Padma just recovered from a bad cough. After 5 days of peace, she would again, stir awake from a restful sleep and cough. It may have been due to our erratic weather or probably because of the coughing people around her… whatever it is, her cough part 2 is nothing to be ignored. I could feel the phlegm in her lungs when I carry her and she was breathing heavily. Aside from these symptoms, she looked and behaved OK. No fever, no appetite loss… nothing. This somehow reassured me. I was thinking that maybe, she will be cured naturally. This naivety… or more like carelessness caused my daughter more harm than good. After 7 days, her condition worsened. I finally brought her to another pedia and shockingly, she said she has pneumonia. The fact that she was purely breastfed somehow pacified the other symptoms such as high grade fever and loss of appetite. The doctor then proceeded to having Padma inhale Duovent via a nebulizer. Before we were sent home, we had Php 2000 worth of medicines that she is required to take. Here are her prescribed medicines–Ambroxol Hydrochloride, Salbutamol Sulfate, Cetirizine Dihydrochloride, Prednisolone, Clarithromycin, and Citrizine…plus, she has to neb every 6 hours.
The ordeal does not end here… the whole process of making her drink all those medicines is downright stressful- for me and for her. After this, I will settle for the best cure of all- prevention!
In the Philippines, old folks here are fond of giving advices regarding pneumonia prevention.
1) Keep the back dry. Because it’s hot and humid in our country, children tend to sweat a lot. Paper towels do this job for me since they absorb sweat really well.
2) Don’t use powder. This actually is research-based. Apparently, inhaling powder particles is dangerous for kids.
3) Drink Vitamin C with Zinc. Padma does not take any vitamin. After this, pedzinc or ceelin with zinc will definitely be included in her diet.
4) Maintain a sick-free environment. My baby won’t totally get well if there are sick people around her. Make sure everybody in the household also gets treated.
5) My pedia advised me to have my baby vaccinated for HIB and something else, which I can’t remember right now. My two older kids have had flu vaccines.
