Hospital treatment can include IV given into a vein antibiotics and fluids and breathing treatments. More serious cases might be treated in the intensive care unit ICU. Kids with pneumonia need to get plenty of rest and drink lots of liquids while the body works to fight the infection.
If your child has bacterial pneumonia and the doctor prescribed antibiotics, give the medicine on schedule for as long as directed. Keeping up with the medicine doses will help your child recover faster and help prevent the infection from spreading to others in the family. If your child is wheezing, the doctor might recommend using breathing treatments.
Ask the doctor before you use a medicine to treat your child's cough. Over-the-counter cough and cold medicines are not recommended for any kids under 6 years old. With treatment, most types of bacterial pneumonia are cured in 1—2 weeks. Walking pneumonia and viral pneumonia may take 4—6 weeks to go away completely. In general, pneumonia is not contagious, but the upper respiratory viruses and bacteria that lead to it are.
Sharing drinking glasses and eating utensils, and touching used tissues or handkerchiefs of an infected person also can spread pneumonia. If someone in your home has a respiratory infection or throat infection, keep their drinking glasses and eating utensils separate from those of other family members, and wash your hands well and often, especially if you're handling used tissues or dirty handkerchiefs.
Some types of pneumonia can be prevented by vaccines. It may also make the medicine not work as well for your child in the future. Pneumonia caused by a virus cannot be treated with antibiotics. Viral pneumonia usually goes away on its own. It might take weeks for your child to get all his energy back. Some days will be better than others. Allow your child to resume activities gradually. Pneumonia PDF.
Skip to Content. Urgent Care. In This Section. Conditions We Treat Pneumonia. Children with bacterial pneumonia usually improve within 48 hours of starting antibiotics. It is very important to complete the whole course of antibiotics, even if your child seems much better.
Treatment will continue for 3 to 7 days. Your child may continue to cough for up to three weeks after treatment, but this is nothing to worry about if they are otherwise getting better. Children who are very unwell with bacterial pneumonia may be admitted to hospital for antibiotics given directly into a vein through a drip intravenous or IV therapy.
Some children may also need oxygen or extra fluids. Viral pneumonia is usually not as severe as bacterial pneumonia. However, recovery can be slower, taking up to four weeks. Antibiotics do not cure viruses and are not given for viral pneumonia. After a doctor has diagnosed your child with mild pneumonia, you can usually care for them at home.
Keep your child up to date with their immunisations and yearly influenza shots. The best way to avoid getting pneumonia is to avoid getting respiratory infections. Teach your child not to share food, drinks and eating utensils with other children. This can be difficult in younger children, especially those at child care or kindergarten, as they often put shared toys in their mouths.
Immunised children will have a much smaller risk of becoming infected with pneumonia in these instances. Good hygiene is important for preventing the spread of pneumonia, so teach your child to wash their hands thoroughly after coughing orsneezing to prevent the spread of germs. We acknowledge the input of RCH consumers and carers. To donate, visit www.
This information is intended to support, not replace, discussion with your doctor or healthcare professionals. The authors of these consumer health information handouts have made a considerable effort to ensure the information is accurate, up to date and easy to understand.
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