Detection Of Pneumonia In Children Can Be Carried Out By One Minute Of Breath

Illustration of children with pneumonia (Freepik)

JAKARTA - Pneumonia in children can be detected with quick steps through one minute of breathing calculation. This is said by pediatricians with a subspecialization of respirology from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia (FK-UI), Dr. Wahyuni Indawati, Sp.A(K).

In infants under two months of age, the breath frequency that is considered normal is less than 60 times per minute. Meanwhile, in children aged two to 12 months, the limit is 50 times per minute. For children aged one to five years, the normal number is 40 times per minute.

"Pneumonia is inflammation in the lungs which is generally caused by microorganisms infection. This condition can damage lung tissue, reduce oxygen levels in the body, and potentially cause death," said Wahyuni during a media meeting in Jakarta, as quoted by Antara.

He added that this detection method is carried out by calculating the number of children's breaths, according to their age range. In addition to monitoring the number of breaths, Wahyuni also recommends parents to pay attention to whether there is a chest wall when the child breathes.

Pneumonia is one of the highest causes of infection in children in the world. UNICEF data in 2019 shows that every day, about 2,200 children under the age of five die from pneumonia globally.

Symptoms of pneumonia are often similar to coughs or common fever, so parents often ignore it with the assumption that the disease will heal themselves. However, pneumonia has its own characteristics, namely that the child's breath becomes faster or accompanied by shortness of breath.

'Be aware of the symptoms that look like 'not just a regular cough'. Pay attention to whether there is shortness of breath or a chest wall. If these signs appear, the child is most likely to have pneumonia, "explained Wahyuni.

He reminded parents to immediately take their children to health facilities if these symptoms appear, without waiting for the condition to worsen, such as severe shortness of breath or blue skin.

Some risk factors that can increase the chances of children developing pneumonia include: babies under two years of not getting exclusive breastfeeding, children who have not received PCV immunization, malnutrition, premature birth or low birth weight (BBLR), exposure to air pollution or cigarette smoke, living in a dense environment, as well as congenital diseases such as HIV, heart disease, or other chronic diseases.