What is Streptococcus pneumoniae for kids?
What is Streptococcus pneumoniae? It is a bacterium that commonly causes ear infections in children. It also is the most common cause of community-acquired pneumonia, sinus infections and “pink-eye.” It is also the most common cause of bacterial meningitis in babies two months and older.
Can children get pneumococcal pneumonia?
Pneumococcal infection is caused by the pneumococcus bacteria. It can cause serious illness in children. This includes pneumonia, infection in the blood, and meningitis (infection of the tissues covering the brain and spinal cord).
What is the best treatment for pneumococcal pneumonia?
Doctors use antibiotics to treat pneumococcal disease. However, some pneumococcal bacteria have become resistant to certain antibiotics used to treat these infections. Available data show that pneumococcal bacteria are resistant to one or more antibiotics in 3 out of every 10 cases.
What antibiotics treat Streptococcus pneumoniae?
Penicillin and its derivatives are inexpensive effective antibiotics for treating pneumococcal infections when they are used against susceptible isolates. Penicillins can be administered orally or parenterally and work by inhibiting cell wall synthesis.
What are the signs of pneumococcal pneumonia?
Symptoms can include fever, cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, stiff neck, confusion, increased sensitivity to light, joint pain, chills, ear pain, sleeplessness, and irritability. In severe cases, pneumococcal disease can cause hearing loss, brain damage, and death.
Who is most at risk for pneumococcal pneumonia?
Adults 65 years or older are at increased risk for pneumococcal disease. Adults of all ages are also at increased risk for pneumococcal disease if they have: Alcoholism. Chronic heart, lung, kidney, or liver disease.
How long is pneumococcal pneumonia contagious?
If you have bacterial pneumonia, you are still considered contagious until about the second day after starting to take antibiotics and you no longer have a fever (if you had one). If you have viral pneumonia, you are still considered contagious until you feel better and have been free of fever for several days.
How long does it take to recover from pneumococcal pneumonia?
4 weeks – chest pain and mucus production should have substantially reduced. 6 weeks – cough and breathlessness should have substantially reduced. 3 months – most symptoms should have resolved, but you may still feel very tired (fatigue) 6 months – most people will feel back to normal.
How long does it take to recover from Streptococcus pneumoniae?
However, most people recover from pneumonia in about a week. Bacterial pneumonia usually starts to improve shortly after starting antibiotics, while viral pneumonia usually starts to improve after about three days. If you have a weakened immune system or a severe case of pneumonia, the recovery period might be longer.
What’s the difference between pneumonia and pneumococcal pneumonia?
Pneumonia can be classified into bacterial, viral, fungal or aspiration as the cause. Pneumococcal pneumonia specifically refers to a pneumonia caused by the Strep pneumo bacteria,” Dr. Jenkins says.
Is there a difference between pneumonia and pneumococcal pneumonia?
Pneumonia is a lung disease. Pneumococcal pneumonia, a kind of pneumonia, can infect the upper respiratory tract and can spread to the blood, lungs, middle ear, or nervous system. Pneumococcal pneumonia mainly causes illness in children younger than 5 years old and adults 65 years of age or older.
How did I get strep pneumonia?
Streptococcus pneumoniae is spread from person to person by the inhalation of respiratory droplets (e.g. coughing, sneezing) from an infected person. It is not known why certain individuals develop invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae disease while others do not.
How long is strep pneumonia contagious?
The contagious period varies and may last for as long as the organism is present in the nose and throat. A person can no longer spread S. pneumoniae after taking the proper antibiotics for 1-2 days.
Can a child recover from pneumonia?
Rest, over-the-counter pain medicine, healthy food, and plenty of fluids will help your child recover at home. Mild pneumonia often goes away in 2 to 3 weeks. Your child may need 6 to 8 weeks or longer to recover from a bad case of pneumonia. Follow-up care is a key part of your child’s treatment and safety.