Confused .. if DD has been given antibiotics for pneumonia ...

[Twiglett]

that means its not viral right?

because Antibiotics don't work for viruses, do they?

so does that mean it isn't contagious?

so wonder how she got it?

(I am a bear of very little brain today .. due to very little sleep)

I'm pretty sure that pneumonia is not viral and not contagious - it's a bacterial infection which probably would have been triggered by a virus though - like ear infections, normal chest infections and tonsilitis.

Bacterial infections can be contagious - bacterial meningitis, for instance.

Hope dd gets better soon.

Pneumonia can be viral OR bacterial. Hope dd is feeling better today.

Twig - having viral pneumonia can pre-dispose you to having a bacterial infection so the anti-b's are probably more preventative than anything else. Also they may not be sure that the pnuemonia is actually viral, it's not always possible to make a definite dx IIRC.

I was under the impression that pneumonia is the result of a bacterial infection rather than an infection in its own right IYSWIM. Kind of like a chest infection gone bad so to speak. Not entirely sure though I have to say.

I think ds got pneumonia after having a chest infection that went bad. Bloody stupid doctor kept telling me 'all kids get coughs' and asking stupid questions like 'is this your first baby' ds ended up in hospital for over a week!!!

elibean - pneumonia can be viral, but twig would know if her dd had the viral variety - it is very rare but usually fatal and if not fatal requires serious serious treatment (like organ transplants).

actually no, could be wrong about that. A friend died from viral pneumonia when i was young and I get twitchy thinking about it.

I'm not sure that's necessarily true is it, SP? My dad had viral pneumonia and he wasn't it great shape but it wasn't that bad. I thought it was rarely fatal to be honest.

Oops sorry, cross-posted. Sorry about your friend

Oh, and for my third post in a row-- sorry you've been going through all this Twiglett, what a nightmare. I think it can be contagious but is not very.

yes, hope she's better soon.

thank you

You know I think because of my age I just have a visceral reaction to the term pneumonia when its really just a catch all for a chest infection isn't it?

DD sleeping now anyway

The bizarre thing is that DS1 had no hint of a chest infection before, during or after his bout of pneumonia. No hacking cough, nothing. Just horribly ill, huge shadow on a lung and perked up with IV As and come TLC. Really strange.

yes .. minimal coughing here too in fact if it hadn't been for the high temp I just couldn't get down I would have thought she had a mild cold ..

How's she doing?

good I think .. seems to come and go in phases

today she's be clingy and fairly upset and she had a hot hot night last night, but yesterday during the day she had more good spells than bad it seems

she's asleep at the moment .. best medicine IMO

Absolutely.

Pneumonia is serious but I think it's such a scary word because our own parents and grandparents remember it in the days before antibiotics, when it was untreatable and recovery was a matter of luck. Thankfully we've got effective drugs now.

Yes....thank goodness for the drugs, eh. SA, I'm so sorry about your friend - I mentioned the viral sort because my sister had it (it lasted a couple of weeks, but wasn't too serious and she was fine afterwards). You're right, Twiglett, its such a catch-all phrase - with the whole range of symptoms: my sister had NO temp, but a cough - your DD with a high temp and hardly any cough, etc. I'm glad she's getting more good spells - sounds like its going in the right direction. Here's wishing her (and you) a cooler night...xx

How are things today Twiglett? Improving I hope. My son has pneumonia at the moment too. I agree with you about having good periods and bad periods. We are on day four of treatment now so hope there will be more good periods than bad. His temperature is certainly back in the normal range, after a week of 40plus.

I came on here to look for advice about recovery but spotted this thread so had to join! But if anyone has any advice about how long till my DS is back to normal I would be very grateful. The hospital said it could take up to a month to get over the extreme weakness/tiredness etc. Thanks

PS We were told that DS's pneumonia was not catching. Apparently it is a secondary bacterial infection (following another infection he had somewhere that we weren't aware of eg ear/throat/chest etc.) the first infection would ahve been contagious but not the resulting pneumonia. confused? I was!