What should I do if mycoplasma pneumonia is infected in my children?

If we have a child at home, I believe we all love him very much. When he goes out to play, we always follow him carefully. We don’t want him to play those dangerous games. We always want him to live in a very safe environment. But even if we are so careful, our children at home will still get sick frequently. Parents and friends, please pay attention and everyone must go to the hospital for treatment.

Mycoplasma pneumonia often presents as an upper respiratory tract infection and can be easily mistaken for a common cold

l. Coughing and expectoration, similar to the symptoms of tracheitis and bronchitis. Frequent, severe, and persistent dry coughs are often the characteristics of this disease. In the early stages, it is a dry cough, but in the later stages, sputum may be produced.

2. When pneumonia occurs, there is often fever, even as high as 39°C. The fever course can be as short as 1 to 2 weeks or as long as about 1 month.

3. The general condition is good. Severely ill children may experience breathing difficulties, shortness of breath, and cyanosis. During examination, the child's physical signs such as moist rales in the lungs are often not obvious.

4. The total white blood cell count is normal or low. C-reactive protein is often elevated.

5. To confirm whether it is Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection, it is necessary to test the Mycoplasma pneumoniae antibodies in the blood. The antibody titer >1:40～160(+) is objective evidence for diagnosing Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection and has diagnostic value. In most cases, the level of serum cholesterol will increase about a week after onset of the disease. If the test result is negative within 3 to 5 days in the early stage of the disease, the diagnosis cannot be excluded.

After antibodies appear, they will not disappear in the short term. Therefore, the antibody titer may decrease during reexamination during the period of improvement of clinical symptoms, but it does not necessarily disappear. A positive IGM test for Mycoplasma pneumoniae antibodies indicates recent infection. It appears early and disappears early. Even if it is positive after treatment, it has no practical significance for whether it is cured.

6. When pneumonia is suspected, chest X-rays should be taken in the AP and lateral positions, which can show enhanced and increased lung texture and enlarged hilar shadows. The lesions mainly affect the unilateral right lung, and most of them appear as large shadows.

Some cases of Mycoplasma pneumonia may present with extrapulmonary manifestations or complications, including pleural effusion, otitis media, pericarditis, meningoencephalitis, hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenic purpura, infectious mononucleosis syndrome, etc.

The first symptom of pneumonia is coughing so many friends will mistake it for a cold. If you feel that your cough is different from usual, you must see a doctor in time. If you delay treatment, the disease will become more serious. When our children cough, we should not simply think they have a cold, it could be pneumonia.