Can I help prevent another bout of pneumonia?

[ninaprettyballerina]

This time last year my 2 yr old DS2 suffered with pneumonia (relatively mild but scary for us all).
Now I can see similar signs - cold, cough, wheezy. But no temperature or sign of chest infection yet. I fear he may be prone to this from now on at this time of year. Is there anything I can do to help prevent it?

My ds had bacterial pneumonia in May and I asked the paediatrician what I could do to prevent him catching it again and she said nothing. Was just 'one of those things' apparently.

The temperature is a give away, you will know quickly if it's more than a cold.

Actually one thing that does cause it is shallow breathing - dh caught it twice due to broken ribs, refusing pain relief therefore shallow breathing and pneumonia!

Flu vaccine

And pneumovax if he hasnt had it already

Flu vaccine.

Other than that nothing. I know how you feel - ds is almost 7 and 3 years ago got swine flu and pneumonia. He TOUCH WOOD hasn't had it again though although it definitely made him more susceptible to bugs for a while and he had chest infections.

One of my DC had recurrent pneumonia (4 times in a year!) and was prescribed a brown inhaler (steroids). He doesn't have asthma but the inhaler has made such a difference. No chest infections since he started it which was 18 months ago.

I'm not sure.

What you can do is be extremely proactive about infection control over the winter months and ensure he is in good 'condition' with plenty of food and keeping sensibly warm. I believe researxh has shown that the simple act of washing your hands when you come into the house as well as taking shoes off by the door helps minimise the spread of infection.

Obviously the vaccination is something to consider but also speak to GP about any other precautions you could take. When I was a child I had pneumonia and after that used to be kept inside on cold days - I've no idea now if thats good advice or not!

I've had pneumonia twice, with a five year gap. Not sure you can do much to prevent it other than trying to eat whatever you can that's healthy. Sounds silly, but I don't like my ribcage getting cold any more when I'm ill, so usually put a vest or extra tshirt on to keep it warm.

On both occasions I've had a temperature for a couple of days, despite it being a few days after the cold/flu has come. I normally feel really weak - last time couldn't even face the effort of having a bath for three days. However, the thing that's made me see the doctor is when I get chest pains as that's when it's kicking in and I start finding it hard to breath.