Infant Bronchitis - Everything Parents Need To Know

Parents can sacrifice all their lives for children, hen when their child is unwell how can they have a sound sleep?

When the child is persistently coughing & breathing with difficulty, you might be thinking that this no ordinary cough or cold. Well, check with your pediatrician as your baby might be suffering from Bronchiolitis.

Bronchitis commonly occurs in the adults. In this disorder the large airways in our body get inflamed. Bronchiolitis refers to the infants with their airways inflamed between their chest & the lungs. This term is coined from the word bronchioles, a part of the bronchi of the infants that is naturally smaller than that of an adult. Therefore the infections in this case are easily plugged & viruses enter very easily.

When is your child at risk?

1. At the age of 6 months, the baby becomes prone to develop bronchiolitis. Until the baby becomes 2 years old, this tendency is far too much.

2. The infants are rather more susceptible to this ailment during the winters and the early period of spring season.

3. The babies exposed to cigarettes & belch smokes also bare a high risk of catching up the said illness.

4. For infants, even the crowded environments cause the symptoms of bronchiolitis.

5. Male infants are at a higher risk to acquire bronchiolitis than the females.

6. During the first 6 months, the male infants that are formula-fed become more likely to acquire this ailment as compared to those who are breast-fed.

What are the causes of bronchiolitis?

Respiratory Syncytial Virus or RSV is the key cause of bronchiolitis among the infants. The researchers have proved that RSV causes major ailments among young children, mostly the infants.

The other viruses that lead to bronchilitis are as follows:

1. Parainfluenza Virus

This sort of virus most oft brings the pediatric respiratory infections in the infants.

2. Mycoplasma

This sort of virus is a crucial cause of pneumonia & several other disorders linked to the respiratory system.

3. Adenoviruses

This virus commonly causes ailments like conjunctivitis and several others related to the respiratory system.

4. Influenza Virus

This sort of virus enters the human body's respiratory tract and leads to the individuals suffering with cold, cough & some extent bronchitis.

What are the symptoms?

1. The baby begins to have a runny & stuffy nose along with meek cough. This is the key symptom of bronchiolitis among infants.

2. Next the child would suffer from varied breathing difficulties, that is both in the inhaling and exhaling part.

3. Just in a day or 2, the baby would have increased breathing difficulty along with rapid wheezing & cough. By this time, you must get aware as the heartbeats would have become very unusually fast.

4. While all the above symptoms are a must, they are often accompanied with the others like fever and/or cooler body temperature & reduced appetite.

How can the medical experts diagnose bronchiolitis?

In case you observe the above given symptoms in your infant, you must check with a pediatrician as soon as possible. The pediatrician would first check the baby's medical history and then assess the baby with some physical examination. Further the doctor would order for some further tests that must be taken very seriously. These tests are as follows:

1. Pulsoximeter
2. Chest x-ray

What are the treatments recommended?

1. The child can be temporarily relieved with the first-aid.

2. Next you must give your child lot of non-caffeinated fluids. This would control the dehydration in the child.

3. You can opt to make use of the humidifiers and/or saline nose drops. These would help mucus to lighten out very quickly.

4. At times, the medical experts recommend that the parents and/or caregivers should bring their infant to a hospital so as to get them well-supervised care such as giving the fluids & oxygen as & when needed and giving the right humidified atmosphere. One very important thing in this case would be that the child would get proper medical care.

Is bronchiolitis preventable?

Once your child is saved from a bronchiolitis attack, you must not risk him/her with another episode of the ailment. So, you must undertake the preventive measures that are as follows:

1. While the dicey seasons for the infant like winters and early spring season, make sure to keep your child away from persons suffering with cough, cold and flu.

2. Make sure that as a parent and/or a caregiver, you must wash your hands every time before handling the infant.

3. In case you cough or sneeze, you must use a tissue or a handkerchief to cover your mouth well enough.

In case you are likely to become ill, request someone to take over your responsibility for a few days