| Respiratory problems in babies | 507.000000000000 | Respiratory problems in babies | Respiratory problems in babies | R | English | NA | Baby (1-12 months) | Lungs | Respiratory system | Conditions and diseases | Adult (19+) | Cough;Nasal congestion;Wheezing | | 2009-10-18T04:00:00Z | | | | | | 9.30000000000000 | 58.2000000000000 | 1867.00000000000 | | Flat Content | Health A-Z | <p>Learn about various respiratory illnesses that can arise during infancy, including the common cold, the flu, bronchiolitis, croup, pneumonia, and asthma.</p> | <p>Respiratory illnesses are common in infancy. In fact, about one-third of all hospitalizations in the first year of life are due to respiratory problems. Colds, flu, croup and bronchiolitis are common respiratory illnesses that can occur during the first 12 months of life, and at any time during childhood. Asthma and pneumonia are serious conditions that can also arise during this time. </p> | | <h2>Key points</h2>
<ul><li>Respiratory illnesses are common in infancy, including colds, flu, croup and bronchiolitis.</li>
<li>More serious respiratory conditions that can affect infants include asthma and pneumonia.</li></ul> | <h2>The common cold</h2><p>
<a href="/Article?contentid=12&language=English">The common cold</a> has typical symptoms of cough, runny nose, poor appetite, and sore throat. More than 200 viruses can cause the common cold, and the viruses are spread from person to person through contaminated hands or objects. The symptoms of the common cold last about a week, and the virus is contagious during that time. </p><h3>Treating the common cold</h3><p>You can help your child by doing the following:</p><ul><li>using a nasal aspirator to clear their nose</li><li>using a clean vapourizer to help clear their passages</li><li>cleaning your baby’s face often to prevent skin problems when the skin is exposed to nasal secretions</li><li>understanding that your baby will have difficulty feeding as long as their nose is stuffed up</li><li>checking with your doctor or pharmacist before using any cold medications</li></ul><p>Occasionally, the common cold can develop into something more serious. Therefore, if your child develops an
<a href="/Article?contentid=8&language=English">earache</a>, a rash,
<a href="/Article?contentid=30&language=English">fever</a> over 38.5°C (101°F), rapid or laboured breathing,<a href="/article?contentid=774&language=English"> a persistent or severe cough</a>, or if they are very sleepy or fussy, you should seek medical attention. </p><h2>The flu</h2><p>
<a href="/Article?contentid=969&language=English">Influenza, or "the flu,"</a> has symptoms of fever, chills and shakes, tiredness, muscle aches, and a dry, hacking cough. For most people, the flu is just like a bad cold, and it is not dangerous in otherwise healthy people. Like the common cold, the flu is caused by a virus that is transmitted from person to person through droplets or contaminated surfaces. </p><h3>Treating the flu</h3><p>You can help your child by doing the following:</p><ul><li>If your child is less than two months of age, contact your doctor.</li><li>If your child has a
<a href="/Article?contentid=30&language=English">fever </a>above 38.5°C (101°F), give them
<a href="/Article?contentid=62&language=English">acetaminophen</a> or
<a href="/Article?contentid=153&language=English">ibuprofen</a> as directed on the package. Do not give your child
<a href="/Article?contentid=77&language=English">ASA</a> because it can cause a serious disease called Reye’s syndrome. </li><li>Use a nasal aspirator to clear their nose. Warm water or saline nose drops can also help to open the nasal passages.</li><li>Use a clean vapourizer to help clear their passages.</li><li>For cough and sore throat, ask your doctor or pharmacist before giving any medications.</li></ul><p>If your child develops an earache or sinus pain, or if their fever lasts more than three days, bring them to see a doctor. If they have difficulty breathing, bring them to the hospital right away. </p><h3>Preventing the flu</h3><p>
<a href="/Article?contentid=1111&language=English">Flu shots</a> are available each year to help prevent people from getting the flu. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S.A., all children aged six to 24 months are at risk for complications from the flu, and thus should be given a flu shot each year. Also, all children over six months who have a chronic heart or lung condition including asthma, who need regular care for a metabolic disease such as diabetes, or who have chronic kidney disease or a weakened immune system should receive the flu shot. Anyone who has a condition that makes it hard to breathe or swallow should also receive a flu shot each year. </p><h2>Croup</h2><p>
<a href="/Article?contentid=17&language=English">Croup</a> is a viral infection that causes inflammation of the windpipe (trachea) and the voice box (larynx). Croup causes the child to develop a barking cough and sometimes
<a href="/Article?contentid=30&language=English">fever</a>. Children are most susceptible to croup when they are six months to three years of age. </p><h3>Treating croup</h3><p>Many parents will use warm air or mist to help treat their child's tight breathing from croup, but there is no proven evidence that measures actually work.</p><p>Here are a few things you can do if your child has an attack of
<a href="/Article?contentid=17&language=English">croup</a>:</p><ul><li>Comfort your child. This may calm them enough to help them breathe more easily and ride the attack out.</li><li>Bundle them up and take them outside into colder air. This may help reduce the swelling in the throat.</li><li>If your child is having a lot of trouble breathing, gasping for breath, or turning blue, take them to a doctor or to the emergency room right away. They may use steroids or inhaled epinephrine to open up the airway. </li></ul><h2>Bronchiolitis</h2><p>
<a href="/Article?contentid=765&language=English">Bronchiolitis</a> is a viral lung infection, usually caused by the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The virus is spread through droplets in the air and contaminated hands and objects. RSV infects more than 90% of all children during the first two years of life. The symptoms of the infection include runny nose, wheezing, rapid breathing, difficulty breathing out, coughing with or without mucus, and fever. </p><p>RSV infection causes the lining of the tiny airways in the lung, called
<a href="https://pie.med.utoronto.ca/htbw/module.html?module=lung-child">bronchioles</a>, to swell. The swelling causes the bronchioles to narrow, which leads to wheezing. The wheezing and difficulty breathing out gets worse over the first three days or so, and then starts to improve. The wheezing usually lasts about seven days and the cough about 14 days. </p><p>About 20% of babies with bronchiolitis develop an ear infection, and about 30% develop
<a href="/Article?contentid=1470&language=English">asthma</a> later in life.</p><h3>Treating bronchiolitis</h3><p>If your child has bronchiolitis, here are a few ways to help them feel better:</p><ul><li>If your child is less than two months of age, contact your doctor</li><li>If their
<a href="/Article?contentid=30&language=English">fever</a> is over 38.5°C (101°F), give them
<a href="/Article?contentid=62&language=English">acetaminophen</a> or
<a href="/Article?contentid=153&language=English">ibuprofen</a> as directed on the package.</li><li>Your doctor may prescribe an asthma medication for your child.</li><li>If your child is over four months old, try giving them warm liquids for coughing spasms, to relax the airways and loosen the secretions. </li><li>Fill a humidifier with warm water and have your child breathe in the warm mist it produces.</li><li>Use warm tap water or saline nose drops to loosen up mucus.</li><li>Encourage your child to drink small amounts of breast milk or formula at frequent intervals.</li><li>Do not smoke, and do not let anyone else smoke, around your child, as this will make the wheezing worse.</li></ul><p>If your child has difficulty breathing, a severe wheeze, is breathing faster than 60 breaths per minute, or has a bluish colour to the lips and skin, bring them to the doctor right away. Also bring them to a doctor if their fever lasts more than three days or if their cough lasts longer than three weeks. </p><h2>Pneumonia</h2><p>
<a href="/Article?contentid=784&language=English">Pneumonia</a> is a bacterial infection of the lung, which causes its airways to become infected and inflamed. The lung may produce excess fluid which can accumulate in the airways. In general, pneumonia is first suspected when the child shows unexplained signs of respiratory distress. </p><p>The first symptoms of pneumonia are:</p><ul><li>tachypnea: rapid breathing</li><li>grunting: occurs after the baby has breathed out</li><li>indrawing or retractions: the inward movement of the muscles between the ribs</li><li>
<a href="/Article?contentid=896&language=English">cyanosis</a>: a bluish colour to the lips and skin</li></ul><p>Other signs of pneumonia, such as a build-up of fluid in the lungs, can have other causes. This can make diagnosis difficult.</p><p>X-rays are often used to diagnose pneumonia. X-rays may turn up patchy areas of the lung, which can cover a large area or be localized. Air bronchograms, or abnormal pockets of air sealed off from the rest of the lung, may also appear on X-ray. </p><h3>Treating pneumonia</h3><p>If a lung infection is suspected, doctors will probably not wait for the results of a laboratory test before beginning treatment. Broad-spectrum antibiotics, which can fight a wide range of possible infections, are prescribed. These antibiotics are used to clear the infection and to prevent it from spreading to other parts of the body. Some babies require extra oxygen to help them breathe while the infection clears. It usually takes several days for the infection to clear. </p><h2>Asthma</h2><p>
<a href="/Article?contentid=1470&language=English">Asthma</a> is a chronic breathing problem that causes recurrent attacks of high-pitched wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and difficulty breathing. </p><p>Asthma causes the airways of the lungs to go into spasms and become narrow when irritating or allergenic substances enter them. Viral respiratory infections cause most attacks. Sometimes pollens can also lead to attacks in specific seasons of the year. Asthma is common in children who have other allergies such as hay fever or
<a href="/Article?contentid=773&language=English">eczema</a>. Some children are prone to
<a href="/Article?contentid=1485&language=English">exercise-induced asthma</a>, where they develop coughing and wheezing attacks after strenuous exercise such as running. Second-hand smoke is another common trigger of asthma attacks. </p><h3>Treating asthma</h3><p>Children with asthma require close follow-up with their health care provider in order to keep the condition under control. When
<a href="/Article?contentid=1472&language=English">asthma medications</a> are taken as directed, the symptoms clear up and there is no permanent lung damage. Asthma can be a long-lasting disease, but more than half of children with asthma outgrow it during the teen years. </p><p>There are several types of
<a href="/Article?contentid=1472&language=English">medications</a> that are used to treat asthma:</p><ul><li>
<a href="/Article?contentid=1473&language=English">Controller medicines</a> are used over the long term to help control the swelling (inflammation) of your child’s airways. Your child will usually take a controller medicine every day, even if she is feeling well. </li><li>
<a href="/Article?contentid=1474&language=English">Reliever medicines</a> are used for quick relief during an asthma episode or when your child is having
<a href="/Article?contentid=1471&language=English">asthma symptoms</a>. You will sometimes hear them called rescue medicines. They act quickly to relax the airways, relieve wheezing and coughing, and help your child breathe. </li></ul><p>These medications are usually administered through an inhaler, although some are available in tablet form. A metered dose inhaler is a canister of medicine that delivers a specific amount of medication in a mist into your child’s mouth and down to the airways of the lungs. In children over one year of age, the inhaler is used in conjunction with another device called a spacer, which traps the asthma medicine and gives the child time to breathe it in. However, babies under one year of age are not able to use an inhaler with a spacer. Instead, they need a special machine called a nebulizer to deliver the medication. </p><p>If your child develops any of the following symptoms, bring them to the doctor right away:</p><ul><li>a severe wheeze</li><li>a wheeze that does not improve after use of asthma medication</li><li>difficulty breathing</li><li>
<a href="/Article?contentid=896&language=English">cyanosis</a>: a bluish colour to the lips and skin</li><li>a need to use the rescue inhaler more than every four hours</li><li>wheezing that does not completely disappear in five days</li></ul><h3>Preventing asthma attacks</h3><p>There are things you can do to help prevent asthma attacks from occurring. Do not allow smoking in your home. If your child is allergic to certain animals, keep those pets out of their room and give your pets a bath each week. Use dust covers for your child’s pillows and mattress. Change the filters on your hot air heating system and air conditioner often. Keep the humidity in your home to less than 50%, to reduce allergies to mould and carpet dust mites. </p>
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