Why do children with pneumonia often have fever and difficulty breathing?

This is an automatically translated article.

The article is professionally consulted by Master, Doctor Nguyen Huy Nhat - Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec International General Hospital Da Nang.
Pneumonia is a type of lung infection caused by a virus, bacteria, fungus, or parasite. Young children are very susceptible to this disease. When children have pneumonia, they often have fever and difficulty breathing. This article will help you find the answer to the question of why pneumonia causes fever, shortness of breath or pneumonia in children with cough.

1. What is pneumonia?

According to experts, pneumonia is a condition in which the alveolar ducts, alveolar sacs, lung parenchyma are infected and inflamed into the interstitial tissues.
Pneumonia causes the mucus in the air sacs in the lungs to increase, leading to a decrease in the amount of oxygen supplied to the blood. This is the reason why pneumonia makes it difficult to breathe.

2. Symptoms of pneumonia

Symptoms of pneumonia in each person are different, depending on age, the cause of the disease. Children with pneumonia often have basic signs such as:
Rapid breathing, wheezing, labored breathing: People with pneumonia often have difficulty breathing, need to increase breathing rate to get enough oxygen to supply the body's activities. , resulting in abnormally rapid breathing; Fever: Pneumonia with fever is often a symptom of viral and bacterial pneumonia. Patients can have a high fever of up to 41 degrees Celsius; Headache: The patient will feel a headache due to fever; Cough; Stuffy nose; Nausea, vomiting; Chills; Chest tightness; Stomachache; Anorexia, poor feeding; Purple lips, purple fingertips...

3. Causes of pneumonia in children

There are many causes of pneumonia in children, which can be caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. In particular, viruses are the main cause of disease, including: rhinovirus, influenza virus (influenza A, B), adenovirus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and parainfluenza virus.
Most cases of pneumonia are caused by an upper respiratory tract infection (infection of the nose and pharynx). The patient will feel a sore throat or have symptoms of a cold, which will then spread to the lungs. At that time, the fluid, white blood cells, debris will gather in the lung parenchyma, obstructing the air, making the lungs work less efficiently.
Young children are very susceptible to pneumonia and the disease in children also progresses very quickly. The child may have a sudden high fever and difficulty breathing, unusually fast breathing, especially when the pneumonia is caused by bacteria. If your child has viral pneumonia, the symptoms are less severe.

4. How to treat pneumonia?

If the child has viral pneumonia, antibiotics are not needed. Antibiotics are only used for bacterial pneumonia. Depending on the type of bacteria, the patient will be prescribed the appropriate antibiotic.
Because pneumonia in children progresses very quickly and unpredictably, when a child shows signs of lethargy, high fever that does not go down, difficulty breathing, vomiting, repeated pneumonia, it is necessary to take them to the hospital. The child goes to the hospital for a check-up.
In case of pneumonia requiring treatment at the hospital, the patient will be given intravenous antibiotics, intravenous fluids to rehydrate, cool the body, use respiratory therapies...
Doctor Nguyen Huy Nhat has many years of experience in the field of respiratory disease treatment at Hue Central Hospital, Hoan My General Hospital,.. before being a doctor of General Internal Medicine Department of Vinmec Danang International General Hospital. .
If you notice that your child has unusual health problems, you should take the child to examine and consult with a specialist doctor.

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