Most pneumonia in children is caused by a virus.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — Pneumonia is still a scourge for children. Chairperson of the Indonesian Pediatrician Association (IDAI) Respirology UKK 2021-2024 Rina Triasih explain disease pneumonia causes impaired oxygen exchange and the effect is a natural lack of oxygen. Most pneumonia that attacks children attacks the upper respiratory tract.
Rina explained, pneumonia which is an inflammation of the lungs or lung infection, especially the lower part, namely in the bag.
“Then if the children who have pneumonia have an upper respiratory tract infection, so it doesn’t infect the pockets in the lungs. If the lung sac area is infected, oxygen exchange is disrupted so that the child is deprived of oxygen,” he said during a virtual conference themed Forgotten killer pneumonia, fight with stop pneumonia, Monday (22/11).
Symptoms of pneumonia are similar to the symptoms of Covid-19. Rina added, pneumonia is caused by various kinds of germs, including viruses. When infected with Covid-19 which is caused by a virus, that is one of the causes of pneumonia.
“Most pneumonia in children is caused by a virus, but not Covid-19 but influenza,” he said.
Not only that, he continued, bacteria can also cause pneumonia. In fact, the probability of death from pneumonia due to bacteria is much higher when compared to pneumonia due to a virus or Covid-19.
He reminds Symptoms of pneumonia in children easily recognized by parents. When a child has pneumonia, it will usually be preceded by a cough and runny nose or it can also have a fever or it can be without a fever.
If left after four days then make the child begin to limp or not as active as usual. Not only that, he also mentioned that the child also did not want to eat or if he was still a baby he was lazy to drink mother’s milk.
“Then the main symptom in pneumonia is breathing becomes fast. So, the child’s shoulders can go up and down or like gasping for air,” he said.
If the pneumonia gets worse, he continued, the child tries hard to take as many breaths as possible because of the lack of oxygen. Thus, he continued, the body between the chest and abdomen became concave. Regarding the fast breathing limits calculated for children, he said that each child has their own limits.
However, he cites the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) has made a normal respiratory rate standard. If children are up to two months old, they have a normal respiratory rate if not more than 60 times per minute. If you are 2 months to a year old, you have a normal respiratory rate of no more than 50 times per minute. Then a year to 5 years no more than 40 times per minute.
“So, mothers must understand their children when conditions are normal,” he said.
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