Parents Play an Important Role in Preventing and Early Detecting Children's Pneumonia

Parents play an important role in preventing and detecting children's pneumonia. Pneumonia is the highest cause of child death.

The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI. The original article can be found in Orangtua Berperan Penting Cegah dan Deteksi Dini Pneumonia Anak

AFP/ARUN SANKAR

A family member helps a child patient breathe with the help of a nebulizer in the emergency ward of Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya Children's Hospital in New Delhi, India on Tuesday (11/7/2023). Polluted air has a significant impact on children who have difficulty breathing, with many of them suffering from asthma and pneumonia.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS - Pneumonia remains the leading cause of death among children and toddlers. Prevention and early detection efforts are crucial to ensure that children are protected from the risk of disease transmission. Parents are also expected to be more proactive in these efforts.

Member of the Respirology Coordination Working Unit of the Indonesian Pediatrician Association (IDAI), Nastiti Kaswandani, stated at a press conference titled "Pneumonia in Children" in Jakarta on Thursday (11/1/2024), that parents have a significant influence in preventing the transmission of pneumonia in children.

In addition, parents play a role in detecting pneumonia in children. Quick detection is necessary so that appropriate treatment can be given immediately. "Parents need to be more aware of when their child needs to be taken to a hospital. Early symptoms of pneumonia are like normal fever and cough," he said.

"However, if the fever is already high and accompanied by faster breathing such as gasping or if the walls in the lower chest appear more sunken, the child must be immediately taken to the hospital," he said.

Also read: Children on Death Watch Due to Pneumonia

In addition to early detection, parents need to ensure that their children are protected from the risk factors of pneumonia. These risk factors include poor nutrition, vitamin A deficiency, living in crowded environments, cold weather, exposure to air pollution caused by cigarette smoke, biomass burning smoke, and environmental air pollution.

Exposure to strong-smelling aromatherapy and chemicals should also be noted as a risk factor for respiratory issues in children.

Nastiti added, prevention which is no less important to do is to ensure that the child is protected by immunization. Pneumonia can be prevented with immunization. Make sure that the child also gets adequate nutrition and exclusive breast milk.

"Protect and prevent pneumonia in children by providing exclusive breastfeeding, balanced nutrition, and vitamin A. Related pneumonia vaccinations that can be given include pneumococcal vaccination (PCV), HiB, and influenza. Vaccination has been proven to help reduce the risk of death and illness from pneumonia," he said.

Dead cause

Nastiti conveyed that the transmission of pneumonia should be watched out for as pneumonia is still the leading cause of death in children and toddlers. In 2018, the number of pneumonia deaths in children worldwide reached 800,000 children. Most of the deaths occurred in children under the age of two.

Also read: ”Mycoplasma pneumoniae” infections are often found in school-aged children

The mortality rate of pneumonia in Indonesia is also very high. In fact, Indonesia is the sixth country in the world with the highest number of deaths due to pneumonia, with a death toll of 19,000 children under five in 2018.

The initial symptoms of pneumonia are similar to that of a common fever and cough. However, if the fever is accompanied by rapid breathing, the child must be immediately taken to the hospital.

Pneumonia is a lung infection that can be caused by bacteria, fungi, or viruses. It can be spread through direct contact with respiratory fluids, such as droplets, saliva, or mucus.

Of the various causes of pneumonia infections, immunization can protect children from transmission due to Haemophilus influenzae type B bacterial infection with HiB immunization and transmission due to Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria which can be prevented with the PCV vaccine.

KOMPAS/RHAMA PURNA JATI

A baby is undergoing PCV vaccination at the Talang Jambe Health Center in Palembang, South Sumatra on Monday (12/9/2022). The government is preparing the PCV vaccine for 4.6 million babies and toddlers in Indonesia. This effort is being made to reduce the risk of children contracting pneumonia and meningitis.

The Chairman of the Central Management of the Indonesian Pediatric Society (IDAI), Piprim Basarah Yanuarso, stated that the high number of pneumonia cases must be constantly monitored. The public needs to make more efforts to prevent transmission, especially among children.

Also read: Unequal Immunization Coverage, Children Are Not Protected from Deadly Diseases

"So, one of the prevention efforts can be done by improving a child's nutrition, starting from exclusive breastfeeding, avoiding exposure to cigarette smoke, and not forgetting to immunize. We hope that the morbidity and mortality rates due to pneumonia in children can be reduced," he said.

"Mycoplasma pneumoniae"

Nastiti said that the transmission of pneumonia caused by the bacteria Mycoplasma pneumoniae, which had become a public concern, was one of the infections that had long been identified. Pneumonia caused by bacteria is not a new and mysterious disease.

Symptoms or clinical signs of transmission of pneumonia caused by the bacteria Mycoplasma pneumoniae are generally no different from transmission of other pneumonias. Symptoms that appear include fever and cough. However, this type of pneumonia has the peculiarity that clinical symptoms are often not accompanied by shortness of breath or hypoxia (lack of oxygen in the body).

Because of this, pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae is often referred to as "walking pneumonia" where patients can still carry out normal activities while X-rays of the lungs show severity.

He explained that identifying pneumonia is not easy to do. This is also the reason why the transmission of pneumonia due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae, which was reported to be increasing in China, was referred to as unidentified pneumonia.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

A toddler's weight was measured during the National Child Immunization Month (BIAN) and pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) at the Kuntum Mekar Posyandu in Klender, East Jakarta, on Thursday (22/9/2022). The Ministry of Health's Basic Health Research 2018 recorded a prevalence of pneumonia in children under 5 years old at 2.1 percent. This means that 2 out of 100 children experience pneumonia.

Examination to determine the cause of pneumonia is quite difficult. In addition, the required cost is also expensive. The examination material or specimens being examined are also not easy to obtain.

"It is hoped that the public will not panic excessively regarding Mycoplasma. Pneumonia is not a new disease. So far, Mycoplasma pneumonia often occurs in school-aged children. "It's different from other types of pneumonia which are often found in children under five," he said.