Introduction to Hypersensitivity Pneumonia in Children

Allergic pneumonia in children mainly occurs 6 months after the baby is born. Because the baby is more sensitive to everything around him during this period, our young parents need to take good care of him. For this kind of allergic pneumonia in children, our parents should send the baby to a dermatology hospital for treatment in time, because this disease will slowly spread throughout the body, and the consequences will be unimaginable.

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis represents a group of diseases with different causes but similar pathogenesis, pathology, clinical manifestations, treatment and prognosis, so it can also be called a symptom cluster. The disease is characterized by a group of fine particles of organic dust, the particles of which are small enough to penetrate most of the surrounding lung parenchyma and cause alveolitis.

1. Acute hypersensitivity pneumonitis Inhalation of large amounts of antigens in a short period of time often causes acute symptoms. Systemic symptoms such as shortness of breath, cough, chills, fever, headache, fatigue, cold sweat, and nausea may appear 4 hours after exposure to the antigen. Most patients have problems with their living and working environment. Some have wheezing symptoms within a few minutes of exposure and are often misdiagnosed as asthma, or develop the disease after returning home from get off work. Occupational-related cases often occur when people move from home to work, such as when farmers enter a barn or a livestock shed where moldy hay is stored. Immediate symptoms include dry cough without sputum, chest tightness, etc. The symptoms will be relieved after leaving the environment, but will recur if exposed again. In severe cases, there may be cyanosis and crackling sounds in the lungs. Because it is a Type III reaction and can occur 4 to 6 hours after contact, it can occur after contact at work and then returning home, or after contact at home and then at work.

2. Subacute hypersensitivity pneumonitis is mostly caused by acute transformation. Or mild, multiple attacks with symptoms lasting for days or weeks. Dry cough, difficulty breathing, loss of appetite, and weight loss. Due to dry cough, fever and general weakness, it is easy to be misdiagnosed as pneumonia. Symptoms will improve if you stop using the air conditioner or humidifier because the mold particles will stop being released and spread. Some people start coughing and shortness of breath every Monday due to occupational exposure, and the symptoms improve after resting at home for two days over the weekend. Some people feel worse on rest days and get better at work. This may be due to contact with pets or home decoration at home which are allergens.

There were several similar reports before and after this, suggesting that smoking had a short-term effect on the clearance of human tracheal secretions. Smoking can interfere with several aspects of the immune response such as the formation of macrophage antibodies and the suppression of T lymphocyte and B lymphocyte immune activity. Therefore, hypersensitivity pneumonitis is more likely to occur in non-smokers.

3. Chronic allergic pneumonia is caused by repeated attacks or the inability to get rid of antigens or long-term exposure to small amounts of antigens. The onset is latent until the late stage of the disease and it can only be diagnosed as chronic. Some cases eventually develop into chronic due to misdiagnosis, and both lungs become fibrotic. There is obvious fibrosis in both upper lungs and compensatory emphysema in both lower lungs.

The above is mainly a detailed introduction to the causes and treatments of allergic pneumonia in children. We also know that there are many causes for this allergic pneumonia. No matter what the cause is, our patients and friends need to choose the treatment method according to their own cause of the disease. I hope you can control the disease in time.