2.5YO Ds has pneumonia, how common is this in such a young one? Very worried

[QwertyQueen]

Is is in 1 lung and he is at home on antibiotics so it can't be too serious but it is so horrible watching his raspy breathing
I keep wondering if I should have done something differently, sigh, please make me feel better

pneumonia is a catch all word for anything causing fluid on the lungs, this can be viral, bacterial or aspirated (inhaled)

my ds2 has aspirated pneumonia minutes after being born as he inhaled blood on the way out (in too much of a rush to get breathing )

be warned, they give ab's anyway to stop the fluid getting infected but if it's viral the ab's won't actually shift it. has he been given a good expectorant and strong painkillers? dp had pneumonia few months back and he just had to cough the muck up... incredibly painful and he needed very strong painkillers, one doc gave him ones that weren't stong enough for him to cough without blinding pain and our own gp was appalled and gave him super strength ones instead.

it can take ages to shift but kids generally heal faster so he might be better really quickly... ds2 was out of scbu in 5 days and his lungs were practically clear at that stage.

it's just one of those things, don't beat yourself up, he's being treated now and by the sounds of it it isn't too nasty a case or at his age he'd have been admitted.

snuggle up with him and have a few duvet days, you could both use them

he has been given ab's but nothing else.
He doesnt appear to be in pain when he coughs, and nothing is coming up although it is a wet cough.
I am giving him Calpol for the fever which helps.
He had a cold for a week or so before, so I assume it is viral pneumonia? If the ab's don't shift it, what will?

Thanks for the reply!
Think I am going to do a DVD shop tomorrow!

three of mine have had pnuemonia.

two have immune probs admitted so they are at risk, but DS1 has no such issues, and he had it twice as a teeny.

tis a lot more common that many people think so I have been led to understand by my paed.

don;t blame yourself please. tis just 'one of those things', like tonsilitis is, and tummy bugs, it just sounds far scarier.

time is about the only thing that'll help. lots of rest and time to get over it. the ab's are still really important to stop the fluid becoming infected though.

try picking up some Exputex.. it's a cough medicine that's really good for helping to bring up phlegm.. it's suitable from age 2 so should be ok for him. dp found it made a huge differance for him.

have become an expert on friggin pneumonia over the last few months bbetween dp and ds2 dvd's sound like a good plan!

My dd has had it 5 times since last May. She's always been given antibiotics and steroids. It usually takes her about 2 weeks to start feeling better - and has been admitted 3 times. I don't think there's anything that you could have done to avoid it, we still don't know if there's a reason dd keeps getting it, she's having tests atm. I hope he feels better soon.

just before christmas my dd2 spent 6 days in hospital with pneumonia, both sides - one worse than the other. She was 20 months then. She had anti - b's via a drip, but made a good recovery.

She has had 2 chest infections since, unfortunately, and just seems to pick up everything going atm, which apparantly is fairly normal.

last time they gave her a course of steroids, to give her chest a good clear out, which does seem to have helped enormously (fingers crossed)

really hope your lo gets better soon

it is just so heartbreaking.
I hope we see an improvement in him tomorrow,
the doctor wants to see him again on Friday.
Glad all your LO's are on the mend or mended

does the fever last the whole time until they are better?

dp's fever broke after a day or 2 but the coughing and pain went on for several weeks. don't panic though, kids really are much faster healers!

as he fever subsides, they obviously get better. If it's bacterial, then the fever is a sign of the infection x

ds1 had double pneumonia at 11 weeks (lucky boy). because he was bf they let me keep him at home, but lent me all the kit (with strict instructions to take him to hospital if he turned blue lol). we had to nebulise him 5 times a day for 15 minutes whilst he screamed blue murder and we had to try and keep the mask on him. i have to say it wasn't exactly what i had in mind with my darling newborn lol. the mask gave him a plastic phobia so we had real trouble weaning later on. good job he was bf lol.

incidentally i was told by the gp that his chest was clear, but because he was such a dot and had an unexplained temp we were referred to the paed for chest x ray as it was rsv season. cue x ray showing infection of both lungs. aspirate sample tested ans it was rsv. hey ho.

they did warn me he might have scarring and develop asthma as a result, but no signs yet (and he's 7 now lol)