How to treat mycobacterial infection in children?

Children have poor resistance, so they are prone to various infections. The most common ones are viral and bacterial infections. There is also the very popular mycoplasma infection. Mycoplasma can infect many parts of a child's body. For example, if it infects the respiratory tract, it can cause pharyngitis, tracheitis and other symptoms, followed by coughing and sore throat. So how should mycoplasma infection in children be treated?

How to treat mycobacterial infection in children?

Mycoplasma and Chlamydia pneumonia are contagious and are mainly transmitted through respiratory droplets and are prone to recurrence. Mycoplasma pneumonia is transmitted in the air through oral and nasal secretions. The source of infection is patients and recovering carriers. It is highly contagious and can cause collective infection in places where children gather, such as nurseries and kindergartens. It can also be cross-infected among family members, making it difficult to cure.

Diagnosis of Mycoplasma Pneumonia

Mycoplasma pneumonia usually has a slow onset, an incubation period of 1 to 3 weeks, and fever. The prominent symptom is an irritating cough. The cough is dry at the beginning and then turns into a stubborn and severe cough with no sputum or a small amount of sticky sputum. The cough is especially obvious at night and some are similar to whooping cough. Older children will complain of sore throat, chest tightness, and pain under the sternum. Infants and young children have an acute onset and severe condition, with prominent symptoms including difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, and wheezing in both lungs.

Chlamydial pneumonia has an insidious onset, usually without fever, and only mild respiratory symptoms, such as runny nose, nasal congestion, and cough. The cough may persist and gradually worsen, with whooping cough-like paroxysms and rapid breathing as typical symptoms.

Home care tips

Get more rest and pay attention to indoor ventilation to keep the air fresh; control the humidity at around 60% to prevent respiratory secretions from drying out and making them difficult to cough out.

Pay attention to diet and nutrition, encourage your child to drink plenty of water, eat nutritious and easily digestible food, and eat small meals frequently.

Since Mycoplasma pneumonia is contagious, children should be isolated during the illness. Children with Mycoplasma pneumonia should not attend daycare or school to prevent infecting other children.

When fever occurs, physical cooling should be the main approach. If the body temperature exceeds 38.5℃, antipyretic drugs can be added.

Tell your children to cover their mouths with a handkerchief or tissue when they cough, and not to spit anywhere to prevent germs from contaminating the air and infecting others.

Pay attention to climate changes and add or remove clothes for your children in time.

The drug of choice should not be injected intramuscularly

According to the microbiological characteristics of Mycoplasma pneumoniae without cell wall, antibiotics such as penicillin that can hinder the synthesis of microbial cell wall are ineffective against mycoplasma. Drugs that can interfere with and inhibit microbial protein synthesis should be selected, such as macrolides, tetracyclines and quinolones. However, quinolone antibiotics may have adverse effects on bone development and should not be used in minors under the age of 18. Tetracyclines can cause yellowing of teeth and poor enamel development and should not be used in children under the age of 8. Therefore, macrolides are the antibiotics of choice for Mycoplasma pneumonia in children, including erythromycin, roxithromycin, clarithromycin and azithromycin. Macrolide antibiotics are also the first choice for the treatment of chlamydial pneumonia. The instructions for these drugs state that they are only suitable for oral administration and intravenous infusion, not for intramuscular injection. The doctor will decide on a treatment plan based on your child's condition, whether to use oral or intravenous medication.