cold, there is a dry cough, runny nose, swelling in the throat, but the presence of dyspnea and a stably high temperature should alert parents to the development pneumonia.

• Character of cough

Because of the perspiration in the throat, only coughing can appear first, then the cough becomes dry and painful, which is amplified by crying, feeding the baby. Later, the cough becomes wet.

• Behavior of the child

Children with pneumonia become capricious, whiny, sluggish, they are disturbed by sleep, sometimes can completely refuse to eat, and also to appear diarrhea and vomiting, in babies - regurgitation and rejection of breasts.

• Blood test

In the general analysis of blood, changes are detected that indicate an acute inflammatory process - increased ESR, leukocytosis, neutrophilia. Shift of the leukoformula to the left with increasing stab and segmented leukocytes. In viral pneumonia, along with high ESR, there is an increase in leukocytes due to lymphocytes.

With timely access to a doctor, adequate therapy and proper care for a sick child or adult, pneumonia does not lead to serious complications. Therefore, at the slightest suspicion of pneumonia, the patient should be given medical care as soon as possible.

zdravotvet.ru

Symptoms of pneumonia in children

Pneumonia in a child is an acute infectious disease that occurs with inflammation of the respiratory parts of the lungs. The disease is accompanied by the accumulation of inflammatory fluid in the pulmonary vesicles-alveoli. Symptoms of pneumonia in children are similar to those in adults, but are supplemented by severe fever and intoxication.

The term "acute pneumonia in children" is out of use in medicine, because the very definition of the disease includes a characterization of an acute process. The International Council of Scientists-Experts decided to divide pneumonia into groups according to other signs that determine the outcome of the disease.

How dangerous is pneumonia?

Despite the progress in medicine, the incidence of lung inflammation in children remains high. Pneumonia is a life-threatening, life-threatening condition. Infant mortality from pneumonia remains high enough. In the Russian Federation, within a year, it dies from pneumonia & g; about 1000 children. Basically, this terrible number unites infants who died from pneumonia in the age of 1 year.

The main causes of the fatal outcome of pneumonia in children:

• Later, parents applied for medical help.
• Later, the diagnosis and delay of the correct treatment.
• Presence of concomitant chronic diseases that worsen the prognosis.

In order to timely establish an accurate diagnosis and take measures to treat a dangerous disease, you need to know its external signs - symptoms.

The main symptoms of pneumonia in children:

• Fever - increase in body temperature to high figures (8 8 ° C).
• Dyspnoea - increased frequency of respiration more than 40 per minute (in children 1-6 years).
• Cough dry or with phlegm.
• Appearance of cyanotic coloring of the skin of the lips, nasolabial area, fingertips.
• Changes in respiratory noise in the lungs during listening (wheezing, hard breathing).
• Intoxication, expressed general weakness, refusal to eat.

The increase in body temperature in a child is the first symptom of many diseases, for example, a common viral infection (ARI). In order to recognize pneumonia, we must remember: an important role is played not by the height of the fever, but by its duration. For microbial inflammation of the lungs it is characteristic continuation of fever for more than 3 days against the background of competent treatment of viral & g; infection.

If we evaluate the significance of the symptoms for the diagnosis of pneumonia in children, the most terrible sign will be the appearance of dyspnea. Shortness of breath and tension of additional muscles are more important signs than having wheezing when listening to the chest.

Cough is a symptom of pneumonia in children. In the early days of the disease, cough can be dry. With the resolution of acute inflammation of the lung tissue, the cough will become productive, moist.

If a child with a respiratory viral infection (ARI) has similar symptoms, an urgent call for a doctor is necessary. Underestimation of the severity of the baby's condition can lead to sad consequences - the development of acute respiratory failure and death from pneumonia.

The doctor will examine the small patient, prescribe an examination and an effective treatment. Listening to the lungs in the early days of the disease may not reveal characteristic signs of inflammation. The presence of disseminated wheezing when listening is often a symptom of bronchitis. To clarify the diagnosis for suspected pneumonia, an X-ray of the lungs is necessary. X-ray symptoms of pneumonia are darkening (infiltration) of pulmonary fields, which confirms the diagnosis.

Laboratory Symptoms of Pneumonia

Valuable information about the fact of inflammation in the body carries a general blood test. Signs that increase the presence of pneumonia: a high content of white blood cells in 1 cu. mm blood (more than 15 thousand) and an increase in ESR. ESR is the sedimentation rate of red blood cells. This analysis reflects the amount of inflammatory metabolic products in the liquid part of the blood. The magnitude of ESR shows the intensity of any inflammation processes, including inflammation of the lungs.

How to determine the risk of a child with pneumonia?

The following factors are identified that increase the risk of lung inflammation in children:

• Delayed physical and mental development of the child.
• Low weight of a newborn baby.
• Artificial feeding of a baby under the age of 1 year.
• Refusal of vaccination against measles.
• Pollution of air (passive smoking).
• Overcrowded dwelling, where the baby lives.
• Smoking of parents, including mother's smoking during pregnancy.
• Lack of microelement of zinc in the diet.
• Mother's inability to care for an infant.
• Presence of concomitant diseases (bronchial asthma, heart disease or digestive system).

What forms can the disease have?

Pneumonia in children is different for reasons and mechanism of occurrence. The disease can affect the entire lobe of the lung - this is a shared pneumonia. If the inflammation occupies a part of the lobe (segment) or several segments, it is called segmental (polysegmental) pneumonia. If the inflammation is covered by a small group of pulmonary vesicles, this variant of the disease will be called "focal pneumonia".

In inflammation, passed to the respiratory tissue of the bronchi, the disease is sometimes called bronchopneumonia. The process, caused by viruses or intracellular parasites such as chlamydia, is manifested by swelling (infiltration) of the perivascular tissue of the lungs from both sides. This type of disease was called "bilateral interstitial pneumonia." These symptoms of difference can be determined by medical examination and X-ray examination of sick children.

Inflammation of the lungs in children doctors are divided according to the conditions of origin for domestic (out-of-hospital) and hospital (hospital). Separate forms are intrauterine pneumonia in newborns and pneumonia with a pronounced lack of immunity. Community-acquired (home) pneumonia is called inflammation of the lungs, which has arisen in ordinary home conditions. Hospital (nosocomial) pneumonia is a case of illness that occurs after 2 or more days of the child's stay in the hospital for another reason (or within 2 days after discharge from there).

Mechanism of the development of pneumonia

The entry of a microbial pathogens into the respiratory tract can occur in several ways: inhalation, swallowing of nasopharyngeal mucus, dissemination through the blood. This way of introducing a pathogenic microbe depends on its kind.

The most frequent causative agent of the disease is pneumococcus. The microbe enters the lower parts of the lungs by inhaling or swelling of mucus from the nasopharynx. Intracellular parasites, such as mycoplasma, chlamydia and legionella, enter the lungs by inhalation. The spread of infection through the blood is most typical for infection with Staphylococcus aureus.

The type of causative agent that causes pneumonia in children depends on several factors: the age of the child, the place of origin of the disease, and also from the previous treatment with antibiotics. If within 2 months before the present episode the baby has already taken antibiotics, then the causative agent of the current inflammation of the respiratory tract can be atypical. In 30-50% of cases, community-acquired pneumonia in children can be caused by several types of microbes at the same time.

General rules for the treatment of pneumonia in children

Treatment of the disease the doctor begins with the immediate appointment of antimicrobials to any patient with suspected inflammation of the lungs. The place of treatment is determined by the severity of the manifestation of symptoms.

Sometimes with a mild course of the disease in children of older age groups, treatment at home is possible. The decision on the place of treatment is made by the doctor, according to the patient's condition.

Indications for treatment in a hospital of children with pneumonia are: severity of symptoms and a high risk of an unfavorable outcome of the disease:

• The age of the child is less than 2 months, regardless of the severity of the symptoms.
• The age of the baby is younger than 3 years with lobar pneumonia.
• Inflammation of several lobes in a child of any age.
• Severe concomitant diseases of the nervous system.
• Pneumonia of newborns (intrauterine infection).
• The small weight of the baby, the delay of its development in comparison with peers.
• Congenital malformations of organs.
• Chronic concomitant diseases (bronchial asthma, heart disease, lung, kidney, cancer).
• Patients with decreased immunity from various causes.
• Impossibility of careful care and accurate performance of all medical appointments at home.

Indications for the urgent placement of a child with pneumonia, in the department of children's intensive care:

• Increasing the number of breaths & g; 0 in 1 min for infants under the age of one year, and for children older than the year, shortness of breath & g; 0 in 1 min.
• The retraction of the intercostal spaces and the jugular fossa (fossa at the beginning of the sternum) with respiratory movements.
• Moaning breathing and violation of the right rhythm of breathing.
• Fever that does not respond to treatment.
• Violation of the child's consciousness, the appearance of convulsions or hallucinations.

In uncomplicated course of the disease, body temperature decreases within the first 3 days after initiation of treatment with antibiotics. External symptoms of the disease gradually decrease in intensity. X-ray signs of recovery can be seen in the pictures of the lungs no earlier than 21 days after the start of antibiotic treatment.

In addition to antimicrobial treatment, the patient must comply with bed rest, plenty of drinking. Expectorants are prescribed if necessary.

Prevention of pneumonia

Protection from respiratory viral infection plays an important role in preventing the incidence of pneumonia.

It is possible to carry out vaccination against the main pathogens of pneumonia in children: a hemophilic rod and pneumococcus. At present, safe and effective vaccine-tablets are developed against microbes that cause pneumonia and bronchitis. Preparations from this class "Bronchovax" and "Ribomunil" have a children's dosage. They are appointed by the doctor to prevent such a dangerous disease as pneumonia.

ingalin.ru

Pneumonia in children, its causes, symptoms and treatment principles

Pneumonia is an acute inflammatory infectious disease that affects the lower parts of the respiratory tract - the lungs themselves. Pneumonia in children under 6 years of age often develops as a result of a viral infection, complicated by the attachment of bacterial flora, after angina, bronchitis and other colds.

In childhood, especially in children younger than 1 year old, this disease can be severe enough and even cause respiratory failure or severe intoxication of the body, so even a suspicion of this disease should be the reason for seeking medical help and for diagnostics.

Etiology and pathogenesis

Inflammation of the lungs or pneumonia in children usually develops as a result of the entry of pathogenic microorganisms into the lower respiratory tract from the upper ones. Weakened by the illness of the child's body can not cope with the causative agent of the disease and then the inflammatory process begins in the alveoli and small bronchioles. Bacteria that enter the lungs actively multiply and release toxins that cause intoxication body - increased body temperature, headache, general deterioration and other similar symptoms.

Then the alveoli gradually fill with mucus, pus and other inflammatory fluids that appear as a result of vital activity microorganisms, because of this, normal gas exchange in the lungs is disrupted, respiratory failure develops, and the following appear symptoms of the disease - a strong cough, shortness of breath, blunting percussion sound, wheezing in the lungs and the emergence of foci of inflammation in chest radiograph.

The patient's condition is in direct proportion to the size of the affected area - with focal lesions of severe respiratory failure not there is a cough and a slight shortness of breath and the patient's condition is satisfactory and the disease is easily cured by admission antibiotics. If the whole or whole of the lung is affected by inflammation, the clinical picture of the disease completely changes, the condition of the sick child can be very difficult, up to a menacing life.

In most cases, pneumonia develops as a complication after the flu, bronchitis, sore throat or cold. The causative agents of the disease in children are often bacteria, less often viruses or other microorganisms - fungi or protozoa. Since it is necessary to start treatment, as soon as a suspicion of a disease appears, it is very important to at least approximately determine the pathogen - this determines the success of the therapy in the treatment of the child.

The causes of the development of the disease in children can be different - from massive infectious infection to hypothermia, which caused a drop in immunity. Diagnosis of the disease should include the determination of the type of pathogen, but since this takes a long time, the treatment starts with the empirical application of broad-spectrum antibiotics.

1. Most often pneumonia in children develop at the age of 6 months to 6 years - the causative agents of the disease in this case in children in 50% of cases is pneumococcus, about 10% - a hemophilic rod, less often - other pathogens - staphylococcus, mycoplasma, chlamydia or mushrooms.

2. In 7-15 years, children from pneumonia suffer much less often, pneumococcal causes about 30% of infections, less often - the causative agent is streptococcus, and more than 50% of all diseases cause atypical pathogens - mycoplasma, chlamydia.

3. Pneumonia in newborn infants and children up to 6 months of age - at this age from pneumonia preterm infants, children with developmental defects of the respiratory system, or those born with immunodeficiency. The causes of the development of the disease at this age are insufficiently formed respiratory organs, weakened organism and problems in the work of the immune system.

Signs of pneumonia

The first signs of the disease appear usually a few days after the onset of a viral infection or a cold. Acute pneumonia in children is broken fast enough, the deterioration of the condition can develop within a few hours and therefore even a suspicion of pneumonia should be the reason for contacting a doctor.

Acute pneumonia is manifested by the following symptoms:

1. A rise in body temperature is a symptom of pneumonia with a sharp increase in body temperature to 39-41 degrees and this temperature does not fall for several days, unlike acute respiratory disease and colds.
2. Deterioration of the general condition of the patient is a symptom of the disease pneumonia is characterized by a sharp weakness, fatigue, refusal to eat, there is increased sweating, pallor of the skin or cyanosis nasolabial triangle.
3. Cough - one of the most characteristic signs of the disease - cough can be dry or wet, with the separation of purulent sputum. Coughing attacks greatly deplete the patient, especially at night. Cough with pneumonia is permanent, painful, less often the cough can be paroxysmal or even with blood streaks in the sputum.
4. Shortness of breath and respiratory failure - increased respiration, lack of air, pale skin - all these are characteristic symptoms of pneumonia.
5. When breathing in the child, one can notice the retraction of the intercostal spaces or the lag of one half of the thorax from the other.

Clinical picture of the disease in children under 1 year old

In newborns and children under 1 year old, the symptoms of pneumonia may be very different from the usual ones and it is not so easy to recognize the disease. In young children, the characteristic signs of pneumonia are cough, an increase in body temperature may be absent or mild.

At this age, the changes in the state of the nervous system and the general deterioration of the child's condition come to the fore - it becomes sluggish, capricious, refuses food and constantly cries. Gradually, signs of respiratory insufficiency are getting worse - shortness of breath, cyanotic nasolabial triangle, quickening of breathing, coughing and entraining of intercostal spaces.

Diagnosis of the disease

Diagnosis of the disease includes examining the sick child, collecting anamnesis, percussion and auscultation of the chest, and for confirmation of the diagnosis is X-ray examination of the lungs, sputum and mucus analysis and examination of respiratory function in child. Diagnosis of pneumonia is not particularly difficult - the characteristic clinical symptoms and X-ray examination allows you to quickly diagnose. If the diagnosis is impossible - the diagnosis is made based on the clinical picture, percussion and auscultation.

Treatment of pneumonia

To start to treat a pneumonia it is necessary at the first signs of disease. Where the treatment will be performed - in a hospital or at home, is determined by the doctor and depends on the following conditions:

1. age of the child - all children of the first year of life with pneumonia are subject to compulsory admission;
2. severity of the child's condition;
3. presence or absence of concomitant diseases.

Treatment of pneumonia in children includes: proper child care, proper nutrition and drinking regimen, taking antibiotics and inhalation with medications to cough.

Care for a sick child

After the diagnosis of the disease was carried out, the child should be assigned bed rest and organize proper nutrition. The diet for pneumonia should include a sufficient amount of fresh vegetables and fruits, lean meat, cereals and dairy products. Nutrition during illness should be easy and, at the same time, rich and rich in vitamins and nutrients.

In addition, it is very important to adhere to the drinking regime - this will avoid dehydration and improve the condition of the sick child. For children over 2 years old - the norm of the drunk liquid is 2, -25 liters per day, it is best to give the sick child the juices, fruit drinks, compotes, warm milk or still mineral water. Warm alkaline drink is a good way to soften and relieve cough and reduce body temperature.

Drug therapy

1. Antibiotics - the appointment of a course of antibiotics - the gold standard for the treatment of pneumonia. For mild and moderate forms of the disease, antibiotics are given orally, in more severe forms, as injections. Most commonly used are the following antibiotics: penicillins (ampicillin, ammox, amoxiclav), cephalosporins (ceftriaxone, cefuroxine, cephalexin), macrolides (aziromycin, erythromycin). When carrying out antibiotic therapy, it is necessary to prescribe pro and prebiotics for the prevention of dysbacteriosis (linex, hilakforte, bifidum bacterin, lactobacterin). If after the start of antibiotics, within 24-48 hours there was no improvement, it is required to change the way of administration of drugs or to change the group of antibiotic. Depending on the severity of the disease, the course of treatment is from 5-7 to 10-14 days.
2. To get rid of cough and restore normal airway patency appoint inhalation and taking mucolytics and expectorants. Inhalations with antiseptic solutions or bronchodilators are prescribed in the early days of the illness, such inhalations facilitate breathing, help liquefy and facilitate the excretion of phlegm. In addition, inhalations are prescribed during the recovery period - to completely free the respiratory tract from microorganisms and faster regeneration of the mucous membrane. Cough with pneumonia can still a few weeks after recovery to torment the patient and then inhalations with medications will be the best way to get rid of it.
3. After the state of the sick child improves, he is given a general restorative treatment - appoint vitamins, immunostimulants, physiotherapy, therapeutic massage and respiratory gymnastics. This helps to get rid of cough and stagnant phenomena in the lungs.

Prevention of pneumonia in young children includes timely treatment of all colds and foci of infection, increasing the overall immunity of the child - intake of vitamins, nutrition with sufficient vitamins and nutrients, hardening, physiotherapy, outdoor exercise and sufficient physical activity.

ingalin.ru

The main symptoms of pneumonia in infants

Pneumonia in the infant, the symptoms of which are diverse, has mechanisms of development that are very different from a similar ailment in an adult patient. If there are signs of pneumonia in the child, it is necessary to urgently lead him to the hospital, otherwise complications may occur, it will be possible to cope with it with great difficulty.If the disease is neglected in infants, the disease can lead to death.

The causes of pneumonia in young children

The main lesion occurs with various infections, which can be divided into the following types:

1. Disease of bacterial character.
2. Viral infection of the lung.
3. Penetration of fungi into the body.
4. Various physical and chemical causes.
5. Drug poisoning.

In young children, the main damaging factor is pneumococci. The incubation period of this pathogen is 2-3 days. The infection clinic is manifested in a sharp increase in the child's body temperature to 37-41 ° C. At the same time, drowsiness or general malaise may occur. If you seek medical help on time, the disease will be cured within 2 weeks.

For babies and babies, the most dangerous are the so-called Legionella pneumonia. Their incubation period reaches 4 days. If the disease is not treated in time, then in the lungs focal lesions occur, and respiratory failure develops. Often in such cases, the child dies.

The individual characteristics of each child also play a big role in the course of the disease. If the baby from birth has a narrow cage of the thoracic region, then this can complicate the treatment, since it contributes to the rapid development of the disease. There is a lack of breathing, which leads to a deterioration in the child's condition.

How is the disease in premature babies?

At such kids most often all depends on the assimilation of mother's milk. If there are no complications, together with this product, the right amount of immunoglobulins gets into the body of the child, which forms the first line of protection against viral infections. With the development of pneumonia in this case, all the processes go in the same way as they manifest in children of the normal period of wear. With the timely detection of disease, the course of therapy, such children recover within 2 weeks.

If doctors deal with atypical forms of the disease, then everything is considerably complicated. Most often, the child develops a respiratory failure.

Preterm infants suffer with a general intoxication of all body systems, which leads to various pathological changes and often the death of a small patient.

Symptoms that characterize pneumonia in infants and newborns

The main signs of the disease during this period of the child's development:

1. The body temperature of a small patient rises.
2. There is a cyanosis on the skin.
3. There is a sharp increase in the rate of sputum accumulation.
4. The child is tormented by a persistent cough.
5. The kid is often irritated and almost always crying.

It is necessary to mark the first signs of the disease in time and begin timely therapy. If this is not done in time, serious complications can arise that will lead to the need to use strong antimicrobials. And this, in turn, can lead to the appearance of a dysbiosis in a child.

The development of pneumonia in a newborn and infants begins with an incubation period that lasts no more than 4 days. During this period, in young children, the disease flows secretly, without any external manifestations. Therefore, at the first suspicion of pneumonia in the infant, the symptoms of which have not yet manifested itself, parents should show the child to the doctor.

This should be done because children of the first period of life do not have a formed system of immunity, and local protection works only at the expense of immunoglobulin, obtained through the mother's milk. If the baby is on artificial feeding, then this measure of protection is absent and, therefore, any infection can cause serious harm to the child.

How to recognize the signs of viral pneumonia in a child?

If the baby has congenital pneumonia, then her symptoms usually appear after a few days. The disease begins with a cough and a sudden increase in body temperature, which indicates the respiratory nature of the disease and can lead to medical error. If the treatment is not given in time with antimicrobial agents, the following symptoms will start to appear:

1. The child refuses to eat.
2. Constantly capricious.
3. His rapid and strong breathing is heard.
4. The baby always cries.

All of the above signs appear due to the high temperature. With the chest X-ray, such a child clearly sees foci of inflammation in the form of segments. If the child is premature, the size of the lesion is much greater.

Such a patient should be hospitalized, and he needs to undergo intensive antimicrobial therapy. But we must be cautious, since the baby can show dysbiosis and other complications.

Parents can determine the illness of the child by themselves. The symptoms that should alert them are the following:

1. It takes breath because of asphyxiation (lack of air), the blueing of the skin begins.
2. It is necessary to pay attention to the increased tearfulness of the baby.
3. The child's temperature can rise to 40 ° C. Therefore, we must take him to a doctor.
4. The baby has a decrease in the threshold of reflexes, for example, respiratory or sucking.
5. The patient can suddenly drop weight, and the baby stops eating. There may be attacks of vomiting due to changes in the intestines of the child that occurred under the influence of pneumonia.
6. The cardiovascular system responds to the disease by worsening blood flow in the so-called small circle. This is due to infiltrates in the tissues of the lungs. Pathology in the baby can be determined by the swelling of the feet and blue skin. The normal operation of the heart muscle may be disrupted.
7. Pneumonia on the central nervous system of the child works in such a way that some children begin to become overly excited, while others, on the contrary, become sluggish and slow.
8. The main sign that adults can detect in a child with viral infection of the lungs is a sharp decrease in appetite. In young children, this can manifest as diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting, as microbes affect not only the lungs, but also the intestines of the child.

How to recognize the inflammation of the lungs in a small child in time?

This can be done on the basis of the following features:

1. In infants and babies, the elevated body temperature (about 40 ° C) lasts more than 3 consecutive days.
2. The child coughs, and moisture is released in large quantities.
3. The breathing of a small patient is gaining momentum. There may be a so-called groaning.
4. The skin begins to turn blue on the face and in the area between the nose and lips.
5. The kid refuses to eat.
6. There are signs of a cold.

In all of the above cases, you need to call a doctor at home or take the child to the hospital. There experts will check the baby's lungs and, if necessary, hospitalize him. The most accurate way to determine pneumonia is chest x-ray, and it can only be done in a clinic.

In newborns, recognizing pneumonia is a difficult task, but you need to start treatment as early as possible. Often this disease is caused by chlamydia. These are organisms that penetrate cells that are difficult to destroy by antiviral therapy.

Diagnosis of the disease in clinical settings

First, doctors listen to the child's lungs, tap his chest. Then a series of analyzes are carried out:

1. The blood is being examined.
2. Biochemical data are taken.
3. X-ray the chest of the child.

.

When examining the blood, attention is drawn to the increased number of leukocytes that arise when a child's virus is damaged.

Biochemical parameters of blood are used to determine the effect of pathology on other organs and systems of the organism of a small patient. An increase in the level of uric acid may indicate a variety of disorders in the functioning of the kidneys. Radiography shows areas of damage in the patient's lungs and enables physicians to assess the extent of the disease.

respiratoria.ru

Similar articles