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If a visit to the pediatrician reveals that your child is dealing with pneumonia, it's common for the doctor to prescribe an antibiotic and send your child home with the recommendation that he or she gets plenty of rest. Given how your child is likely feeling miserable, you want to do all that you can to speed up his or her recovery process. Even though the antibiotics will be making the biggest impact on your child's recovery, there are several things that you can do during this difficult time. Here are some strategies that you can employ.

Keep The Child Hydrated

Dehydration is a serious risk when your child has pneumonia. Sweating, throwing up, and diarrhea can all contribute to the child losing water, thus elevating the risk of getting dehydrated. The simplest thing to do is to make sure that your child drinks a lot of water. At a certain point, however, he or she may get fed up with doing so, and this may be a struggle. Offering soup, fresh fruit, and juice can all help your child to increase his or her hydration to the keep the risk of dehydration low.

Monitor His/Her Temperature

Children suffering from pneumonia will often suffer from the chills, so you need to carefully monitor this situation, too. Sometimes, the chills can indicate the presence of a fever. Don't simply go by the feel of your child's forehead if you're concerned about a fever. Instead, take his or her temperature consistently and call the doctor or visit an urgent care center if the child's temperature is elevated. In terms of dealing with the chills, giving the child a warm bath, ensuring that he or she has plenty of blankets, and even offering some heating pads can improve the child's comfort level.

Encourage Lots Of Rest

One of the most important things that you can do for your child who has pneumonia is also one of the simplest — encourage him or her to rest. However, this can sometimes be a challenge if you have an energetic child. While lots of children with pneumonia will be tired and have a lack of energy, you may encounter times that your child wants to play inside or outside. Generally, you should keep him or her away from such activities in favor of lying low. Curling up on the couch or in bed with some movies, TV shows, or children's books can all help to keep your child entertained while he or she recovers.

For more information, visit a center such as Port City Pediatrics.