Battling pneumonia
NoRADLInA RoSEMI TALKS ABouT HER SonS’ FIGHT AGAInST THE DISEASE
PNEUMONIA happens when lungs are infected, causing small sacs called alveoli inside the organ to be filled with pus and fluid instead of air in a healthy person. This makes breathing difficult and limits oxygen intake.
Anyone can get pneumonia. While it is treatable and preventable, it remains deadly.
Those with a weaker immune system such as very young children and older adults are especially vulnerable. Individuals with a healthy immune system can usually fight off the infection successfully.
In Malaysia, pneumonia is second on the Department of Statistics’s report on principal causes of death for 2018, after coronary heart disease. It is the main cause of death for children aged zero to 14 last year, with 234 deaths. From that figure, 170 are below 5.
Globally, the World Health Organisation calls pneumonia the single largest infectious cause of death for children under 5, with more than 808,000 pneumonia deaths worldwide in 2017. HOSPITAL STAY Such figures are enough to make any parent worry. For Noradlina Rosemi, her concerns are founded when one of her 4-year-old twin sons, Rex Zayd Muttaqin, was diagnosed with pneumonia recently.
“He started with a cough and fever that didn’t settle even after we gave him overthe-counter medicine. As a pharmacist, I know that this could be serious, so we went for an emergency check-up. He ended up being hospitalised for 10 days,” says the 33-year-old.
It brought back memories when her other son Rumi Zane Muttaqin came down with pneumonia as a baby. It was before the twins had their pneumococcal vaccines and Rumi Zane was also warded for 10 days.
“He was far weaker than his brother had been recently,” says Noradlina. “I understand that Rex Zayd had atypical pneumonia caused by mycoplasma infection. There’s no vaccine for this particular bacterium but I can see the difference. Rex would’ve been a lot worse if he was never vaccinated,” she says.
According to WebMD, pneumonia from mycoplasma infection is also called walking pneumonia because it is usually quite mild. But there’s still the danger of infection because the bacteria spread through coughs and sneezes.
“I sometimes see this but parents really should not go out with their sick children. It could worsen the child’s condition or infect other people. I also worry that they may not tell the caregiver (at daycare) the full extent of their child’s condition and endanger other children,” she says. CARE PACKAGE For young children particularly, coughs are only one of the warning signs for pneumonia.
“Other suggestive symptoms include rapid or laboured breathing and flaring of the nostrils, which warrants a visit to the doctor,” says Gleneagles paediatric consultant Dr Patrick Chan.
The condition may worsen to the point where the lips and nails turn blue due to the lack of oxygen. The child may even be drowsy and cannot be roused. By now, it is imperative that they are sent to the hospital immediately.
But there are also less specific symptoms of pneumonia, such as fever, lethargy, shivers and poor appetite.
Babies may be fretful and irritable. A visit to the doctor’s, who will listen to their heartbeat and see their chest X-ray, will usually confirm the diagnosis. Further tests will determine the cause of the disease, whether it’s a virus or bacteria.
“It’s important to identify the causative organism as it will determine the treatment. Children with bacterial pneumonia will be prescribed with antibiotics for seven to 10 days and there should be improvement within 48 hours of starting the course,” says Dr Chan.
The good news is, not all pneumonia cases require hospitalisation like twins Rex Zayd and Rumi Zane.
Children with mild pneumonia can be treated as an outpatient, with their condition reviewed by the doctor periodically.
But those with more severe bacterial pneumonia will be warded for antibiotics
Make sure the child is up to date with vaccination as this can reduce the risk of infection. Dr Patrick Chan