Pneumonia is a severe infectious disease characterized by inflammation of the lungs. In children, the disease is accompanied by coughing, breathing problems, and intoxication. It is necessary to treat pneumonia in children with antibiotic therapy, antipyretic and expectorant drugs.
Features of therapy for pediatric pneumonia
When treating pneumonia in children, all procedures require consistency. The most important thing is to start therapy on time, to choose the most effective methods. There are three main groups of drugs. When choosing drugs, one should take into account the pathogen microorganism and select specially targeted antibacterial drugs. In this case, funds will be required to alleviate the condition of the child.
Pediatric pneumonia is classified into 2 types: clinical and community-acquired. Also, depending on the lesions of the lung tissue, several types of the disease are distinguished:
- focal;
- focal-drainage;
- share;
- segmental;
- interstitial.
The treatment process is based on three main areas:
- Etiotropic therapy. It is aimed at destroying pathogenic bacteria and preventing their reproduction. It is required to start with the use of antibacterial drugs.
- Symptomatic treatment. This group of medicines includes those that can alleviate the condition of the baby. For example, relieve pain, lower temperature.
- Surgical intervention is required for complications during the course of the disease. Surgery is rarely required.
The regimen is of particular importance in the treatment of pneumonia. For children with pneumonia, bed rest is strongly recommended. At the same time, experts strongly recommend putting babies under one year of age in a hospital.
Taking medications
Drug treatment is reduced to taking antibacterial and symptomatic drugs according to a certain scheme.
Antibacterial treatment
Antibacterial drugs include broad-spectrum drugs of the penicillin series: Ampicillin and Amoxicillin in combination with clavulanic acid. Cefazolin and Cefuroxime or Roxithromycin and Azithromycin may be prescribed. If the disease is severe, stronger antibiotics are prescribed. For example, Amoxicillin with aminoglycosides or cephalosporins of the III and IV generation are prescribed.
Previously, pediatricians prescribe a sputum test to identify the causative agent of the disease. This procedure allows you to choose a more effective treatment with antibacterial drugs. The study takes a certain amount of time, therefore, it is more often prescribed to confirm the correctness of the chosen therapy or to prescribe more effective drugs. Sputum is collected from children in a bacterial laboratory.
There are certain standards for prescribing pills, injections and other medicines:
- For pneumococcal and gram-negative flora of the upper respiratory tract, preparations of the semisynthetic penicillin group are recommended.
- At the initial stages of the development of pneumonia, pediatricians prescribe treatment with cephalosporins of 3-4 generations.
- Macrolides are suitable for combined treatment.
- If complications develop, it is recommended to start treatment with fluoroquinolones.
The dosage, form of drugs, duration and treatment regimen are determined by the pediatrician on an individual basis. It is unacceptable to make changes without consulting a specialist.
Symptomatic therapy
There are several types of medicines used to treat the symptoms of pneumonia:
- Antipyretic. One of the most effective drugs in this group is Paracetamol. It is suitable for reducing fever, eliminating fever. If the child’s body temperature is above 40 degrees, a lytic mixture is prescribed, which is administered once.
- Pain relievers. To reduce pain syndromes, non-hormonal anti-inflammatory drugs are used. These include Ibuprofen, which also helps lower fever.
- Mucolytic. This group of drugs is designed to thin and remove phlegm, reduce coughing.
- Infusion. Drugs prescribed for complications such as collapse, exicosis, microcirculation disorders, imbalance of trace elements in the blood.
Pneumonia is a dangerous disease. Therefore, you should not experiment with self-selection of drugs for pneumonia for children. Medication therapy should be prescribed by a doctor. It is important at the initial stage of the development of the disease to consult a specialist for the selection of treatment. Infants must be treated in a hospital setting.
ethnoscience
There are enough traditional medicines to treat pneumonia in a child. It is not recommended to prescribe them yourself; in any case, you should consult a specialist.
When accompanied by pneumonia with a dry cough, it is recommended to add herbal infusions, teas, decoctions to the main treatment. Decoctions can be prepared on the basis of marshmallow, licorice root, oregano. According to the recommendations of pediatricians, it is worth stopping taking these funds at the first improvements, since the child’s body is able to quickly get used to the components with prolonged use.
Tea based on Siberian water, drinks from cherries, black radish with the addition of liquid honey will help get rid of thick phlegm.
For the treatment of pneumonia, a decoction made from the following components is excellent:
- 750 ml of natural liquid honey (linden or buckwheat is the best option);
- 100 g of birch buds (sold at the pharmacy).
Honey is heated to a liquid state, but not boiled. Then the kidneys are placed in it and kept on low heat for 5 minutes. Honey should not boil, as in this case it will lose all its beneficial properties. The resulting broth is filtered through a sieve. The child should be given a decoction before bedtime (can be mixed with water). The dosage is determined by the doctor.
If a child develops intoxication syndrome, then pediatricians recommend the following recipes:
- Brew a couple of tablespoons of mother-and-stepmother leaves with a glass of boiling water and leave for half an hour.
- Brew tea with the addition of rose hips to maintain immunity.
- Insist honey with finely chopped agave leaves for a week.
With a complicated form of pneumonia, pediatricians advise adding a decoction of oats and milk to the main therapy. The drink must be fresh.
Special homemade pastes will help to cope with inflammation. They are prepared from walnuts, lemon, aloe juice. All ingredients are scrolled in a meat grinder and then mixed with honey and butter. You can add a little red wine (it is better to choose Cahors). It is imperative to store the paste in the refrigerator and give it to the patient before meals.
The effectiveness of pneumonia treatment depends on the correctness of the selected methods and means. When the first symptoms of pneumonia appear in a child, it is necessary to go to the hospital. The doctor will determine whether treatment at home is suitable or whether it is better to put the baby in a hospital. With the right approach, even complex pneumonia can be cured in 1-2 months.