Question
“My ten-month-old daughter has pediatric pneumonia and throws up after feeding. What should I do?”
Answer
“Hello: After a cold, the child may experience symptoms like fever and cough, and in severe cases, it can lead to pneumonia. So, how can parents determine if their child has pneumonia? Observe for signs of increased breathing rate. Since the 1980s, the World Health Organization (WHO) has been actively promoting ‘management of acute respiratory infections’ in developing countries, establishing a simple and easy-to-understand ‘routine for acute respiratory infections’ to judge whether a child has pneumonia and the severity of the condition by observing if the child has an increased breathing rate and chest indentation. When observing the child’s breathing rate, make sure the child is calm. The breathing rate of a calm child varies with age. For infants under two months old, it should be less than 60 times per minute; for those between two months and one year, less than 50 times per minute; and for children between one and four years old, less than 40 times per minute. Chest indentation refers to the inward indentation of the lower chest wall when the child inhales. If the child has coughing along with an increased breathing rate, it indicates mild pneumonia; if there is increased breathing rate with chest indentation, it indicates severe pneumonia; and if there are also difficulties in drinking water and cyanosis, it indicates extremely severe pneumonia. Mild pneumonia can be treated at home; severe pneumonia requires hospitalization. However, if any symptoms are detected, it is necessary to go to the hospital for a doctor’s diagnosis first.”