Wheezing in children. Wheezing when breathing in a child. Wheezing in a child without fever

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Everyone gets sick in childhood. Some rarely, others almost all the time. For most mothers, wheezing in children, redness of the throat or fever is a real disaster. Sure, none of these signs bode well, but still, parents should not panic and call a doctor or emergency room for common cold symptoms.

What is wheezing?

This term, as a rule, refers to extraneous noises heard during breathing. They are more difficult to identify in children than in adults. Firstly, the sounds made by the respiratory organs at different ages are different (which is considered normal). For example, in children from one to seven years old, symptoms characteristic of SARS in adults are often observed. It's about hard breathing. They go away on their own with age. Secondly, wheezing in a child without fever isdifficult to hear because the baby feels good and does not want to sit still for a whole minute and breathe on the command of parents or doctors.

What are they like?

Wheezing in children, as in adults, is divided primarily by their localization. They are pulmonary, bronchial or tracheal. It is not uncommon for extraneous sounds during breathing to come from the nasopharynx or throat. This happens after long cries (they say that the child is hoarse). Either the symptom is a clear sign of an allergic reaction or a beginning SARS.

Wheezing in a child without fever, regardless of the source, does not require emergency medical care (provided that he is able to breathe on his own and there are no signs of asphyxia). However, it does not hurt to show it to the attending pediatrician, especially in cases where neither the cause of noisy breathing nor its source is clear.

In addition to localization, rales are dry and wet, constant and periodic, whistling and crepitating. Sometimes they are heard when inhaling (then they are called inspiratory), and sometimes they are heard when exhaling (expiratory).

How to hear wheezing?

Medical workers do this with a special device - a phonendoscope. It allows local amplification of sounds. Often, pulmonary or bronchial rales are clearly audible if you simply put your ear against your back or chest. There are also diseases in which gurgling in the chest cannot be overlooked even at some distance from the patient.

In case the sound sourceis the throat or nasopharynx, the noise is usually accompanied by pain, voice distortion and difficulty breathing.

Wheezing baby

In early childhood (especially before the age of one) it can be very difficult to diagnose and treat diseases. The baby cannot say what specifically worries him. At the same time, in an infant, wheezing can be the result of both a prolonged cry and a complex (and sometimes even dangerous) illness.

It's not always easy for a mother to tell if her child is choking or just crying for too long. Doctors advise to pay attention to other symptoms. If the baby, once in his arms, immediately calmed down, looks he althy and behaves normally (despite wheezing), you can not worry. In the event that a bluish tint appears on the skin, and breathing is clearly difficult, you need to sound the alarm. It can be a symptom of a cold or infection, or a more serious illness. Similar signs also sometimes indicate the ingestion of foreign objects into the respiratory system. It is important that in all these cases the urgent help of a specialist is required.

When to start worrying

Wheezing when breathing in a child is not in itself a cause for panic. But in conjunction with some other symptoms require immediate medical attention. An ambulance should be called if severe wheezing in a child is accompanied by a high temperature (from 38 or more), repeated vomiting, noticeable difficulty in breathing (there is a threat of asphyxia) or at the age of up to a year (if they have not passed within 5minutes to eliminate the "false alarm" caused by a long cry).

In all other cases, there is no need for urgent specialist intervention. If a child has a cough with wheezing, fever (within acceptable limits) and other signs of a respiratory infection, it is enough to call the local doctor.

Self-medication is acceptable when all symptoms have already been observed before, a specialist has diagnosed and prescribed treatment. A visit to the clinic will still have to be planned if the cough does not go away in a week, despite all the measures taken. A doctor should be invited to the house, even if the baby's temperature is not very high, but it has not been normalized in 7 days.

How to treat wheezing in a child?

The most correct answer to this question is what the specialist will appoint. However, knowing modern mothers (as well as grandmothers, by the way), it is worth assuming that no one will listen to him especially, and their own knowledge will be used.

If a child's wheezing during breathing occurs as a result of a common viral infection, then they can be treated with medications (expectorants and anti-inflammatory drugs), folk (honey with milk, herbs, rubbing) and other methods (heating, inhalation). In some cases, it is necessary to use more serious drugs - antiviral and antibiotics. They should be prescribed by a doctor in accordance with the diagnosis and condition of the child.

Medicated treatment

If a child has a cough with wheezing, and even dry, folk remedies here, most likely, can not do. Showing the baby to a specialist andmaking sure that this is the result of a common cold, you can start taking an expectorant mixture or syrup. The latter option is good because most of these drugs have a pleasant sweet taste, so that the child will drink the medicine without being harmful. Although potions are more effective (especially those that are sold in powder form and require dilution with boiled water). But children sometimes refuse tasty medicines, so they certainly won’t drink unpleasant, let alone bitter ones.

For older children, expectorants in tablets or powders are quite suitable. Or a potion for adults (it is important not to make a mistake with the dosage). If the doctor has prescribed additional anti-inflammatory drugs, you should not refuse them either.

Traditional medicine

If as a result of a complication of a viral infection or hypothermia, wheezing occurs in a child, treatment may not be medication (subject to normal temperature). We are talking primarily about decoctions of medicinal herbs. When coughing, coltsfoot, thyme, licorice, and elecampane help well. You can relieve inflammation with ordinary chamomile. There are also special herbal preparations that are sold in any pharmacy.

In addition, inhalations on pine buds or potato peels help with cough and wheezing. But they are contraindicated at elevated body temperature. Pine buds brewed in milk (a tablespoon per liter of liquid) are taken orally 50 ml every 2 hours. An unstarted dry cough can pass literally inday.

In the absence of an allergy to honey, eggnog is effective. Children eat it with pleasure, perceiving it as a delicacy. A tablespoon of honey is mixed with softened butter and rubbed with the yolks of 2 eggs until white. A mixture of 20 grams is enough, it is consumed half an hour before a meal. A contraindication may be an allergy to eggs or honey. Wheezing in children will be perfectly cured by radish. A hole is made in it with a knife, which is filled with honey. After a couple of hours, a sweet syrup forms in this place, which the children drink with pleasure. The procedure can be repeated throughout the day, after which a new radish is taken.

Compresses

When a child has wheezing in the chest, and breathing is difficult, ways to relieve it can be not only medicinal. Compresses are used mainly at night, provided that the body temperature is close to normal. This treatment is good for both babies and older children.

The simplest and most pleasant compress is potato. To do this, the vegetable is cleaned and boiled. Then they are crushed (without adding any s alt or fat) and placed in a plastic bag, which is tightly tied. Then you need to wrap it with several layers of cloth (a towel will do) in such a way that it is warm, but not hot. The bundle is placed on the baby's chest and held for about an hour. Remove 1 layer of cloth from time to time, adjusting the temperature as the potatoes cool.

Babies are sometimes made honey mustard cake, which also has a good warming effect. in equal partstake vegetable oil and vodka. Add the same amount of honey and mustard powder, as well as flour, to make a dense but soft dough. A cake is formed from it and laid on the chest or back (2 can be made). Having fixed it with a bandage, you can leave it until the morning. If you are allergic to honey, this remedy is contraindicated.

Inhalers

They are steam and aerosol. The former allow you to treat inflammation of the upper respiratory tract with hot herbal decoctions or special solutions. They are used both for mild forms (laryngitis, SARS, tracheitis), and for more severe diseases, such as bronchitis. Aerosol is prescribed by a pediatrician, diagnosing complex forms. This applies to bronchitis and bronchial asthma. An inhaler of any kind can be purchased at a pharmacy. It is usually used in combination with other therapies. The essence of this device is to turn the drug into vapor (by raising the temperature or under pressure) and deliver it directly to the respiratory tract.

Physical exercise

If a child breathes with wheezing, he has a dry cough and sputum does not go away, therapeutic exercises are often used to alleviate the condition. The main expectorant exercises are carried out upside down. For example, a child can be taken by the legs and moved around the room in her arms. Then they perform the "birch". If the apartment has a horizontal bar, you should hang on it upside down (but not for very long). It will also be effective to tap a little on the chest and back of the child. As a rule, if he does not havetemperature and general well-being are within normal limits, the baby will like this exercise.

When talking about a baby, they take him by the legs and gently shake him upside down. Then they tap on the chest and back. It will be useful to spread the arms of the child to the sides, then cross on the chest. No less effective massage of the chest and back (in the area of the shoulder blades). Toddlers make it with their hands, stroking and tapping. Older children perform vacuum massage with a jar. The procedure is very unpleasant and even painful, but very effective. Helps even with bronchitis and pneumonia.

Allergic cough

Often wheezing in children, cough, runny nose and swelling of the nasopharynx are the result of contact with external stimuli. The allergen can be plant pollen, animal hair, clothes, toys, food and drugs. Allergies often go away on their own with age. Sometimes it stays for life. Allergies are difficult to treat, and since their manifestations are often accompanied by fever, swelling of the respiratory organs and the risk of asphyxia, the first priority is to control the symptoms.

If a child has a similar reaction to any irritants, then contact with them must be minimized (ideally, eliminated). The first-aid kit should contain the appropriate drugs - we are talking about decongestant and anti-allergic tablets, nose drops, etc. It is better to use them on the advice of a specialist, since self-medication in this case is most dangerous.

Prevention

Of course, all parents dream about the he alth of their own children. But very few take concrete action to maintain it. First of all, we are talking about proper nutrition, regular physical activity, outdoor activities, walks in nature and hardening. Children do not need to be wrapped up and stuffed with antibiotics at the first symptoms of a cold. After all, immunity is developed precisely at this age. If it is constantly suppressed by excessive care and chemicals, then as a result, a sickly child will turn into an adult with a bouquet of chronic diseases.

Wheezing in children can be a sign of a variety of ailments, ranging from a common respiratory infection to complex bronchitis, pneumonia, and even asthma. Therefore, in the event that they do not go away and are accompanied by fever and other symptoms, you should consult a doctor.