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| |    Treating and Preventing Pneumonia by Lynn Cates, M.D., F.A.A.P. reviewed by Laura Jana, M.D., F.A.A.P. For children with some types of pneumonia, nothing can be done--or needs to be done--other than doing your best to make them feel comfortable, tending to fever, and watching out for dehydration. In other instances, very specific and effective treatments are available to treat pneumonia. In addition to understanding how to treat pneumonia, you can also protect your child from getting certain types of potentially serious pneumonia by seeing that she receives her routine immunizations on time. Treatment of pneumonia An important part of treating pneumonia includes general measures to make the child more comfortable, such as giving him fever and cough medicine, plenty of fluids, and rest. Keep in mind that antibiotic therapy does not help viral infections, so if your child's health care provider suspects viral pneumonia, he may elect to hold off on antibiotic therapy. This is particularly important nowadays, since the overuse of antibiotics is leading to an ever-increasing problem with infections due to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Antiviral therapy may be indicated under certain circumstances for influenza and RSV pneumonia, but usually is not needed. Regardless of what type of pneumonia a child has, her healthcare provider should follow her closely. Even if a child only starts out with a mild case of viral pneumonia that doesn't require specific treatment, she may go on to develop bacterial pneumonia requiring antibiotic therapy, since the virus can increase her susceptibility to bacterial infections. In more serious cases of bacterial pneumonia, a child might even need to receive antibiotics intravenously (through the vein). Severe pneumonia of any kind usually requires hospitalization for close observation and in some cases, oxygen therapy or mechanical ventilation (using a machine to assist breathing) in an intensive care unit. Prevention Vaccines are highly effective against some of the most serious kinds of pneumonia, including measles pneumonia, pertussis (whooping cough), pneumococci, type b Haemophilus, (Hib) and influenza. There are no specific measures that can be taken to prevent most kinds of viral pneumonia, but good infection-control practices, such as hand washing, not sharing tissues, and avoiding crowds during cold and flu season, may help.
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