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Can Occasional Cough And Runny Nose Be Related To Pneumonia?
Our son is almost nine, it Is Monday 2:30 in the am, he has had a fever off and on since Friday early morning, his energy level has been pretty active most of the time, he is coughing occasionally with a runny nose. I have three under the tongue thermometers and they are all weird numbers under 98 degrees, so definitely inaccurate. Four years ago at this time he had similiar symptoms and he had pnemonia after pediatrician sent him to hospital for chest xrays, We will be taking him to the pediatrician later today.
Tue, 28 Jul 2020
Hello,
If my patient is having a temperature of more than 103 or productive greenish coloured cough or easy fatiguabilty with difficulty in breathing I would suspect that he / she might be having pneumonia and would definitely order a Chest X-ray to rule out the same. but if he is having mild cough, runny nose and intermittent low grade fever then I will thinking of an upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) for which the most common cause would be a viral infection.
Considering your son is 9 years old and having intermittent fever and cough, I would suspect an URTI which would require a good physical examination to confirm. If I find abnormal breath sounds when I auscultate his chest only then i would order a chest X-ray and some blood investigations to look for pneumonia.
Take care. Hope I have answered your question. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Tejas, General & Family Physician
If my patient is having a temperature of more than 103 or productive greenish coloured cough or easy fatiguabilty with difficulty in breathing I would suspect that he / she might be having pneumonia and would definitely order a Chest X-ray to rule out the same. but if he is having mild cough, runny nose and intermittent low grade fever then I will thinking of an upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) for which the most common cause would be a viral infection.
Considering your son is 9 years old and having intermittent fever and cough, I would suspect an URTI which would require a good physical examination to confirm. If I find abnormal breath sounds when I auscultate his chest only then i would order a chest X-ray and some blood investigations to look for pneumonia.
Take care. Hope I have answered your question. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Tejas, General & Family Physician
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