3 Year Old with Pneumonia! :(

You can call the doctor to find out exactly what was in the shot, as this is something you should know. Also, ask for what you should be doing and what you should be watching for and when to call the doctor etc.

Try alternating Motrin with Tylonol. You can ask the doctor what is the rule of thumb for timing when alternating those two. I know you can give them a lot closer together than two doses of just one of those meds, but I can't remember how close together.

Also, try the classics, like a warm (not hot, not cold) bath, cool washcloths to the forehead, see if she will eat any popsicles of any kind or any watery foods like canned manderin oranges or watermelon. The doctor is right, the food is not critical, but keeping her hydration level up is. When my son is very sick, I even let him drink sugary juices, which normally are off-limits, just to keep his fluid levels up.

It's likely that she had a blood test done with a finger poke. Antibiotic shots are never given in the finger - they need to be injected into muscle usually the thigh for little kids. The blood test would help determine if the pneumonia is bacterial or viral. Bacterial is treated with antibiotics as well as treating the symptoms. Antibiotics do not treat viral illnesses though so then you will just treat the symptoms. If she does need antibiotics then your husband should have come home with a prescription for one.

Febrile seizures happen when the fever spikes quickly. Ibuprofen works well for fevers it can only be given every 6 hours though. You may give a tylenol dose inbetween ibuprofen doses if the fever is not subsiding.

In the meantime keep her hydrated and let her get plenty of rest. Let her eat when she is hungry. She probably won't have much of an appetite or much energy for a few days, until she starts feeling better. This is okay, just keep up her fluids and lots of rest.

In response to the advice that the pneumonia could turn into RSV - RSV is a different virus than pnuemonia. In addition RSV is dangerous for babies because they are not able to clear their nasal passages through blowing their noses and they depend on nasal breathing during feeding and sleeping. Older childen and adults get RSV every year, usually we just think we have a cold. RSV is also not very prevalent right now. We usually only test for it between November and April.

Hope this helps, C.

My son had pneumonia early last fall as well. Tylenol didn't help him much with the fever, either, so I did alternate ibuprofen and Tylenol (ibuprofen is better at bedtime and naptime because it lasts longer) about every 4 hours. Also, milk made things worse, so I gave him whatever he would take--juice or Gatorade or Pedialyte, also popsicles. The cold popsicle helps, as well as before bedtime, give her a bath in lukewarm water (NOT cold water) to help her feel better and get the fever down a bit so she can rest better!

Please listen closely to her chest at all times. If her breathing gets worse. it could turn into RSV. A upper respitory infection. Keep up with the Tylenol but when my son temp was high, i would often sit with him in a tub of cool water. Vics vapor might help on her chest. but with a temp of 103, she should be in the hospital. don't take her back to your doctor. take her to the ER. If she will eat, see if she will eat yogurt.She needs to cough up the congestion but she also needs rest. When my children were young I swore by Triminic night time. It helped the fever and allowed them to rest. My prayers are with you.

Yes, my child had pneumonia in 1 lung when he was 1. The pediatrician said it was very common for them to see it in kids. Don't worry, it's not the same as it is for seniors. The kids bounce back very quickly. He rec'd an antibiotic via IV for 45 minutes and that was all he needed. Yes, his breathing was labored and he didn't eat for a week. But your child will get back to normal within the month (she'll be eating before that but the energy level takes about another 2 weeks, I've found). The bad thing was that it made him more susceptible to problems with his air passageways for the first year afterwards so whenever he got a cold, we ended up having to do nebulizer treatments for the first year.

If she isn't eating enough give her some Popsicle. My pediatrician always recommends them for children with little appetite and fevers, it will make her feel better and taste good to her. I would not give her milk, unless she wants it. Keep her happy and comfy, and give her Tylenol and ibuprofen in rotation. She is on antibiotics, so basically it is just a matter of time to get it out of her system, if she spikes over 103 after 24 hours since she started the antibiotics then call your Dr again.

Good luck, I would hate to have my 3 year old have that.

C.,

If you didn't get instructions from your Pediatric office, that is where you need to go for advice. Call up the nurse hotline or contact the doctor who saw your daughter. You can get general advice from moms on this site, but no one has seen your daughter, knows her medical history (febrile seizures, etc.) or is a trained medical professional. Advice that may be appropriate for children in general with regular fevers doesn't always apply to every child in every situation with every condition.

I hope your daughter gets well soon,
S.

My 3 year old had pneumonia before she turned 3. She was down for a week. She didn't eat anything most of those days. The most important thing is fluids. I gave her anything she would drink except for milk or soda with caffeine. Clear soda is what she drank the most of so I let her have it all the time. Gatorade was good too. Ibuprofen worked best for her fever. Sometimes it would get really high and I had to give her tylenol in between Ibuprofen doses. (Doctors say this is okay to do.) Hope she feels better soon!

I agee with Shellie K. Call your pediatrician's office for instructions. I know how it can be when Dad takes the kids in for visits...they forget everything. It sounds like you've gotten mixed messages...I don't know of any antibiotic shots in the finger. She probably had a blood test. If you call the dr's office, they can clear things up for you.

Our 2yo was diagnosed with pneumonia last Monday. He has ahd fevers of 102-104 for several days as well. He was put on Augmentin, as he has bacterial pneumonia. Our MD said to use Tylenol/Motrin to keep him comfortable, but don't go overboard. The most important thing to do was to push fluids and let them rest. Good luck!

My son, who is almost 13 now and has mild asthma, had pnuemonia twice as a 2-year-old, all within about 4 months. Pneumonia does sound scary and can be serious, but it's also fairly common among children and most bounce back more quickly than adults unless they have some sort of underlying medical condition. I agree that you should find out what was in the shot she was given and whether she needs any follow-up meds. My son had oral antibiotics. If she isn't responding to the Tylenol try ibuprofen instead and you can alternate them. My little guy was pretty sick for about a week, but the 2nd time he had pneumonia he had strep at the same time so that complicated it. Our son couldn't sleep lying down because of the coughing and mucus. I actually slept with him in a chair and held him upright so he could breathe better. You could also try putting something under the head of her mattress to elevate it. If you do have any questions or she doesn't seem to be getting better don't hesitate to call the doctor back and ask questions. They should tell you what to look for if she gets worse and needs to go back in. Find out from your husband if they checked her blood oxygen levels. I'm assuming they did because that's pretty routine for respiratory illnesses. It was probably fine if they sent her home. If she continues to have coughing and/or breathing issues they can prescribe nebulizer treatments you can do at home. Hope she feels better soon!

Sounds like you have been getting a lot good advice! My 2 year old daughter had pneumonia this past winter. We used a cool mist humidifier in her bed room when she was sleeping and seemed to work miracles for her. We also found a bubble bath from Johnson and Johnson's that had some eucalyptus(I think it's call Soothing Bath)that really helped loosen up everything.
As far as eating, try some Popsicle or yogurt. I wouldn't expect much for the eating for now but just keep her hydrated with either some Gatorade or Pedilyte.
Hopefully she get's better soon!

First I would like to say I am sorry to hear your daughter is so sick. It is very hard to watch your children when they are sick. Second I have had similar situation with my ex-husband taking a child to the doctor and not being to answer the questions you would have asked because they simply didn't ask. You can call directly to the doctor after a visit and get more information and have your questions answered. That is what I had to do and even though I felt like it would be a great imposition on the Dr time he was happy to help and appreciated that there were caring parents that would want as much info as possible to help their child get better. Another thing I just wanted to mention is that children are very in tune to your reaction. I have watched my daughter with a cold get better because I was positive and strong then took her to my mothers house where she acted like my daughter needed to be in intensive care and my daughter seemed to get sicker and weaker. It looks like you are also getting a lot of other great advice - Good Luck!

My daughter had pneumonia when she was 8 months old. The good news is they didn't put your son in the hospital so while it is scary, it isn't as bad as it could be. I would make sure he had enough water since as with most illnesses one of the real dangers is dehydration. While I am surprised the doctor didn't limit the milk intake since it does seem to cause more phlemn so I would limit it more myself and make sure that he gets enough water. My daughter was in the hospital for 4 or 5 days and when we got home we made a tent out of her crib with a sheet and a humidifier. I also learned how to clap her on the sides to loosen the phlemn in her lungs. I would lay her down over my knees and with a cupped hand I would slap along where the back and sides come togeter. You do this with a light force like if you were clapping your hands, that will loosen it but not harm her. It doesn't even make red marks if you are doing it right. Make sure the hand is cupped. She seemed to like this and would never get upset when we had to do it. I would use both hands and go up and down the lung, like you were drumming. I used this whenever we had problems with croup, bronchitis and pneumonia show up. We seemed to get those lung problems more then the normal probably from the asthma we have in our genes. One thing I did do is get the kids and myself pneumonia shots and flu shots and that pretty much stopped the problems.