This is not a “how to” article to teach you how to differentiate one from the other. This is more of my reflection in dealing with a child since it happened before and there was a very blurry line where what started as a common cold turned to be a “possibility” of a pneumonia that requires an antibiotic treatment. Even the pediatrician, at that time was not too sure, she just thought she could hear very mild “crackling” sound in the lower part of one lung.
One thing I just remember was there was a time where all the symptoms were improving but there was a lingering fever around 100F for 5 days that only responded after given Amoxicillin antibiotic (7 ml for 10 days).
At the time, the cough had junky sound, which lasted even 21 more days after finishing the antibiotics it warranted us to visit a different doctor who gave us a very useful remedy recipe.
Recently, this cycle seemed to repeat again. Our little one started to cough and made some effort to clear throat. Then started to have a low grade fever around 100.8 F (38.2 C) and continued coughing. The encouraging part was the mood was very positive. The kids was just playing as if nothing is happening, that’s why we were not too worried other than keep monitoring the situation and encourage more drinking.
We also checked some of the symptoms as explained in Dr. Sears Guide to Identifying If Your Child Could Have Pneumonia.
Just these two sections we paid attention to:
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF PNEUMONIA?
The major symptoms are:
- Moderate to severe cough – often junky sounding, but not always.
- Sustained rapid or labored breathing (as opposed to temporary rapid breathing from a high fever).
- Medium to high fever – usually will be over 102, but not always.
- Chest pains – not just during coughing, but in between coughing fits as well.
- Vomiting – not just vomiting from a big coughing fit, but vomiting even in between coughing fits.
- Blue color around the lips and face – from lack of oxygen.
- Wheezing – although wheezing is more often a sign of a viral chest cold, it sometimes can mean pneumonia.
HOW DO I DECIDE IF MY CHILD MAY HAVE PNEUMONIA?
- If your child has ALL the above symptoms, then he probably has pneumonia.
- If your child has only one or two symptoms, then he probably does NOT have it.
- The most important indicators are the first three above – cough AND fever AND labored or rapid breathing.
- For example, if your child has a bad cough, fever, and mild chest pain with coughing, but is breathing comfortably without pain when not coughing, then pneumonia is less likely.
- If your child has a bad cough with some fits ending in vomiting, but has NO FEVER, then pneumonia is less likely.
In the mean time, we did the whole regimen of the home remedy again. In general, by the time fever hits the fifth day, you want to call your pediatrician to have the child checked. But since this time I don’t see any other red flags, even the mood was very positive, I decided to hold off and waited until day 6. If day 6 there was still about 100 F (38 C) lingering, then for sure we will call the doctor.
But what do you know? On day 6, in the morning the temperature is back to normal (98.6 F/37 C). So we’re good now. Even if the cough for sure will linger for a week or two, I can be more confident that it was more of a common cold instead of something more severe.
Disclaimer: This is based solely on our experience and should not be treated as medical advice. You should always consult your doctor(s) with any medical or health concerns before starting any new diet, products or supplements.
