Where There Is No Doctor 2011 171
PNEUMONIA
Pneumonia is an acute infection of the lungs. It often occurs after another
respiratory illness such as measles, whooping cough, flu, bronchitis, asthma—or
after any very serious illness, especially in babies and old people. Also, persons
with HIV may develop pneumonia.
Signs:
• Sudden chills and then high fever.
• Rapid, shallow breathing, with little
grunts or sometimes wheezing. The
nostrils may spread with each breath.
• Fever (sometimes newborns
and old or very weak persons
have severe pneumonia with
little or no fever).
bronchi
(air tubes)
• Cough (often with yellow,
greenish, rust colored, or
slightly bloody mucus).
• Chest pain (sometimes).
• The person looks very ill.
• Cold sores often appear on the
face or lips (p. 232).
lungs
voice box
trachea
A very sick child with fast, shallow
breathing probably has pneumonia. For a
newborn baby, fast breathing means more than 60 breaths a minute. For a baby
between 2 months and 1 year, fast breathing is more than 50 breaths a minute, and
for a child between 1 and 5 years old, 40 breaths a minute. (If breathing is rapid and
deep, check for dehydration, p. 151, or hyperventilation, p. 24.) Do not count the
breaths while the child is crying or just after she has stopped.
Treatment:
♦ For pneumonia, treatment with antibiotics can make the difference between
life and death. Give penicillin (p. 351), cotrimoxazole (p. 357), or erythromycin
(p. 354). In serious cases, inject procaine penicillin (p. 352), adults:
400,000 units (250 mg.) 2 or 3 times a day, or give amoxicillin by mouth
(p. 352 to 353), 500 mg., 3 times a day. Give small children ¼ to ½ the adult
dose. For children under 6, amoxicillin is usually best.
♦ Give aspirin (p. 378) or acetaminophen (p. 379) to lower the temperature and
lessen the pain. Acetaminophen is safer for children under 12.
♦ Give plenty of liquids. If the person will not eat, give him liquid foods or
Rehydration Drink (see p. 152).
♦ Ease the cough and loosen the mucus by giving the person plenty of water
and having him breathe hot water vapors (see p. 168). Postural drainage may
also help (see p. 169).
♦ If the person is wheezing, an anti-asthma medicine may help (see p. 384).