What enters your mind when you start hearing your child coughing and developing a fever? My neighbour once told me that she is afraid her daughter would have pneumonia and be hospitalized.
Community acquired pneumonia can be treated outside of the hospital if the risk classification for pneumonia-related mortality is found to be minimal and low. Those classified as having moderate to high risk is advised to be admitted at the hospital.
Here are some variables considered for risk classification that parents can monitor:
1- Respiratory rate
You can suspect pneumonia when your child has cough if there is an abnormally RAPID rate of breathing, also known as TACHYPNEA. The WHO (World Health Organization) has an age specific criteria for tachypnea:
Observe your child's breathing pattern and use a watch with a second hand. You can count the number of times their chest or tummy rises and falls. You can do this by LOOKING or PLACING YOUR HAND on their chest/ tummy. Remember, ONE rise AND fall is counted as ONE Breath. As you keep an eye on these areas for a full minute, also note any sucking in of the skin in these areas:
Middle of the neck, above the sternum/breastbone
In between each rib
Below the rib cage
This sucking in of the skin is called a RETRACTION and will indicate that your child is working very hard to breathe. It is also an indication for admission to the hospital.
2- Watch for rock stars and alar flaring
The rock star is also known as HEAD BOBBING and is seen in infants when their scalene and sternocleidomastoid muscles contract to help them take bigger breaths. Watch this video:
You can observe yourself in the mirror and look at your nose as you take a big deep breath. The widening of the nose that you see is called alar flaring. If you note this or a change of color to a bluish/gray color in the hands or feet of your child, bring them immediately to a doctor.
3- Listen to them speak
My two year old loves to sing and talk. So when she got sick, my attention was drawn to how she would catch her breath in the middle of speaking and how it was low in volume and minimal. If this happens to your child during rest (and not after running around), a trip to the doctor is warranted.
What can you do to protect your kids?
- Get your annual flu vaccine
- Let household members with cough/colds wear a face mask and cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing
- Maintain a clean environment to avoid allergic triggers
- Stop smoking around them
- Observe frequent hand washing
- Eat lots of fruit and vegetables
I hope this article was helpful and easy to understand. Share and Care to empower our community of parents.
All my love,
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