Pneumonia Recovery in Kids

I have been through 3 kids with pneumonia and its hard. The biggest problem is the lack of oxygenated blood to the body. They are going to be very tired and weak for some time. Plus their little lungs are going to need time to heal. All 3 of my kids were down and I mean DOWN for about a week and then once the antibiotic really started to work they became more lively but still had to be on inhalers or nebulizer (one of my kids was quite young when he had it - 8 months) Watch for a blue tinge around the fingertips and lips and if you see this then they should stop and rest because it means they are not getting enough oxygen. If it persists, take them to the hospital. My oldest one would get that if he was active for too long but it would go away once he would rest again for awhile. It can take a really long time for them to regain their strength, like 6 weeks, just follow their lead. Make a follow up appointment with the doctor in a week for a visit and more chest x-rays. Hopefully they are on the mend by then. Wishing you well. Just a side note, none of my kids use inhalers now or have any lasting effects from the pneumonia. Definitely no school for a week. My oldest was out for almost 3 weeks.

Pneumonia takes time. If anything, get a Doctor's note, to give to their Teacher if they recommend restriction of activities for your child.

Ask your Doctor about what you asked here.

Watch that they don't get a relapse. Their body needs to recover to full speed, still.

All the best,
Susan

For an adult the recovery is at least a month. It may be less for a child, but don't rush it. They will tire easily and could relapse.
Good luck and God bless.
Victoria

I had pneumonia a couple of winters ago - it is no fun! The doc said I could go back to work (I taught Kindergarten) after a couple of days on antibiotics. I did, and 2 days later was home again! It's really easy to over-do it early on.

My suggestion is to go with how the kids feel. If they still feel unwell, go ahead and keep them home. Don't make them walk until they are really feeling well. When they have enough energy to be climbing on the furniture again (lol) they are definitely ready to return to normal activity.

You really should call the doctor and have him/her give you the guidelines he/she would like you to follow for your children's recovery. I've had pneumonia a couple times as an adult and it took a full 4 weeks to recover.

My son had a rare pneumonie when he was 5 and was in the ICU for over 2 weeks. We REALLY took our time getting him back into preschool. Take your cue from your kids, and also monitor their endurance level. If you rush it, they're going to resent school. Make sure they are eating normally and regain any weight they may have lost. I could see laying off the dance class for a month or so, but eventually it will be beneficial to restore strength they may have lost. (My son ended up doing several months of physical therapy for overall strengthening.) He's 8 now, and he hasn't had pneumonia since that brutal bout with it, so be encouraged!

Pneumonia is nothing to mess with. People die from pneumonia on a regular basis, especially children. My now 3 year old son had it 2 years ago and was hospitalized. The doctor was VERY clear. No school, no nothing for at least one week. I wouldn't push them to do one thing until the doctor clears them. Didn't your doctor want to see them again in a week?

.

This is one case where you check with your doctor and do just what he or she says. It's hard to tell otherwise. Pneumonia is not like a cold or even a flu bug.

My youngest had pneumonia in the spring of first grade, and it effectively kept him out of school until the end of the school year - at least six or seven weeks. The doctor ordered quite a bit of rest so he would get completely over it, so that even when he seemed much better he was still at home on the inactive list (as inactive as a seven-year-old boy can get, anyhow). The outside temp had to have hit a certain high for him to be outdoors for any length of time. This regimen didn't affect his school work because the teacher made sure he could keep up at home, and as I recall it didn't affect his social life because his class cheered him when he was allowed to appear the last day of school (a play day)! Since he's an Army Captain now, he obviously recovered completely. It could be that one reason he's such an avid reader is because he got into the habit at that period, so the time wasn't really lost.

But my point is that with pneumonia you stay in close touch with your doctor. You won't be a nuisance, even if you call frequently, and you're right about your kids needing to recover completely so that they can stay healthy when they take up their activities again. You asked an excellent question!