It is a fairly common lower respiratory tract infection that affects babies as young as six months old and children as young as two years old.
It is normally a self-limiting condition that requires no treatment, but it can become severe and necessitate hospitalisation.
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| Bronchiolitis |
Symptoms of Bronchiolitis
This infection usually begins with symptoms similar to the flu, such as a runny or blocked nose, frequent sneezing, coughing, and a mild temperature.
However, your child may become agitated, breathe faster with noisy breathing on exhalation of air(wheezy) and refuse to drink or eat as a result of this sickness.
This is usually severe from the third to the fifth day after commencement, after which it may improve, but cough normally takes one to two weeks.
Causes
It is a viral infection produced by the respiratory syncytial virus, although it can also be caused by other viruses that cause flu, such as the influenza virus.
Other factors that can lead to infection include:
Attendance of your child at the nursery
His siblings, who go to school or care facilities, become infected and return home.
If the youngster has a weaken immune system, such as
diabetes or epilepsy
If your baby is born before 32 weeks of pregnancy
Your child has a heart condition or was born with a lung
condition like cystic fibrosis.
When your child needs a doctor
If you observe complete collapse of his breathing, such as apnoea, it is referred to as apnoea.
If they are taking more than 60 breaths per minute, this is a sign that they are breathing too quickly.
Your child is suffering from the flu, which is becoming increasingly severe.
Your youngster is under the age of three months and has a fever of up to 38 degrees Celsius.
He isn't eating or drinking anything.
Due to decreased urine output, he did not require a diaper change for the previous 12 hours.
He seems to you lethargic and agitated.
Investigations
In most cases, no investigation is required to diagnose this illness.
If your doctor wishes to rule out any other diseases, such as pneumonia, he may recommend a chest x-ray.
A blood test to check your child’s white cell counts to see if he or she is fighting an infection.
ABGs are a blood test that measures the amount of oxygen in your child's blood.
Treatment
There is no need for therapy for this infection. However, your child may require oxygen and, in severe situations, artificial ventilation by placing a tube through his trachea to provide him with assisted breathing.
Because bacteria don’t cause this disease, antibiotics aren't required. If it worsens and poses a risk of complications, such as pneumonia, your doctor will prescribe antibiotics for your child.
To alleviate nasal congestion, use saline nasal drops to thin and hydrate the mucus and relieve nasal stuffiness.
Some doctors try to use bronchodilators and nebulize the patients but they do not have any role to combat this disease.
Breathing will be considerably easier if you use an air humidifier to keep his nasal cavity moist.
Make him sit upright or sleep a little more upright by utilising pillows.
Encourage him to drink plenty of water and to the older children fruit juices to avoid dehydration from the fever and infection.
Give him over-the-counter pain killers and antipyretics, such as paracetamol and ibuprofen.
Avoid giving him cough medicine if he is less than 6 years old.
Avoid smoking around your child because it might irritate him more.
Do not try cold sponging to reduce your baby temperature.
Prevention of Bronchiolitis
Both you and your child should wash hands frequently.
Clean toys and surfaces that your child comes into contact with on a regular basis.
Keep your baby away from the one who has flu.
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