Is fever a "signal" of pneumonia? Children with pneumonia also have these atypical symptoms

After the beginning of autumn, the temperature changes frequently, and the number of children with pneumonia has increased. Many parents believe that fever is the specific symptom of pneumonia, but this is not the case. There are also many children with atypical pneumonia. So, what are the atypical symptoms of pneumonia? How to prevent and treat atypical pneumonia in children?

On December 2, 2011, medical staff were giving intravenous drips to sick children at Ganyu County People's Hospital in Jiangsu Province.

(Si Wei/People's Picture)

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"Only when the baby has a fever can he get pneumonia", this idea is wrong. Parents cannot use the fever or the duration of the fever as the basis for judging whether the child has pneumonia. The Shenyang Evening News mentioned that some babies have developed pneumonia after only two days of fever, and some babies have a fever for a week and it is not caused by pneumonia. Some babies may also have pneumonia if they only cough without fever, which may be related to personal constitution. Therefore, parents must not ignore it, and they need to judge it in combination with several other aspects. Generally speaking, children with pneumonia have severe coughs, some of which manifest as dry coughs, and some coughs with sputum. Moreover, the mental state of the children is poor, and they are often anorexic and drowsy. Some children also have gastrointestinal reactions such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Severely ill children may have symptoms such as shortness of breath, flaring of the nose, and depression of the sternum.

To prevent children from getting pneumonia, Wang Fang, head nurse of the Pediatric Department of Shaanxi Friendship Hospital, suggested in an interview with China National Radio:

1. Get vaccinated on time;

2. Eat a balanced diet, do not be picky about food, increase outdoor sports, exercise more, and try to avoid crowded places to avoid cross infection;

3. Take good care of your hands to reduce the chance of getting sick;

4. Try to stay away from people with respiratory infections, including family members;

5. Get more sun exposure and keep windows open to keep indoor ventilation;

6. If a child develops symptoms such as fever, temperature rising and falling, or mental depression, he or she should seek medical attention immediately.

If a child has pneumonia, parents should pay more attention to the baby's diet. Yangcheng Evening News recommends that since children have a poor appetite during illness, breast-fed or mixed-fed children should continue to maintain the original feeding method; older children should mainly eat light, easily digestible liquid or semi-liquid food, such as noodles, clear soup, etc.

In addition, Yangcheng Evening News also reminds parents that during the illness, they should let their children drink plenty of water to dilute the sticky phlegm and cough it out of the body; if the baby coughs badly at night, they can slightly raise their head and sleep on the left and right sides to facilitate the discharge of respiratory secretions and relieve cough symptoms; if the child has a fever, pay attention to cooling down and pay more attention to the child's mental state. If any abnormality is found, seek help from a doctor in time. (Li Siting)

This article was scientifically reviewed by Tian Donglin, deputy chief physician of the Department of Pediatrics at Nanjing Tongren Hospital.