Newborns and infants may not show typical signs of pneumonia infection. It may also be difficult to determine if toddlers have the illness because they may not be able to communicate how they feel as well as an older child can.
This form of pneumonia is usually mild and feels like a chest cold, but it can get worse. The symptoms of cough, headache, and a low fever start slowly. The infection is usually so mild that your child may walk around with it without knowing they have it. Most children don't get sick enough to be in the hospital.
Signs and Symptoms
The symptoms usually start out like the flu. They slowly get worse over a few days. Pneumonia caused by bacteria can come on suddenly with a high fever, fast breathing and coughing. Both types of pneumonia can cause the child's cough to last for weeks after the fever has stopped.
It is possible to have pneumonia without a cough or fever. Symptoms may come on quickly or may worsen slowly over time. Sometimes a person who has a viral upper respiratory infection (cold) will get a new fever and worsening that signals the start of the secondary bacterial infection.
If left undiagnosed and the symptoms are ignored, walking pneumonia can result in some additional complications. It is important to understand that these complications occur in extremely rare cases, and not all patients will develop them. However, if left untreated, these complications can turn fatal.
Some kids will also have chest pain, shortness of breath, wheezing, retractions (using extra muscles below and between the ribs to breathe) or faster breathing. Symptoms of pneumonia in babies also include being more tired than usual, fussy and have difficulty feeding or taking bottles.
Signs & symptoms of pneumonia in children
Babies and toddlers may seem pale and limp, and cry more than usual.
Kids with pneumonia caused by a virus usually have symptoms that happen over time and tend to be mild. Less often, bacteria can cause pneumonia. When that happens, kids usually will become sick more quickly, starting with a sudden high fever, cough, and sometimes fast breathing.
As pneumonia progresses, it has four stages: Congestion, red hepatization, gray hepatization, and resolution.
Walking pneumonia is usually diagnosed through a physical examination. The doctor will check your child's breathing and listen for a hallmark crackling sound that often indicates walking pneumonia. If needed, a chest X-ray or tests of mucus samples from the throat or nose might be done to confirm the diagnosis.
You should contact your child's pediatrician if the following symptoms appear: Cough with fever for more than 3-5 days if older than 1 year. Lack of appetite. Lethargy.
It is a mild form of pneumonia that can be life threatening for some people. Children with walking pneumonia may feel very tired and run down. But they may still be able to do many of their normal daily activities. The illness is rare in children younger than 5 years old.
Doctors might misdiagnose pneumonia for a number of different reasons, including: Failure to order x-rays and other diagnostic imaging as needed. Failure to order appropriate blood tests. Rushing through the patient examination.
Sleep. Your child may have periods of sleeplessness and irritability. This is common. A congested child will sleep best with their head and upper body raised up.
But don't be fooled. Walking pneumonia can still be miserable and is commonly accompanied by a cough, fever, chest pain, mild chills, headache, etc. It feels more akin to a bad cold, and despite what the term "walking" implies, taking care of yourself is the best path to recovery.
In previous studies, 7–21% of pneumonia cases with a clinical diagnosis of CAP showed negative chest radiographs on presentation [7,8]. However, little information has been available regarding the association between sensitivity of chest radiography and clinical and microbiological factors of CAP.
What does a pneumonia cough sound like? This will depend on the type of pneumonia you have and be either a dry or chesty cough. Bacterial pneumonia is more serious and often results in a gurgling sound when breathing and mucus or phlegm when coughing.
Your healthcare provider will diagnose pneumonia based on your medical history, a physical exam, and test results. Sometimes pneumonia is hard to diagnose because your symptoms may be the same as a cold or flu. You may not realize that your condition is more serious until it lasts longer than these other conditions.
If your pneumonia isn't treated, the pleura can get swollen, creating a sharp pain when you breathe in. If you don't treat the swelling, the area between the pleura may fill with fluid, which is called a pleural effusion. If the fluid gets infected, it leads to a problem called empyema.
Unlike adults, children who have pneumonia may not experience a nagging cough or fever, and may have signs of infection that are much more subtle. They also are at greater risk of contracting the disease because their immune systems aren't fully developed.
As pneumonia is an infection of the lungs, the most common symptoms are coughing, trouble breathing and fever. Children with pneumonia usually experience fast breathing, or their lower chest may draw in or retract when they inhale (in a healthy person, the chest expands during inhalation).
Chest infections can cause severe symptoms such as breathing difficulty in children. You might notice that your child is breathing faster than usual, breathing noisily, or having to work much harder to breathe.
High-dose amoxicillin is used as a first-line agent for children with uncomplicated community-acquired pneumonia, which provides coverage for Streptococcus pneumoniae. Second- or third-generation cephalosporins and macrolide antibiotics such as azithromycin are acceptable alternatives.