DD9 has pneumonia - question

[castleview]

I took DD to the doctor yesterday thinking she was having another round with strep (it's travelled through her class). The doctor listened to her breathing and coughing and said she has pneumonia and needs to be out of school for a week. I'm not going against his orders, but some of my friends who went through it were surprised at how long she will be out. I'm curious what is normal. Appreciate any input.

 

[Robinrs]

I had pneumonia twice and both times the suggested I stay home for two weeks. I think a week is good for a 9yo, gives the medicine time to work and her body time to heal.

Hope she's okay soon! It's not fun...

 

[jsmith]

Im surprised he didnt say too-she will cough, have trouble breathing and her immune system will be compromised for some time. My oldest was hospitalized with pneumonia at 2-and he picked up every resperatory thing to come along for years afterward.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Depends how sick you are with it. I have had it several times and it took 2 weeks to just get to a point that I was feeling able to function. This was full blown bacterial pneumonia.

Other times I have had it, it was mild called "walking pnuemonia". I was able to function fine.

There is not one right answer for your question as it is dependent on the person and the severity.

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

When I had pneumonia in 10th grade (way back when) I missed an entire quarter of school! Part of my problem was that I have asthma and I'm allergic to many antibiotics which made it very hard to treat.

Did you pediatrician do a chest xray? It's my understanding that it's the only way to check for sure if it's pneumonia.

Hope your DD feels better soon!

 

[castleview]

When I had pneumonia in 10th grade (way back when) I missed an entire quarter of school! Part of my problem was that I have asthma and I'm allergic to many antibiotics which made it very hard to treat.

Did you pediatrician do a chest xray? It's my understanding that it's the only way to check for sure if it's pneumonia.

Hope your DD feels better soon!

He did not do a chest x-ray. I wondered about that too as that's how they discovered it when I had it.

 

[tmarquez]

My DD(8) has had it a couple of times (they diagnosed it with an x-ray). Both times she was only out of school for a couple of days, long enough for the antibiotics to kick in and her to start feeling better. Maybe it didn't take long because she was so young?

 

[Christine]

I had it as a child and was instructed back then to stay home for a week, even though the meds seemed to improve it rapidly. Pneumonia is nothing to mess with and it's important to rest and not get run down.

 

[lovemygoofy]

He did not do a chest x-ray. I wondered about that too as that's how they discovered it when I had it.

Unless your daughter has a history of respiratory illness I'd be hard pressed to think your daughter has pneumonia without an xray.

Even when I have bronchitis, I have rattle cough and sound horrible. When I had pneumonia I couldn't breathe enough to cough let alone rattle.

Being that today is Thursday, I would see what Monday brought before keeping her out for an entire week.

ETA: make sure your daughter drinks lots and lots of water. That really helps loosen the gunk and flush it out.

 

[terri01p]

 

[dis-happy]

I've had several doctors and pediatricians through the years that were able to dx pneumonia without a chest x-ray. Personally, I'd be glad to not have an extra x-ray, especially since the effects are cumulative and hits girls especially in developing chest areas.

Hope your DD feels better soon!

 

[mousebymarriage]

DS9 had pnemonia 2 years ago but, it was during the summer so no worries about missing school however, he was attending summer camp (not sleep away just a program during the day). Anyway, the doc said he could not attend camp for at least a week (we had to go back after one week for a re-check) because his immune system was obviously not up to par and the doc didn't to expose him to anything else unnecessarily. The other thing that stunk for DS was he was not allowed to swim for almost 3 weeks, doc wanted to be sure he was better before he swam because of potential bacteria in the water (especially in a lake) and let's face it kids swallow/ inhale some water while swimming.
DS actually was pretty wiped out for most of the time he was sick so missing camp via doctors orders was the best thing for him.

Hope your DD gets well soon!

 

[krcit]

My ds(9) had pnuemonia dx with an x-ray over Christmas vacation. I don't know how long the Dr would have kept him out of school if he was in school but ds felt much better after 2 doses of medicine.

BTW, he had no breathing problems but was coughing a lot. his symptoms were fever from Sat(Christmas Day) until Tuesday, then he started coughing a lot so I brought him in Wed. He was almost back to normal by Friday. I hope your dd feels betterasap.

 

[kellyg403]

I had pnuemonia back in Sept and the dr told me to stay out of work for at least a week, recheck and decide on another week. I was miserable. The worst part was how tired I was. Then I had to take a codiene based cough medicine. I was more sick AFTER I went to the dr! We discovered I was allergic to the codeine, I swore it felt like I had bugs all over me and I just couldn't see them. After I stopped that med, I was better. By the time I got back to the doc on Monday he said I could go back to work, but if I felt tired or symptoms coming back to come back.

It took a while, maybe a month actually before I felt like I even had an appetite and could stay up past 8 pm.

Hopefully she feels better soon. PS I was diagnosed without the xray as well.

Kelly

 

[Tinijocaro]

There are different degrees of pneumonia. DD9 has had it three times and has been hospitalized in PICU all three times. She has asthma and gets it pretty severely. I know some people get it and only miss a day or two of school.

Does your dd have asthma?

 

[disfan07]

I am actually currently in a hospital room being treated for pneumonia as we speak.

I did get the pnuemonia vaccine last year and we dont knwo if it actually worked. We do think it helped with the severity because I am not in ICU this time. Just on oxygen, steroids and antibiotics on the regular medical floor.

BUT, I also have asthma, a heart condition and a suppressed immune system so its different for me.

If your child really does have pneumonia, PLEASE dont send her back to school until your doctor says its okay. Especially during the winter/flu season. I most likely caught it from someone at my college. So now that someone else didnt stay home, I am facing missing at least 6 days of classes on a 10 week quarter system.

 

[Ar1el]

My son has had it twice. First time he was 2.5, had no x-ray but was put on antibiotics for it. Second was this past Oct. He was taken to the ER from the peds office bc he oxygen level was so low. He did have a x-ray that time and again with the antibiotics. He stayed out of pre-school 2 weeks. Till this day he catches everything that flies in the wind. He actually had a really bad virus 2 weeks. His pedi wanted his blood taken for that one.

 

[Handbag Lady]

I had it two years ago and was put on bed rest for 2.5 weeks. I couldn't do much, wasn't allowed to dust or clean and I couldn't leave the apartment.

I wasn't allowed back to work by my doctor until an X-ray was all clear of "white stuff." And yes, that was the technical term my doctor used.

 

[handinpocket]

Unless your daughter has a history of respiratory illness I'd be hard pressed to think your daughter has pneumonia without an xray.

Even when I have bronchitis, I have rattle cough and sound horrible. When I had pneumonia I couldn't breathe enough to cough let alone rattle.

Being that today is Thursday, I would see what Monday brought before keeping her out for an entire week.

ETA: make sure your daughter drinks lots and lots of water. That really helps loosen the gunk and flush it out.

Do you have medical training? If not, I think it is a bit negligent to give out medical advice. Pneumonia can be diagnosed without a chest x-ray and the child should rest for at least a week.

 

[krcit]

My ds had mycoplasma(sp) pneumonia aka 'walking pneumonia' It is different than the kind that lands you in the hospital hence the name, lol. I'm hoping that that is what the OP's dd has.