$Unique_ID{PAR00132}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Medical Advice:  Pneumonia}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{
Editors of Consumer Guide
Chasnoff, Ira J}
$Subject{Pneumonia Bacterial pneumonia upper respiratory tract infection fever
Chills Cough Rapid breath Chest pain Viral pneumonia Headache Fatigue Sore
throat lowered resistance immunity Flaring nostrils grunting breathing pulling
in chest coughs discharge tinged with blood lung infections lung bacteria
viruses pneumococcus bacterium streptococcus staphylococcus bacteria
mycoplasma organisms influenza parainfluenza virus viruses viral respiratory
syncytial virus adenoviruses walking pneumonias bloody sputum chest x-ray
blood tests antibiotics streptococcal staphylococcal}
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Your Child:  A Medical Guide


Pneumonia


     Quick Reference

     SYMPTOMS
     Bacterial pneumonia:
     - Mild upper respiratory tract infection
     - High fever
     - Chills
     - Cough
     - Rapid breathing
     - Chest pain

     Viral pneumonia:
     - Headache
     - Fatigue
     - Fever
     - Sore throat
     - Severe, dry cough

     HOME CARE
     - Bacterial pneumonia requires medical attention.
     - Viral pneumonia usually clears up on its own.

     PRECAUTIONS
     - Watch for signs of pneumonia in a child whose resistance has been
       lowered by a cold or infection.
     - If a cold suddenly gets worse and is accompanied by high fever, cough,
       chills, chest pain, or rapid breathing, call your doctor.
     - Flaring of the nostrils, grunting when breathing out, and pulling in of
       the chest by an infant are signs that call for immediate medical
       attention.
     - If a child coughs up a discharge tinged with blood, consult a doctor.


     Pneumonia is an infection of one or more areas of the lungs.  It is
caused by bacteria or viruses.  The most common bacterial cause is the
pneumococcus bacterium; less common causes are streptococcus and
staphylococcus bacteria.  Pneumonia may also be caused by mycoplasma
organisms.  Viral causes include the influenza and parainfluenza viruses, the
respiratory syncytial virus, and adenoviruses.
     To contract bacterial pneumonia, the child must be exposed to it at a
time when he or she is particularly susceptible.  Pneumococcus, streptococcus,
and staphylococcus bacteria frequently are present in the nose and throat of a
healthy child.  Before these organisms can invade the lungs, however, the
child's resistance must have been lowered by a cold or some other upper
respiratory tract infection.  Therefore, bacterial pneumonia is not considered
contagious in the usual sense.
     The types of pneumonia that are caused by viruses are known as "walking
pneumonias" and are contagious.  The incubation period (the time it takes for
the symptoms to develop after the child has been exposed to the disease) for
most types of viral pneumonia is two to five days.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

     The symptoms of bacterial pneumonia include a mild upper respiratory
tract infection; the sudden onset of high fever, chills, cough, rapid
breathing; and sometimes pain on one or both sides of the chest.  In infants,
the respiratory distress may cause flaring of the nostrils, retractions
(pulling in) of the soft spaces of the chest, and grunting sounds when the
child breathes out.
     The onset of viral pneumonia is gradual, accompanied by headache,
fatigue, fever of variable degree (100-105 degrees_F), a sore throat, and a
severe, dry cough.

HOME CARE

     Many cases of viral pneumonia are mild and are not recognized as
pneumonia at all.  You may assume that the child has a cold and give cold
remedies.  The pneumonia then clears up on its own after ten to 14 days.
     If signs of respiratory distress are present, the child should be seen by
a doctor.

PRECAUTIONS

  -  Sudden worsening of a cold accompanied by high fever, cough, chills,
     chest pain, or rapid breathing suggests pneumonia.
  -  In infants, flaring of the nostrils, pulling in of the chest, and
     grunting sounds when breathing out are serious symptoms and require
     immediate medical care.
  -  In children, sputum (coughed-up discharge) tinged with blood may or may
     not be a sign of serious illness, but it indicates the need for a
     doctor's attention.

MEDICAL TREATMENT

     Diagnosis depends on careful examination of the chest, x-ray studies,
blood tests, and sometimes cultures of the blood and the sputum.
     In the past, a child with pneumonia was always hospitalized; nowadays,
only the youngest and the most severely ill are hospitalized.  Most cases of
bacterial pneumonia respond to antibiotics.  A patient with pneumococcal
pneumonia will generally recover rapidly once antibiotic therapy is begun.
However, a patient with a streptococcal or staphylococcal infection may
require in-hospital administration of antibiotics.  Mycoplasma pneumonia
responds to some antibiotics, but viral pneumonia does not.  For viral
pneumonia, your doctor will recommend rest, plenty of fluids, and patience
while the condition runs its course.

RELATED TOPICS:  Chest pain; Common cold; Coughs; Fever; G6PD deficiency; Sore
throat