Don't Overlook Pneumococcus: Protecting Children from Pneumonia

Currently, over one million children under the age of five worldwide die each year from pneumococcal infections, and there have been cases of severe pneumonia in young children in Hong Kong from time to time. This is because the immune systems of children are not yet fully developed and their immunity is lower than that of adults. Moreover, they often come into contact with other children and teachers in school, making cross-infection easy if someone is infected with respiratory diseases.

When children are infected with pneumococcal diseases, they usually suffer from more severe conditions. Therefore, they should get vaccinated timely to prevent infections. If a child shows symptoms of pneumococcal infection, it is important to seek prompt medical attention. Generally speaking, they should recover quickly after being prescribed appropriate medication by a doctor, with only a few severe cases leading to long-term complications.

Common symptoms of pneumococcal infections

-Persistent cough

-High fever

-Thick phlegm when coughing

-Inability to cough up thick phlegm

-Difficulty breathing

If the condition is severe, it can lead to various complications, even threatening life:

-Pulmonary oedema

-Otitis media

-Invasive pneumonia

-Meningitis

-Sepsis

How to treat pneumococcal infection?

Antibiotics are only effective against bacterial infections and cannot treat viral infections. Although appropriate oral antibiotics can be prescribed for treating childhood pneumonia, it does not mean that all pneumonia is caused by bacteria.

Other causes of infection include fungi, viruses, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, etc. The ideal way to treat pneumococcal infection is to use the patient's sputum sample for a culture and then prescribe targeted medication. However, many children do not know how to cough up thick phlegm, and the sample obtained often only includes saliva, greatly reducing the accuracy of the test.

Therefore, doctors will also perform blood tests and X-ray examinations. If the patient's white blood cell count in the blood significantly increases and the X-ray image shows abnormalities, this helps determine whether the patient has bacterial pneumonia.

After following the general treatment procedure and prescribing antibiotics, doctors still need to closely monitor the young patient's condition. If the condition does not improve after medication, it may indicate that the bacteria has developed drug resistance or the inflammation is caused by other sources mentioned above. In such cases, the patient may need to be referred to the hospital immediately for detailed examination, and may also need to switch to stronger intravenous antibiotics or other types of medication depending on clinical judgment. Patients should never delay treatment.

Prevention is better than cure: Boost immunity in multiple ways

Parents can take various measures to raise their children’s awareness of disease prevention. For example, parents should teach them to wash their hands frequently to avoid bacteria and viruses entering the body through the respiratory tract, wear a mask when they are sick, and avoid rubbing their eyes or nose or putting fingers into their mouth.

When going out with children, parents should bring wet wipes to maintain hygiene, ensure that they drink plenty of water, get enough rest, and have a balanced diet. It is best to get your children vaccinated against influenza and pneumococcus, which can effectively prevent severe infections caused by various types of pneumococci. This is a very important and effective preventive measure.

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