A breath of fresh air...

Our most common reason for admission on Children's ward is with pneumonia.  Most cases are young children in the first 3 years of life and they present with rapid breathing, cough and fever.

However, unlike a couple of decades ago when we first worked here, we now see some  patients with asthmatic symptoms.  It used to be only a few adults who had such problems.  Above is a child admitted in respiratory distress and having a nebuliser of salbutamol, a bronchodilator.  He also has an IV infusion of an old-fashioned but very useful medicine called aminophylline.


Here he is a couple of days later much improved and learning how to use a home-made spacer for his inhaler treatment.