It usually makes children very ill within 24 hours and often is accompanied by a high fever. Typical treatment for bacterial pneumonia includes antibiotics and, if needed, oxygen. Often hospitalization is necessary, particularly for younger children. Dr. Staat says it can take days for virus-induced pneumonia symptoms to progressively show themselves. Standard antibiotics won't cure viral pneumonia, so children must depend upon their immune systems to fight it.
Environmental factors can put youngsters at risk for pneumonia.
Obviously, then, living in a smoke-free environment can prevent some pneumonia cases. But far more pneumonia infections are thwarted by early childhood vaccination. It has dramatically decreased the number of childhood pneumonia and meningitis cases. In the future, physicians will have more weapons to fight childhood pneumonia. Current studies are examining a new vaccine that will prevent the most common cause of pneumonia and meningitis in children.