Signs and symptoms of pneumonia in kids, pneumonia home care

Condition analysis:
Kids with pneumonia caused by bacteria usually become sick fairly quickly, starting with a sudden high fever and unusually fast breathing.

Kids with pneumonia caused by viruses probably will have symptoms that appear more gradually and are less severe, though wheezing can be more common.

Some symptoms give important clues about which germ is causing the pneumonia. For example, in older kids and teens, pneumonia due to Mycoplasma (also called walking pneumonia) is notorious for causing a sore throat, headache, and rash in addition to the usual symptoms of pneumonia.

In babies, pneumonia due to chlamydia may cause conjunctivitis (pinkeye) with only mild illness and no fever. When pneumonia is due to whooping cough (pertussis), a child may have long coughing spells, turn blue from lack of air, or make the classic "whoop" sound when trying to take a breath.

Instructions:
Home Care: Anyone with pneumonia needs to get plenty of rest and drink lots of fluids while the body works to fight the infection.

If your child has bacterial pneumonia and the doctor has prescribed antibiotics, give the medicine on schedule for as long as directed. This will help your child recover faster and help prevent the infection from spreading to other household members. For wheezing, the doctor might recommend using a nebulizer or an inhaler.

Ask the doctor before you use a medicine to treat your child's cough because cough suppressants stop the lungs from clearing mucus, which isn't helpful in some types of pneumonia. Over-the-counter cough and cold medications are not recommended for any kids under 6 years old.

Take your child's temperature at least once each morning and each evening, and call the doctor if it goes above 102°F (38.9°C) in an older infant or child, or above 100.4°F (38°C) in a baby under 6 months of age.

Check your child's lips and fingernails to make sure they are rosy and pink. Call your doctor if they are bluish or gray, which is a sign that the lungs are not getting enough oxygen.