Becoming The Highest Cause Of Death In Children, Beware Of Symptoms And Risk Factors Of Pneumonia

Illustration of a child being paired with oxygen equipment (Freepic)

JAKARTA - Pneumonia or pneumonia due to infection is a global epidemic that is often neglected, whereas it is actually the highest infectious disease that causes child mortality worldwide, including in Indonesia. Pneumonia is not the only disease of infection in children, but there are several factors that make this disease so deadly.

The head of the Indonesian Pediatrician Association (IDAI) Immunization Task Force, Prof. Dr. Hartono Gunardi, SpA(K), said pneumonia was so deadly because of its very easy spread and the infected organs were vital lungs. Moreover, children tend not to have the perfect immune system to ward off the virus.

With that, parents must be vigilant and pay attention to the condition of the child's body in order to avoid or receive immediate treatment if he has pneumonia. These are the symptoms and risk factors that cause pneumonia that must be known.

Prof Hartono said that pneumonia symptoms are often misunderstood as a common cold cough disease. However, if the child's condition has shortness of breath and shortness of breath, it should be watched out for because it can indicate pneumonia.

"Often the patient can experience ISPA, it spreads to lower respiratory tract infections (ISPB), it comes with fast breathing and deep wall drag, shortness of breath," said Prof Hartono when met in the Pondok Indah area, South Jakarta, Sunday, November 17, 2024.

"So if the child wears clothes, maybe his mother doesn't really pay attention to it, suddenly it's tight, suddenly blue, now it's brought in a lot of weight. This is also one of the factors that can worsen the prognosis and child recovery rate," he added.

Specialist child consultant respirology, dr. Wahyuni Indawati, SpA(K), on the same occasion also conveyed about pneumonia symptoms in children that parents should watch out for. Symptoms are fever accompanied by chest pain, cough colds, and also shortness of breath and shortness of breath.

There are many factors that increase the risk of pneumonia in children that must be watched out for. One of the main things is exposure to cigarette smoke, pollution, and transmission from people around children.

"Being our homework is pollution, domestic housing. Like cigarette smoke, stoves, then if we are sick we forget to apply coughing ethics, forget to wash our hands, so as to give transmission or transmission to our surroundings," said dr. Wahyuni.