Signs of respiratory disease in young people. Pneumonia in adolescents: symptoms, first signs, causes and treatment

A common disease that poses a real threat to life is pneumonia in children, in the treatment of which modern medicine has made great progress. Even 30-40 years ago, according to statistics, doctors were able to save only every 3-4 children with pneumonia.

Modern methods of therapy have reduced the mortality rate from this disease tenfold, but this does not make the disease less serious. Prognosis in the treatment of each child always depends not only on correct setting diagnosis and treatment plan, but also on the timeliness of visiting a doctor.

Inflammation of the lungs, called pneumonia, is a common disease that occurs not only in children of all ages, but also in adults.

The concept of pneumonia does not include other lung diseases, for example, vascular or allergic lesions, bronchitis and various disorders in their work, caused by physical or chemical factors.

This disease is common in children; as a rule, approximately 80% of all lung pathologies in children are pneumonia. The disease is an inflammation lung tissue, but unlike other lung diseases, such as bronchitis or tracheitis, with pneumonia, pathogens penetrate into the lower parts of the respiratory system.

The affected part of the lung cannot perform its functions, secrete carbon dioxide and absorb oxygen. For this reason, the disease, especially acute pneumonia in children it is much more severe than other respiratory infections.

The main danger of childhood pneumonia is that without adequate treatment, the disease quickly progresses and can lead to pulmonary edema of varying severity, and even death.

In children with weak immune systems, the disease progresses in a very severe forms. For this reason, pneumonia in infants is considered the most dangerous, since their immune system is not yet fully developed.

The condition plays an important role in the development of the disease immune system, but it is important to correctly determine the cause of pneumonia, since only in this case its treatment will be successful.

Causes of pneumonia

For successful treatment pneumonia in children, it is important to correctly diagnose the disease and identify the causative agent. The disease can be caused not only by viruses, but also by bacteria and fungi.

Often the cause is the microbe pneumococcus, as well as mycoplasma. Therefore, the nature of the occurrence of pneumonia may be different, but this very moment is important for the organization effective treatment, since the drugs to combat bacteria, viruses and fungi are completely different.

Pneumonia can have different origins:

Bacterial origin. The disease can occur not only against the background of another illness of the respiratory system, as a complication, but also independently. Antibiotics for pneumonia in children are used specifically for this form of the disease, since it requires careful and urgent antibacterial therapy.
Viral origin. This form of the disease is the most common (detected in approximately 60% of cases) and the mildest, but requires adequate treatment.
Fungal origin. This form of pneumonia is rare; in children, it usually occurs after inadequate treatment of diseases respiratory system antibiotics or their abuse.

Inflammation of the lungs can be unilateral, affecting one lung or part of it, or it can be bilateral, affecting both lungs at once. As a rule, with any etiology and form of the disease, the child’s temperature rises significantly.

Pneumonia itself is not a contagious disease and even with a viral or bacterial form it is very rarely transmitted from one child to another.

The only exception is atypical pneumonia, the cause of which was activation certain type mycoplasma. In this case, the disease in children is very severe, accompanied by high temperatures.

Special mycoplasma pneumoniae, causing respiratory mycoplasmosis and pneumonia, is easily transmitted by airborne droplets, causing diseases of the respiratory system various forms, the severity of which depends on the state of the child’s immune system.

The symptoms of this type of pneumonia are somewhat different:

At the very beginning of the disease, the child’s temperature rises sharply, the values of which reach 40°, but after that it decreases and becomes subfebrile with persistent values of 37.2–37.5°. In some cases, complete normalization of indicators is observed.
In some cases, the disease begins with usual signs ARVI or colds, such as a sore throat, frequent sneezing, severe runny nose.
Then shortness of breath and a very strong dry cough appear, but the same symptoms also appear acute bronchitis, this fact complicates the diagnosis. Children are often treated for bronchitis, which greatly complicates and aggravates the disease.
By listening to a child's lungs, the doctor cannot detect pneumonia by ear. The wheezes are rare and varied in nature; there are practically no traditional signs when listening, which greatly complicates the diagnosis.
When examining a blood test, as a rule, there are no pronounced changes, but it is detected increase in ESR, as well as neutrophilic leukocytosis, complemented by leukopenia, anemia and eosinophilia.
When performing an X-ray, the doctor sees in the images foci of heterogeneous infiltration of the lungs with an enhanced expression of the pulmonary pattern.
Mycoplasmas, like chlamydia, which causes atypical pneumonia, can exist for a long time in the epithelial cells of the lungs and bronchi, and therefore the disease is usually protracted and, having appeared once, can often recur.
Treatment of atypical pneumonia in children should be done with macrolides, which include clarithromycin, josamycin and azithromycin, since pathogens are most sensitive to them.

Indications for hospitalization

Only a doctor can decide where and how to treat a child with pneumonia. Treatment can be carried out not only in inpatient conditions, but also at home, however, if the doctor insists on hospitalization, this should not be prevented.

Children are subject to hospitalization:

with a severe form of the disease;
with pneumonia complicated by other diseases, for example, pleurisy, cardiac or respiratory failure, acute disorder consciousness, lung abscess, fall blood pressure, sepsis or infectious-toxic shock;
who have damage to several lobes of the lung at once or a lobar variant of pneumonia;
up to a year. In infants under one year of age, the disease is very severe and poses a real threat to life, so their treatment is carried out exclusively in an inpatient setting, where doctors can promptly provide emergency assistance. Children under 3 years of age also undergo inpatient treatment, regardless of the severity of the disease. Older children may undergo home treatment, provided that the disease is not complicated;
who have chronic diseases or severely weakened immunity.

Treatment

In most cases, the basis of therapy for pneumonia is the use of antibiotics, and if the doctor prescribed them to the child, in no case should they be abandoned.

No folk remedies, homeopathy or even traditional methods ARVI treatments will not help with pneumonia.

Parents, especially outpatient treatment, must strictly comply with all doctor’s instructions and strictly follow all instructions in the intake plan medicines, diet, drinking, rest and caring for a sick child. In a hospital, all necessary measures must be carried out by medical personnel.

Pneumonia needs to be treated correctly, which means you should follow some rules:

Antibiotics prescribed by a doctor must be taken strictly according to the established schedule. If, as prescribed by a doctor, you need to take antibiotics 2 times a day, then an interval of 12 hours should be observed between doses. When prescribing three doses, the interval between them will be 8 hours, and this rule cannot be violated. It is important to observe the timing of taking medications. For example, cephalosporin and penicillin antibiotics are taken for no longer than 7 days, and macrolides should be used for 5 days.
The effectiveness of treatment, expressed in improvement of the child’s general condition, improved appetite, decreased shortness of breath and decreased temperature, can be assessed only after 72 hours from the start of therapy.
The use of antipyretic drugs will be justified only when the temperature in children over one year of age exceeds 39°, and in children under one year of age - 38°. High temperature is an indicator of the immune system’s fight against the disease, with maximum production of antibodies that destroy pathogens. For this reason, if the baby tolerates a high temperature normally, it is better not to bring it down, since in this case the treatment will be more effective. But, if the baby has been observed at least once febrile seizures against the background of an increase in temperature, an antipyretic should be given only when the readings rise to 37.5°.
Nutrition. Lack of appetite with pneumonia is a natural condition. There is no need to force your child to eat. During the treatment period, you should prepare light meals for your baby. The optimal diet would be liquid porridges, steamed cutlets made from lean meat, soups, boiled potatoes or mashed potatoes, as well as fresh fruit and vegetables rich in vitamins.
It is also necessary to monitor your drinking regime. The child should consume plenty of pure still water, green tea with raspberries, natural juices. If you drink liquid in required quantity the child refuses, you should give him small portions of special pharmaceutical solutions to restore the water-salt balance, for example, Regidron.
In the child's room, it is necessary to carry out wet cleaning daily, and also monitor the air humidity; for this, you can use humidifiers or place a container of hot water in the room several times a day.
It should also be remembered that immunomodulators and antihistamines should not be used in the treatment of pneumonia. They will not provide help, but they can lead to side effects and worsen the child's condition.
The use of probiotics is necessary for pneumonia, since taking antibiotics causes disruption of the intestines. And to remove toxins formed from the activity of pathogens, the doctor usually prescribes sorbents.

If all instructions are followed, the sick child is transferred to the usual regimen and allowed to walk in the fresh air from about 6–10 days of therapy. In case of uncomplicated pneumonia, the child is given exemption from physical activity for 1.5-2 months. If the disease is severe, sports will be allowed only after 12–14 weeks.

Prevention

Must be given special attention preventive measures, especially after suffered by the child diseases. It is important to prevent accumulation of sputum in the lungs, which is why the disease develops.

Maintaining sufficient humidity in your baby's room will not only help ensure easy breathing, but will also be an excellent measure to prevent thickening and drying of sputum in the lungs.

Sports activities and high mobility of children are excellent preventive measures, helping to eliminate mucus from the lungs and respiratory tract and prevent the formation of its accumulations.

Drinking plenty of fluids not only helps keep you healthy in good condition the child's blood, but also helps to thin the mucus in respiratory tract and in the lungs, which facilitates its elimination naturally.

Pneumonia can be treated effectively only if all doctor's instructions are followed. But, of course, it is much easier to prevent it, and for this, any diseases of the respiratory system should be promptly and completely eliminated.

It must be remembered that pneumonia in most cases becomes a complication when colds or other diseases of the respiratory system are neglected, as well as when therapy is not carried out in a timely manner or treatment is stopped ahead of schedule. Therefore, to avoid possible complications and the development of pneumonia, you should not self-medicate colds, and consult a doctor for any manifestations.

According to statistics, approximately 1% of all adolescents suffer from pneumonia. And although the mortality rate from pneumonia at this age is low, the pathology often leads to complications. The increase in the incidence rate at the age of 12-16 years is associated with changes in the endocrine and immune systems.

In the etiology of pneumonia in adolescents, the main place is occupied by streptococcus, mycoplasma, Klebsiella and Haemophilus influenzae. That is, most often the cause of the disease is bacteria. As for patients with immunodeficiencies, they are often caused by herpes viruses, primarily cytomegalovirus, as well as fungal flora. Viral-bacterial associations are also common.

Distinguish community-acquired pneumonia, the symptoms of which appear in normal living conditions, as well as hospital illnesses that arise in the hospital. Pneumonia in adolescents more often begins outside the hospital as a complication of acute respiratory infections and is treated at home with compliance bed rest and dietary nutrition.

Pneumonia in adolescence more often it is mild, since it affects a small area of the organ (focal or lobar pneumonia). In cases where an entire segment or the entire lung is involved in the process, treatment is carried out strictly in a hospital. Hospitalization is inevitable even if complications develop (pleurisy, broncho-obstructive syndrome, pneumothorax, infectious-toxic shock, etc.).

Symptomatic manifestations

The first sign of pneumonia in adolescents is a significant rise in temperature, which is not typical for a common acute respiratory infection. The thermometer can jump sharply from subfebrile values to 39 degrees or more and remain at this level for several days without adequate treatment. To others important feature pneumonia is pain in the chest on one or both sides, which will intensify with inspiration and coughing.

A cough with pneumonia is initially dry and unproductive, but when taking expectorants, rusty or purulent sputum may appear. greenish color. IN acute period illness, breathing becomes compensatory, and retraction is observed during breathing yielding places chest(supra- and subclavian fossae, intercostal spaces). The patient's pulse also increases.

This pattern of symptoms is characteristic only of classical streptococcal pneumonia. With atypical mycoplasma, symptoms may be less striking.

At the first signs of a worsening cold and suspected pneumonia, it is important to get tested as quickly as possible. It includes:

examination by a doctor;
general blood test;
X-ray of the lungs;
serological reactions;
microscopic examination and culture of sputum.

The examination can be carried out by a general practitioner or an infectious disease specialist. In this case, the doctor listens to the lungs for wheezing and performs percussion (tapping) to determine the source of inflammation. Even if no changes were detected during physical examination, based on characteristic symptoms X-ray of the lungs is performed.

In case of pneumonia, an X-ray will show a focus of infiltration with possible destruction of the parenchyma and the presence of fluid in the pleura. X-rays are the most objective indicator of the presence or absence of inflammation in the lungs. A blood test is also an important indicator of the inflammatory process. If the number of leukocytes and ESR indicator significantly increased in it, pneumonia will be confirmed.

Additional diagnostic methods

In order to prescribe the most appropriate therapy for a particular patient, the doctor needs to identify the pathogen. To do this, the patient undergoes a sputum test. Sputum is examined under a microscope, cultured on culture media and tested for sensitivity to various antibiotics.

It is also possible to determine which microorganism was the causative agent of the infection using serological reactions. To do this, the patient's blood serum is examined for the presence of antibodies. These analyzes are auxiliary and are performed when standard treatment has no effect.

Necessary treatment

Usually treatment of pneumonia in middle and older children school age carried out at home in compliance with the regime. This includes staying mostly in bed and dietary food. The main therapy is to take antibiotics. Amoxicillin and drugs of the cephalosporin class are usually prescribed. But if the signs of inflammation do not go away within 3-4 days, then they are replaced with Doxycycline and macrolide antibiotics.

To relieve the symptoms of pneumonia, adolescents are prescribed expectorants, detoxification agents, antihistamines and vitamins. Hospitalization for pneumonia in adolescence rarely required. Indications for it are:

extensive process;
presence of symptoms of pleurisy;
concomitant lung diseases ( bronchial asthma etc.);
immunodeficiency.

Diet

IN acute phase illness, to reduce the symptoms of intoxication, the child needs plenty of warm drink. Rosehip infusion and other berry infusions are best, as they are rich in vitamin C.

Food during this period should be rich in calcium: cottage cheese, milk porridge, cheese, cauliflower. All products must be well crushed, because the activity digestive enzymes decreases in the acute period. If pneumonia has a fungal etiology, all sweets are strictly excluded. You will also have to give up spices, smoked and fatty foods.

During the recovery period, food should contain maximum protein. This can be boiled meat and fish, vegetable and fruit salads. In order to avoid negative consequences taking antibiotics in the form of signs of dysbiosis, you should include in your diet foods with lacto- and bifidobacteria: kefir, yogurt and yogurt.

Pneumonia develops quite often in adolescents of high school age. Constantly being in a group, children easily pick up viruses from each other that cause an inflammatory process. An additional factor The risk can become reduced due to hormonal changes in the teenager’s immunity.

Infectious pneumonia

Reasons for development

The inflammatory disease is caused by:

viruses;
bacteria;
Candida mushrooms.

The causes of the development of the inflammatory process can also be other past viral diseases, such as influenza, measles, scarlet fever and others. Pneumonia develops as a complication of ARVI, influenza, other viral disease in adolescents with weakened immune systems.

Teenagers of high school age are at risk due to hormonal changes in the body. Internal systems are finally formed, during this “window” it is easiest to develop an illness that threatens to develop chronic complications in the future.

Among adolescents, atypical pneumonia is most common. The causative agents of the disease are mycoplasmas, chlamydophila, legionella and other viruses that are easily transmitted from person to person in large groups (at school, college, section). Main danger this type of pneumonia in its non-obvious symptoms: the temperature is normal, the patient’s blood tests are in order. Diagnosis is difficult, cope with atypical inflammation lungs becomes more difficult.

Main manifestations

Signs of pneumonia can be different and directly depend on the root cause of the development of the inflammatory process. The main symptoms for adolescents are similar to those characteristic of adult patients:

High temperature

a sharp increase in temperature;
cough;
painful sensations in the chest area when breathing and coughing;
wheezing is heard;
dyspnea;
general condition weaknesses;
headaches;
lack of appetite;
decreased overall activity, loss of interest in everything.

If the temperature cannot be reduced for a long time with the help of antipyretic drugs, this may be a manifestation of a severe form of inflammation. But the symptoms may not coincide with the clinical picture; the disease can be practically asymptomatic. This complicates the diagnosis, and it will not be possible to start treatment in a timely manner.

Diagnostics

Diagnostic methods for suspected pneumonia in adolescents are as follows:

X-ray of the lungs

radiography;
peripheral blood test;
biochemical blood test.

At the initial appointment, the doctor listens to the teenager’s lungs and asks him to do deep breaths and exhales. Each side of the chest can be heard; pneumonia can be left-sided, right-sided, or affect both lungs at once. The doctor does a survey, assesses the patient’s general health, and writes a referral for an x-ray. Foci of inflammation are shown in the image. Additionally, blood tests are carried out: peripheral analysis to detect the bacterial focus of the disease, biochemical analysis to assess the severity of inflammation. Based on the data obtained, a diagnosis is made and a decision is made on the need for hospitalization.

General symptoms of pneumonia in adolescents are differentiated from others pulmonary diseases. The main task of the doctor is to distinguish pneumonia from bronchitis and prescribe the correct treatment.

Therapy methods

Pneumonia is treated medications. To avoid complications, in most cases you will need to resort to antibiotics.

Therapeutic methods depending on the cause of inflammation:

Antibiotics

illness due to ARVI does not require complementary therapy, in addition to treating the underlying infection;
at bacterial origin disease, a course of antibiotics is prescribed;
for pneumomycosis (pneumonia caused by a fungus), antifungal drugs are prescribed.

Most inflammatory processes of this nature can be treated at home. It is necessary to hospitalize a teenager in the most extreme situations; according to statistics, this happens in 8-10% of cases. In the hospital, IVs are placed, injections are administered, and the patient’s health condition is constantly monitored.

Taking medications

Accept antibacterial agents on your own initiative, and not on the recommendations of a doctor - a bad idea. Any antibiotics must be prescribed by the attending physician based on the diagnostic results; self-medication of pneumonia with the first available drug from the pharmacy is unacceptable. Pneumonia is not always bacterial in nature, this is also worth remembering.

The following antibiotics may be prescribed:

Amoxicillin;
Ceftriaxone;
Erythromycin;
Flemoxin.

The dosage and course of treatment depend on the characteristics and severity of the inflammatory process. The course of drugs does not stop, even if the patient feels better after a few days. You need to complete the treatment completely, following all the recommendations. The decision to discontinue medications is made by the doctor if the results of repeated tests and x-rays show good results.

Traditional medicine

Folk remedies for pneumonia are ineffective. An acute inflammatory process cannot be stopped using the “grandmother’s” method; there is a risk of complications and death. resort to folk medicine only possible as adjuvant therapy. It is imperative to consult a doctor before starting to use home recipes.

Forecast

At the right approach to therapy and careful attention to the doctor’s recommendations, the prognosis is positive. Only 10% of patients require hospitalization if complications occur. Pneumonia can be completely cured in 2-6 weeks. The duration depends on the severity of the disease, condition and individual characteristics of the body.

Prevention

Preventive measures may be as follows:

Strengthening the immune system

security motor activity teenager to prevent stagnation of mucus in the respiratory tract;
organization of a humid and cool climate in the room where the patient is located to facilitate breathing;
use large quantity fluids to thin sputum;
complete treatment of the primary disease;
measures to strengthen the immune system: taking vitamins, maintaining healthy image life.

The risk of developing inflammation is significantly reduced if you organize correct therapy primary disease: ARVI, influenza, other viral pathology. The main preventive technique will be general strengthening health of the patient.

Complications

Possible complications include:

Pleurisy

lung abscess;
pulmonary edema;
bronchial spasms;
anemia;
meningitis;
inflammation of the heart muscle;
sepsis;
DIC syndrome.

Negative consequences can affect more than just the lungs. If the infection spreads further, dangerous situations for all internal systems.

If you suspect the development of pneumonia, you will need to consult a doctor and undergo diagnostic examination. It is necessary to make an appointment with a pediatrician; he can, if necessary, refer you to an infectious disease specialist. The doctor’s recommendations should be strictly followed, and the course of prescribed treatment should not be deviated, even if it seemed that the patient was much better. Only by adhering to a therapeutic course will you be able to cope with pneumonia and avoid complications.

The disease has infectious nature and is an inflammation of lung tissue. Thanks to modern medicine mortality from pneumonia has decreased significantly, but parents need to know how to recognize the disease in a child early stages– this will help you deal with it faster and easier.

The first signs of pneumonia

Pneumonia - insidious pathology, the onset of which is often asymptomatic or similar to other diseases. However, it has certain specific characteristics. Parents should take their child to the doctor if they notice that the following first symptoms of pneumonia have begun to appear:

deep, persistent cough;
high temperature body (more than 38 degrees), which does not fall for at least three days in a row;
wheezing, rapid breathing (in children 1 year of age or less - more than 60 breaths per minute, in children 2 years of age - from 50 breaths, in children 3 years of age and older - 40 breaths or more);
lack of appetite (this is explained by the fact that the virus affects not only the lungs, but also intestinal cells, reducing appetite, causing diarrhea, vomiting, nausea);
appearance of blueness on the face, swelling lower limbs, in a child pale lips(with inflammation of the lungs, blood flow in the pulmonary circle is disrupted, which may cause cardiopulmonary failure);
tachycardia develops;
chest retraction occurs;
pathologies of the central nervous system may manifest themselves (due to such extrapulmonary symptoms, children become irritable, restless, apathy, drowsiness or lethargy may be observed);
Children with pneumonia lose weight (sometimes the weight reaches a critical level).

Bronchopneumonia

This disease has nothing in common with bronchitis. Bronchial pneumonia is acute inflammation walls of bronchioles. The risk group includes infants and children under three years of age. Pathology can be caused by staphylococcus, pneumococcus, and streptococcus. At the same time, bronchopneumonia in children does not always develop due to infection from the outside: for example, pneumococci located inside the body are often activated in other mild and harmless diseases.

Focal lesions concentrated predominantly in the bronchioles, but can also be detected in the lungs of infants. Depending on where the foci of bronchopneumonia are located in the respiratory organs, bilateral, left-sided and right-sided forms of the pathology are distinguished. To confirm the diagnosis, children undergo bronchoscopy and chest x-ray. Bronchial pneumonia can be suspected if the following symptoms are present:

dizziness;
cough;
dyspnea;
weakness;
pale skin;
arrhythmia;
headaches;
fatigue;
wheezing when breathing;
high temperature, up to 39 degrees and above (with atypical pneumonia this symptom is not present, therefore, even without elevated temperature, parents should show the child to the doctor as early as possible, otherwise the disease will lead to severe complications);
leukocytosis.

Bilateral pneumonia

The peculiarity and danger of this type of pneumonia is that it affects the lowest parts of the organ, interfering with gas exchange processes. Bilateral pneumonia is characterized by the following symptoms:

the child’s temperature does not return to normal for more than 3 days;
after suffering from an acute respiratory viral infection or acute respiratory infection, the general health condition does not return to normal after a week or the baby’s condition even worsens;
wheezing appears, a wet cough begins (not necessarily with sputum discharge);
whistling and grunting can be heard when breathing;
it becomes difficult for the child to breathe;
may appear pain syndrome, localized in the lower parts of the lungs (as a rule, it coincides with coughing attacks);
the child's breathing becomes frequent (the average number of breaths is 40 per minute).

Right-handed

This form of the disease develops in children much more often than others, which is explained anatomical features structure of the bronchial tree on the right side. Thus, the main right bronchus has an oblique direction from top to bottom, which promotes the movement of viruses into lower area lung, where they multiply very quickly. Right-sided pneumonia is associated with the following symptoms in children:

sputum production;
cough;
rise in temperature, sweating;
cyanosis of the skin in the nasolabial part of the face;
leukocytosis (this symptom can only be determined with a blood test);
increased heart rate and breathing.

At viral inflammation lung temperature is not a mandatory symptom. The key signs of the development of the disease are muscle weakness, dry cough, fatigue/drowsiness. As the infection spreads in the body of children, the main symptoms viral pneumonia become severe cough with ulcerations and a rise in temperature up to 38-40 degrees.

Left-handed

This disease is much more dangerous than right-sided pneumonia, since it threatens serious irreversible consequences. The formation of foci in the left lobe of the organ indicates exhaustion child's body after a previous illness (cold, bronchitis, surgery). As a result, the immune system is weakened and is unable to fight pathogens. Often, due to the mild severity of symptoms, treatment of the pathology begins late. Left-sided pneumonia is characterized by:

nausea, vomiting, headaches, aching or stabbing sensations in the left side of the chest;
wet cough with sputum, shortness of breath, lethargy (as the pathology develops, the cough can transform into a purulent cough with characteristic blood streaks);
strong and sharp increase in body temperature, chills;
gradual increase in pain deep breathing, possible short-term loss of consciousness.

Basal

The root part of the lung is the zone of entry into the organ of the main bronchus, bronchial and pulmonary arteries, lymphatic vessels, veins, nerve plexuses. Hilar pneumonia affects this area and is caused by bacterial infection. The clinical picture of the disease in children is characterized by the following symptoms:

cough, shortness of breath;
high temperature;
insomnia;
headache;
weakness;
increased sweating.

Infectious pneumonia

The disease has two forms - primary and secondary. In the first case, pneumonia develops as an independent pathology, in the second it occurs against the background of other infections (flu, sinusitis). A baby can get sick at any age, even a newborn. Signs of pneumonia in a child depend on the type of inflammation:

The croupous form is characterized by damage to only one lobe of the lungs (right or left). At the same time, the temperature in children immediately increases up to 39-40 degrees. There is pain in the area of the peritoneum and chest, the cough is characterized by sputum, and a red rash appears on the body.
Focal infectious inflammation lung disease is usually diagnosed in young children under 3 years of age; in children 4 years of age and older, the disease is rare. Pneumonia affects the entire lungs and develops after bronchitis. The first signs of pneumonia in children are high fever, deep, dry cough. Pathology can only be cured long-term use medications selected by the doctor.
Staphylococcal type c more likely amazes infant than older children. The main symptoms of pneumonia in a child in this case are vomiting, shortness of breath, wheezing with cough, heavy breathing. With timely treatment, the pathology recedes after 1.5-2 months, after which the baby will have to undergo ten days of rehabilitation.
The segmented form only partially affects the lungs, and the symptoms of the disease will be bad dream, lack of appetite, lethargy, temperature within 38 degrees. Since pneumonia occurs latently, it is very difficult to detect the disease at first.

How does pneumonia manifest?

Pneumonia most often affects children, since children 5 years and older have a fully developed respiratory system that can fully protect itself from any infections. Pneumonia - the symptoms in children are listed above - is a specific disease. Thanks to observation, parents can promptly notice the deterioration in their child’s health and begin treatment, avoiding dangerous consequences. How does pneumonia manifest in children? infancy:

high temperature;
rapid accumulation of sputum;
bluish skin;
irritability/tearfulness;
cough.

In adolescents, symptoms are somewhat different. The key signs of the disease in this case will be:

temperature without cyclical decrease or increase;
fine wheezing;
dry cough;
muffling of pulmonary sound in the area of the inflammatory process.

As the pathology progresses, the medical history is supplemented with the following symptoms:

blue discoloration of the skin of the face, pallor of the lips;
wet rales;
heaviness of breathing, shortness of breath;
high temperature that does not subside for more than 3 days.

Temperature

Pneumonia is characterized by a temperature within 37-38 degrees; exceeding this limit depends on the pathogen and the individual characteristics of the patient’s body. When the thermometer reading is above 39 degrees, it is clear that the baby’s immunity cannot cope with the infection and is using all resources to fight it. This temperature during pneumonia should be reduced with anti-inflammatory drugs, but a lower temperature (within 38) should not.

Shortness of breath

This is one of the key signs of the disease. Breathing with pneumonia becomes difficult as inflammatory processes develop, which, without timely treatment can transform into chronic disease. Shortness of breath after recovery indicates that there is still an infection in the body and it is important not to leave this symptom without attention, but consult a doctor again, who will culture the sputum on nutrient media or other additional research.

Runny nose with pneumonia

During the disease, the nasopharyngeal mucosa becomes infected/irritated, resulting in tissue swelling. As a rule, 3-10 days after onset, the symptom subsides. A runny nose with pneumonia requires symptomatic treatment, since it greatly complicates the condition of children: they experience a lack of oxygen, sleep poorly, and refuse to eat. After completing therapy, it is better to prevent the recurrence of symptoms.

No symptoms

Some forms of pathology are asymptomatic and may manifest muscle weakness, skin rashes, autonomic disorders, which parents cannot associate with pneumonia. Inflammation of the lungs without symptoms, as a rule, occurs in the first stages of the development of the disease, and then cough, runny nose, wheezing, fever, etc. begin to appear. Without the first symptom, the pathology occurs extremely rarely and poses a huge danger to the baby’s health, since it threatens the formation of a lung abscess .

Diagnosis of pneumonia

If parents notice characteristic pulmonary inflammation symptoms, you should immediately consult a doctor. If the baby has a cough, the doctor should listen to it every 3-4 days until it stops (this is especially true for newborn babies). With pneumonia, the pediatrician will hear characteristic wheezing and difficulty breathing. Diagnosis of pneumonia may include the following:

radiography;
auscultation (listening);
study gas composition blood;
microscopic examination of sputum.

Video

Pneumonia is a disease that occurs quite often among children. According to statistics, it accounts for about 80% of all pathologies of the respiratory system. Discovered on early stage signs of pneumonia in a child allow you to start treatment on time and speed up recovery.

Causes of the disease

The causative agents are pathogenic viruses, bacteria, and various fungi. Depending on the nature of the disease, a treatment regimen is selected.

Provoking factors for the development of pneumonia are:

Weakening of the immune system.
Lack of vitamins.
Past respiratory disease.
Penetration foreign object into the respiratory tract.
Stress.

Staphylococcal and streptococcal pneumonia can be associated with other diseases and occur after influenza, measles, and whooping cough. Due to underdeveloped respiratory muscles little patient it is not possible to clear the phlegm that accumulates in the bronchi. As a result, ventilation of the lungs is disrupted, and sedimentation occurs in them. pathogenic microorganisms, which causes an inflammatory process.

Pathogenic bacteria also cause other diseases. Streptococcus pneumoniae in the throat often causes acute tonsillitis.

First signs

Symptoms of pneumonia in children manifest themselves in certain ways. It depends various factors. For example, aspiration pneumonia in children it develops gradually, initial stage its signs may not be noticed. After some time, cough, chest pain and other symptoms appear, depending on the location of the aspiration. This form of the disease is distinguished by the absence of chills and fever. With atypical pneumonia in children, the symptoms are more pronounced - there is a lump in the throat, watery eyes, headaches, and a dry cough.

By the end of the first week of the disease, the cough intensifies, and the temperature during pneumonia in children can rise to 40⁰C. Possible addition of rhinitis, tracheitis. Many parents are interested in what temperature is considered normal for pneumonia. It depends on the state of the child's immune system. Some types of pneumonia occur without fever at all.

On initial stage Pneumonia symptoms in children can manifest themselves in different ways.

Signs of pneumonia in a child under one year old:

Cyanosis of the skin, especially in the area of the nasolabial triangle.
A sharp increase in temperature.
Difficulty breathing due to accumulation of mucus in the lungs.
Cough.
Lethargy.

How does pneumonia manifest in infants, helps determine the number breathing movements in 1 minute. For a 2 month old child it is equal to 50 breaths. As you grow, this figure decreases. So, for a child of 3 months it is already 40, and by the year it decreases to 30 breaths. If this indicator is exceeded, you should contact your pediatrician.

Cyanosis of the skin

For pneumonia in children, symptoms and treatment differ at different ages. For older children age group The appearance of sputum is characteristic when the pathological process reaches the bronchi. Pneumonia is suspected when wheezing and bluish lips are observed. The main symptom – shortness of breath – helps to recognize inflammation. If it does not disappear after a course of treatment, then additional examination is required.

As Dr. Evgeniy Komarovsky assures, the first symptoms do not cause as much harm as subsequent ones. Therefore, it is important to be able to distinguish the signs of the disease at the initial stage.

Symptoms characteristic of pneumonia

Each type of disease manifests itself differently depending on the location of the inflammatory focus.

Left-sided pneumonia

With this form of the disease, the pathological process develops on the left side. Left-sided pneumonia is much more dangerous compared to other types due to the irreversibility of the consequences that may occur. The lung becomes inflamed due to previous respiratory diseases when weakened immunity cannot resist the effects of pathogens. Left-sided pneumonia has mild symptoms, which makes diagnosis difficult.

Among the most characteristic:

Pain in the left chest.
Nausea.
Cough with sputum production, which may contain purulent patches.
A sharp rise in temperature, accompanied by chills.
Feeling of severe pain while inhaling.

It happens that left-sided pneumonia occurs without fever or other obvious signs. Delayed treatment in this case can cause serious complications and increases the risk of death.

Right-sided pneumonia

A form of the disease, which is characterized by the presence of a lesion in one of the lobes of the lung - upper, middle or lower. It is much more common than left-sided pneumonia. Each of the five cases are children under 3 years of age. The disease is most severe in newborns and children under 2 years of age.

It is distinguished by:

Cough, in which there is copious sputum production.
Tachycardia.
Cyanosis of the skin, especially in the area of the nasolabial triangle.
Leukocytosis.

Often the right-sided form occurs with mild symptoms.

Bilateral pneumonia

A disease where both lungs become inflamed. It is very difficult, especially in children under one year old. Therefore, bilateral pneumonia in a child is treated only in a hospital setting.

In newborns and children of the 1st year of life characteristic feature is pale skin, shortness of breath, cough, asthenic syndrome, bloating, hypotension. Wheezing can be heard in the lungs. The disease is progressing rapidly and the little man needs urgent hospitalization.

In children 2 years old, symptoms of inflammation often appear as a result of an allergic reaction. In children 3–5 years old, the disease often develops after an acute respiratory infection. When treating, you need to pay attention to elevated temperature, which lasts longer than three days.

At the age of over 6 years, pneumonia occurs with alternating sluggish course and exacerbation.

Regardless of age, the following signs help to recognize bilateral pneumonia in a child: fever up to 40⁰C, rapid breathing, decreased appetite, shortness of breath, cyanosis, cough, drowsiness, weakness. Percussion sound when listening is shortened on the affected side, wheezing is heard in the lower parts of the lungs.

Bilateral pneumonia in a child threatens complications such as otitis media, sepsis, and meningitis.

For any viral pneumonia in children, the symptoms and treatment are not much different from the manifestations of the disease and treatment for adults.

Bronchopneumonia

The disease most often occurs in children under 3 years of age. It is an inflammatory process affecting the walls of the bronchioles. The disease has another name - sluggish pneumonia due to the vagueness of symptoms.

They look like slight shortness of breath, cough, arrhythmia, sometimes appearing without fever. Later they intensify, there is a rise in temperature to 39⁰C, and headaches.

Bacterial pneumonia

Pathogens that cause bacterial pneumonia– pneumococci, staphylococci, streptococci, gram-negative bacteria. The first signs of pneumonia in children are noticed earlier than in adults. They manifest themselves in the form of rapid breathing, vomiting, and pain in the abdominal area. Children with a temperature in the lower part of the lungs sometimes feel feverish.

Mycoplasma and chlamydial pneumonia

Mycoplasma infection, in addition to the main symptoms, causes a rash in the throat and pain. Chlamydia pneumonia in infants can trigger the development dangerous shape conjunctivitis. With pneumonia caused by this intracellular bacterium, rhinitis and tracheobronchitis are often diagnosed. Chlamydia pneumonia in children also manifests itself as extrapulmonary symptoms - arthralgia, myalgia. It is believed that this disease accounts for up to 15% of all community-acquired diseases. During epidemic outbreaks, this figure increases to 25%.

The disease can develop either acutely or gradually, becoming protracted. The main symptoms are nasal congestion, breathing problems, hoarse voice, slight mucous discharge from the nose. After these signs appear, the inflammatory process lasts from 1 to 4 weeks. Cough and general malaise sometimes persist for several months. The disease can occur without fever.

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Video - pneumonia

Hidden pneumonia

The course of the disease without pronounced symptoms poses the greatest danger to children under 2 years of age. At this age, they cannot yet communicate what exactly is bothering them. Latent pneumonia in children can manifest itself as a barely noticeable malaise. Having noticed them, parents often attribute it to a cold or teething. Only when the child’s condition deteriorates sharply does treatment begin.

Therefore, it is important to know how to recognize pneumonia in a child, and not to lose sight of such symptoms of pneumonia in children as:

Pallor of the skin.
Blush on the cheeks in the form of spots.
Shortness of breath that appears with little exertion.
Increased sweating.
Breathing with grunting.
Temperature rises to 38⁰C.
Refusal to eat.

With latent pneumonia in children, the symptoms listed above can appear either singly or in combination, sometimes without fever. Having discovered them, you should immediately show the baby to the doctor.

Diagnostics

The question of how to determine pneumonia in a child is easily solved today with the help of modern methods diagnostics When collecting anamnesis, the time of detection of the first signs of illness is determined, what diseases preceded the onset of inflammation, and whether there is an allergy. Visual inspection allows you to identify existing symptoms, wheezing, and other symptoms characteristic of pneumonia.

Laboratory methods help diagnose the disease.

A blood test for pneumonia in a child is carried out to determine the causative agent of the disease:

Biochemical analysis determines indicators such as the number of leukocytes, ESR, and hemoglobin level.
Thanks to two blood cultures, it is possible to exclude bacteremia and sepsis.
Serological analysis reveals the presence of immunoglobulins.

Sputum culture and scraping are also performed back wall throats.

Install more accurate diagnosis with determination of degree lung lesions(as well as how to recognize bronchitis in a child and any other bronchopulmonary disease) can be done using radiography.

General principles of treatment

Treatment is usually carried out in a hospital setting. How long you stay in the hospital with pneumonia depends on the severity of the disease and the state of your immune system. The main component treatment course at inflammatory process are antibiotics.

You can cope with the disease only by strictly following all the doctor’s prescriptions. Self-medication for this serious illness unacceptable. The medicine is taken according to the schedule determined by the doctor. Typically, penicillins, cephalosporins, and macrolides are used in treatment. The effectiveness of the use of a particular drug is assessed only after 72 hours. To ensure that the intestinal microflora does not suffer from the action of antibiotics, probiotics are additionally prescribed. In order to cleanse the body of toxins remaining after antibacterial therapy, sorbents are used.

Plays an important role in the treatment process proper nutrition. The patient's diet should contain easily digestible food. These can be vegetable soups, liquid porridges, boiled potatoes, fresh vegetables and fruits. As a drink, it is best to give children rosehip infusion, juices, and raspberry tea.

Prevention

You can avoid the disease by following simple rules:

Do not allow the child to become hypothermic.
Provide quality food, including all the necessary vitamins.
Perform hardening procedures.
Walk more with your children in the fresh air.
Avoid contact with a sick person who can transmit the infection.
Do not visit during epidemic periods kindergarten and crowded places.
Teach your child to wash their hands thoroughly, lathering them for at least 20 seconds.
Treat infectious diseases in a timely manner.

Caring for the baby's health, starting from the first days of his life - best protection from illness.

Vaccination helps reduce the risk of infection. Vaccination forms immunity to the causative agent of pneumonia. However, the duration of such protection is no more than 5 years.

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