How to reduce the frequency of recurrent pneumonia in young children?

For the past month, Mr. Huy (35 years old, Hanoi) has rarely had a good night's sleep. His second daughter is only one year old and often coughs and has a fever at night, so he and his wife take turns staying up to monitor her. During the day, they take turns taking time off work to look after her or take her to the doctor when the symptoms persist.

The child's constant illness, needing time and care, has led to a series of other tasks being delayed. The family has a small sidewalk cafe to earn extra income, but has temporarily closed it to focus on taking care of the sick child.

In the same situation, Ms. Hanh (30 years old, Hanoi) has an 8-month-old son who has been to the doctor 3-4 times in just two months for illnesses such as pneumonia, flu, sore throat... The baby is weak, often cries at night, and the number of illnesses increases when the weather turns humid to change from spring to summer. The problems of not getting enough rest, increasing medical costs and time spent taking care of the child make the couple stressed, leading to arguments.

Ho Chi Minh City Respiratory Association estimated that in 2015, there were about 2.9 million cases of pneumonia in children. Young children, especially those under 2 years old, can have respiratory infections 5-8 times a year, including at least one to two cases of pneumonia, which can recur continuously.

Persistent, recurrent pneumonia in young children can cause death or serious complications, such as needing a ventilator. Long treatment times increase the risk of hospital-acquired infections, leading to increased treatment costs, causing medical burden and stress for family members. The disease can also cause complications such as pleural effusion, pericardial effusion, heart failure, antibiotic resistance, and stunted growth.

The VNVC vaccination system has also recorded many cases of parents whose children have persistent pneumonia, with cross-infection within the family. Many children, due to long-term illness, are lighter than their peers, or have just finished several rounds of hospital treatment due to "tormenting" pneumonia, and are recommended by doctors to get vaccinated to increase immunity.

Therefore, when a child has consecutive pneumonia, Dr. Khuong recommends that parents take the child to see a doctor for consultation and screening.

Doctors advise families to follow the correct steps to prevent illness for their children, in order to reduce the frequency of illness and hospitalization. When bathing your child, parents should be careful not to bathe for too long, and ensure that the bathroom environment is cool. When your child sweats a lot, you should change your child's clothes immediately to avoid letting your child wear damp clothes.

Adults should not smoke or cook in rooms with children. The place where children live should have enough light and air circulation to reduce the risk of pathogens in the room. Floor surfaces, toys, and children's belongings should be disinfected regularly.

Newborns should continue to be breastfed for the first 6 months of life, which reduces the risk of pneumonia by nearly a quarter. Older children need adequate nutrition, plenty of water, and enough sleep to help increase resistance to pathogens.

When they are old enough, families need to fully vaccinate their children. There are currently many types of vaccines that help prevent pneumonia agents in the hot season, for example Hib, pneumococcal, influenza, measles... Pneumococcal vaccination is up to 97% effective, reducing the average hospital stay by 41.7%, reducing hospitalization costs by 27.8% compared to unvaccinated people. Measles and chickenpox vaccination can be 97-98% effective (depending on the type of vaccine) in reducing the risk of disease and complications of pneumonia.

In addition, women before and during pregnancy need to be vaccinated against influenza, pneumococcal, and whooping cough to have antibodies to pass on to the baby. According to Dr. An Khuong, pregnant women who get the flu vaccine reduce the rate of hospitalization related to influenza by 72% and the rate of respiratory diseases in newborns by 29%.

In the context that in early 2024, many provinces and cities have recorded cases of infectious diseases such as measles, rubella, chickenpox, and whooping cough, Dr. Khuong said that families should vaccinate their children and pregnant women as soon as possible to gain immunity to the disease.