5. Higher Than Normal Respiration Rate
When a person with pneumonia has fluid or pus in the alveoli, this person would normally be short of air in the lungs. This means there will be less oxygen supply for the body and its organs. The body’s minimum requirement for oxygen remains at the same level, but with less air, and therefore less oxygen, it needs to compensate. The way the body compensates is to increase its respiration rate, or the frequency of breaths. In other words, a person with fluid or pus in the lungs will breathe faster. By taking in more frequent breaths, although shallow breaths at that, the body is trying to take in the same amount of air to distribute to the body and its organs.
The average normal respiration rates are as follows:
Adults will normally breathe in the range of 12 to 24 breaths per minute,
Children aged 4 to 12 years old average 18 to 30 breaths per minute,
Children aged 1 to 3 years old average 24 to 40 breaths per minute,
Infants below 1 year old average 30 to 60 breaths per minute.
The respiration rates listed above are averages. If you notice a person breathing heavily, or fast, or shallow, unless they have just performed strenuous physical activity, check if their respiration rate is within the averages listed above. If it’s faster than average, and faster than their normal breathing, check with a doctor.
A person will not always realize on their own that they are breathing faster than their normal rate. Some of them will just feel very tired or they notice themselves experiencing tachycardia.
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