{"id":14179,"date":"2025-02-21T04:35:50","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T04:35:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=14179"},"modified":"2025-02-21T04:35:50","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T04:35:50","slug":"does-your-child-have-walking-pneumonia-signs-to-watch-out-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=14179","title":{"rendered":"Does your child have walking pneumonia? Signs to watch out for"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Walking pneumonia is a milder form of pneumonia that can affect children. Know the signs of walking pneumonia in kids, and ways to treat it.<\/p>\n

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When your child coughs or ends up with a sore throat, you may not rush them to a nearby hospital. In fact, they may be going to the school and playing outdoors with their friends. However, coughs, and sore throat may be signs of walking pneumonia, which is an informal term used for a common bacterial health condition. It is a mild form of pneumonia, a serious respiratory infection that affects the lungs. Even though walking pneumonia in kids does not necessarily call for a hospital visit, it is important to get treatment on time.<\/p>\n

What is walking pneumonia?<\/h2>\n

Also known as atypical pneumonia, walking pneumonia is a type of lung infection. \u201cIt is a mild form of pneumonia<\/a> that often affects children,\u201d says pediatrician Dr Preetha Joshi<\/a>. Every year, around 120 million episodes of pneumonia occur in kids younger than 5 years of age. This leads to at least one million deaths across the globe, as per research published in the Pneumonia<\/a> journal in 2015.<\/p>\n

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Cough is a sign of walking pneumonia in kids. Image courtesy: Adobe Stock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In case of walking pneumonia in kids, most children do not feel sick enough to stay at home or stop their activities. That\u2019s why it\u2019s called \u201cwalking\u201d pneumonia. But once diagnosed, make sure they stay home, receive the right antibiotics and recover well.<\/p>\n

What causes walking pneumonia in kids?<\/h2>\n

Walking pneumonia in kids is most commonly caused by mycoplasma pneumoniae, according to the American Lung Association<\/a>. \u201cIt is a type of bacteria that spreads through respiratory droplets when a person infected with it coughs or sneezes,\u201d says the expert. Unlike typical bacteria, mycoplasma pneumoniae lacks a rigid cell wall, sometimes making it resistant to antibiotics. It can infect anyone, but it most often targets children aged between 5 and 17 years and young adults, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cOther bacteria like chlamydia pneumoniae, and certain viruses such as influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus<\/a> can trigger walking pneumonia in kids,\u201d says Dr Joshi.<\/p>\n

What are the symptoms of walking pneumonia in kids?<\/h2>\n

Children may have symptoms like diarrhea, wheezing or vomiting, as per the CDC. Other signs of walking pneumonia in kids are:<\/p>\n