2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21
Quite often, young parents have to deal with the fact that their children, while still very young, fall ill with pneumonia. This condition is very dangerous, it can cause serious consequences. That is why treatment must be started immediately. This is what Dr. Evgeny Komarovsky advises all moms and dads. Pneumonia is an infectious disease that affects the tissues of the lungs. In most cases, infection occurs by airborne droplets. Let's try to figure out what are the signs of pathology in a person, how you can get sick, what is the effective treatment and what needs to be done for prevention.
Childhood pneumonia: what is it?
Parents worried about their kids often seek advice or help from a pediatrician, candidate of medical sciences Evgeny Olegovich Komarovsky. For several years he has been giving very valuable advice on what should bethe right approach to treating babies.
That's why moms and dads say that it is Komarovsky who is the real magician of our time. Pneumonia is characterized by infection with various bacteria, viruses and fungi. In the common people, it is called pneumonia.
What can make a baby sick?
Before starting a cure, you should figure out what caused the onset of the disease, because for each type of infection a specific program for destruction has been developed. So, in order:
- The baby fell ill with pneumonia due to the virus entering the body. There are a huge number of microorganisms that can cause symptoms of the disease: measles, influenza A and B, adenovirus, parainfluenza, and so on. This is how the inflammatory process in the lungs begins.
- There is bacterial pneumonia. It is caused by various types of bacteria - Staphylococcus aureus, legionella, pneumococcus and others. This form of the disease is much more dangerous than the previous one.
- Pneumomycosis, or pneumonia of fungal origin. This is a rather insidious and dangerous disease caused by pathogenic fungi. At first, you may not even know that the child is sick. At first, this form of pneumonia cannot be distinguished from banal inflammation. But when an exacerbation begins, the lung tissue is damaged and cavities are formed. A fairly common cause of this disease is inappropriate treatment, which uses antibiotics.
That's why you first need to figure out what form of pneumonia the baby has, and only then begin complex treatment. All this is done not only so that the little one gets on his feet as soon as possible, but also so as not to harm him with the wrong appointment.
Determining the first symptoms of the disease
And here Evgeny Komarovsky will help us. Pneumonia is a dangerous disease, especially for toddlers. A well-known pediatrician often said that the symptoms characteristic of this disease are often confused with the common flu or respiratory viral ailments. Inflammation of the lungs does not begin instantly, but during the unhurried development of the pathological process. Therefore, it is not immediately possible to notice the first signs of this disease. In the initial stage (during the first few days), the body temperature rises all the time.
This is how most pneumonia starts in children. Symptoms and treatment Komarovsky describes in as much detail as possible. Therapy should be appropriate for the condition of the baby. Subfebrile hyperthermia can last for two to three days, and there will be no positive result from the use of antipyretic drugs. In parallel with this, the baby can sweat a lot and eat almost nothing.
From hyperthermia to drowsiness
But the first symptoms do not cause significant harm, as the subsequent ones, Yevgeny Komarovsky is sure. Pneumonia in children continues with difficulty breathing and possible manifestations of shortness of breath. In some cases, parents may hear characteristic wheezing when the baby is pulled in.air. He gets worried for no reason.
The nervous state in which the child continues to be leads to the fact that his night's sleep is disturbed, and recovery is much slower than mom and dad would like. The consequence of this is a decrease in physical activity, the baby gets tired much faster, he is “attacked” by a drowsy state.
Warning: newborns are in danger
As Dr. Komarovsky says, pneumonia begins to develop after certain types of virus have entered the surface of the mucous membrane of the nasopharynx or the respiratory lumen. Streptococci, Haemophilus influenzae, and Staphylococcus aureus are the main pathogens that cause this disease to develop.
After harmful bacteria enter the baby's body, they develop under favorable conditions. The consequence is edema of the affected lung tissues, a significant decrease in the volume of oxygen supplied to the remaining organs, deterioration in their functioning and motility. Due to the fact that the liquid has thickened inside the cells and swelling of the alveoli has occurred, inflammation of the lungs occurs. The respiratory system of the baby works with great difficulty.
Not all types of infection can contribute to the development of a serious condition with pneumonia. But if a respiratory complication occurs, then in the absence of the necessary and adequate treatment, the disease can develop into pneumonia.
The mostunprotected are children under one year old, explains Komarovsky. Pneumonia in infants can be quite difficult. He has a weakened immune system, and the structural features of the respiratory system cannot be discounted either. Newborn babies have small gaps in the trachea, larynx and very narrow nasal passages. In addition to this, the tissues of their lungs are too sensitive, and the mucous membrane is still thin and fragile. When the pathogen enters the surface of the epithelium or alveoli, an exacerbated reaction immediately occurs, expressed by characteristic symptoms.
We diagnose and prescribe treatment
Parents should absolutely not panic as soon as they realize that their baby is sick. After all, there are times when all the signs of pneumonia are present, and this turns out to be the most common cold.
If it is suspected that the baby has pneumonia (and the signs have already been mentioned: lethargy, headache, fever, cough), then the parents should bring the child to the doctor. Only a medical professional after conducting the necessary studies can make the correct diagnosis. Diagnostic methods include: x-ray (front and side of the lungs), clinical blood test (to be able to determine the nature of pneumonia), listening to the lungs.
Most often, pneumonia in a baby occurs as a result of SARS, laryngitis, tonsillitis, sinusitis, bronchitis and many other diseases.
Disease prevention
According to pediatrician Komarovsky, pneumonia in newborns (or pneumonia) manifests itself when the lungs and bronchi are covered with thickened mucus. This is the main factor in the violation of their ventilation. This is how Dr. Komarovsky builds his reasoning. Pneumonia, recovery from which can take a fairly long period, should be treated in a timely manner. For the purpose of preventive action, you can walk more often in the fresh air, regularly ventilate the living room to keep it humid, drink a lot so that the amount of fluid that enters the body is sufficient.
Should there be a temperature?
Despite the belief of a huge number of adults that pneumonia in babies should be accompanied by a fever, this is not an axiom. This is how Yevgeny Komarovsky describes it: pneumonia without fever in babies is a completely understandable phenomenon. In infants who have not celebrated their first birthday, the thermoregulation system is not yet at full capacity. If the baby's body is weakened, then the severity of the inflammatory reaction is much less than that of other children. Because of this, the body temperature during pneumonia may not change. Parents need to be attentive and sensitive to their crumbs in order to recognize changes in their behavior and well-being in time.
Adults should see changes in behavior: tearfulness, fearfulness, restlessness, anxiety. Because the child's bodybecomes weaker due to illness, he gets tired faster, he wants to sit down on a chair, lie down on a pillow or in his mother's arms. The baby may feel general malaise, complain of pain throughout the body, some discomfort.
Quite complicated can have pneumonia in children symptoms and treatment. Komarovsky, a pediatrician with many years of experience, describes all this in great detail. The main thing is to establish the correct diagnosis in time, get a prescription from the doctor and in no case self-medicate.
What and how to treat?
Many parents with children from birth to 7 years old trust everything that one of the best pediatricians in the country, Evgeny Komarovsky, will say. Pneumonia (how to define it was described above) is not a reason to panic. The doctor explains that a specific treatment procedure has been developed for each form of the disease. For example, with a viral course, some special therapy is not required, with a bacterial one, antibiotics are useful, but complex antifungal drugs cannot be dispensed with to cure the fungal form.
It is important to remember that the development of asymptomatic pneumonia in babies is dangerous: late diagnosis in the absence of fever and cough can lead to complications, many of which will become irreversible. Therefore, take care of your children and seek qualified medical help in time.
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