Question
Recently, many children in the kindergarten have caught colds, suspected to be the flu. To avoid cross-infection, although my child has a good constitution and no special symptoms, they have been coughing frequently at night and have a fever recently. Could this be a sign of pneumonia? What causes pneumonia?
Answer
Infant pneumonia is a lung inflammation condition, which can be categorized into alveolar pneumonia and interstitial pneumonia. Many parents are puzzled as to why a child who has only been coughing for one or two days could suddenly develop pneumonia. This may be related to the type of pathogen causing the pneumonia. For example, influenza virus infections can sometimes rapidly develop into severe pneumonia. Particularly for infants with weaker resistance, such as those under three months old and newborns, once infected with pneumonia, the clinical symptoms may be more severe.