Symptoms
The most frequent type of bronchopneumonia among infants is the acute congestive type. Its duration may be only one or two days. The symptoms develop very rapidly and produce a great shock to the nervous system because of the suddenness and severity of the attack. There is a sudden rise of temperature and prostration is very great from the beginning. There is cyanosis and rapid respiration. There may be no cough. There may be little or no pain felt in the chest. During respiration the expansion of the affected side will be less than that of the unaffected side. However, this must not be confused with the natural tendency found in extremely young infants; when a child is placed in certain positions the expansion of one lung will be greater than that of the other. In the severe cases there is profound stupor and other cerebral symptoms, such as dullness, apathy and there may be convulsions. The progress of the incoördination is very rapid, due to the sudden engorgement of the lungs, which in the infant produces symptoms almost the same as those of consolidation in older children or in adults. This is due to the air vesicles being extremely small. These cases should be adjusted as soon as there is a manifestation of symptoms, otherwise the momentum of the dis-ease may, because of its rapid progress, become so great that it will be impossible for Innate to overcome. When the medium and small sized bronchi only are affected, it is known as capillary bronchitis. The symptoms will be very much the same as in the type just mentioned, with the exception that in this type there is always a more or less severe cough. Prostration is not so great and the symptoms do not develop so rapidly. There is very rapid respiration with dyspnea and rales over the entire chest. There are symptoms which will indicate consolidation. While bronchopneumonia may come on very abruptly, yet it is not uncommon for the symptoms of bronchitis to merge gradually into those of pneumonia. From a chiropractic standpoint it would make little difference to the chiropractor whether the condition was called bronchitis or bronchopneumonia, for if adjustments are given at the beginning results will be obtained before a diagnostician would be able to make a positive diagnosis.
Children with pneumonia should not be permitted to lie in one position for any length of time. A constant change in the position is essential to prevent the accumulation of the exudate in a localized area. The child may be more easily cared for and made more comfortable by being held in the arms of an adult. This will permit frequent changing of the child’s position with very little disturbance to the child. In all cases of pneumonia plenty of fresh air is essential, but if there is any bronchitis, care must be exercised that the air is not too cold. In cases involving hepatization there is no danger of having the air too cold.