Why Is My Child Having Breathing Difficulty And What Can I Do?

OVERVIEW

Breathing difficulty in children referred to as “Dyspnea or breathlessness” affects millions of people, especially older people.

There are several factors that can cause a cough or difficulty breathing in children, such as being too cold, allergies, or premature birth.

Trouble in breath in toddlers is commonly due to cold, which can be treated easily at home.

However, if you see that your child faces heavy difficulty breathing, then you should immediately consult your doctor.

So this topic will talk about difficulties in breathing in toddlers and management.

Breathing Difficulty In children

If you look at children, which breath at a different rate compared to adults.

However, a newborn baby should breathe about 40 to 50 times a minute, and an infant will breathe a little less fast about 30 to 40 times a minute.

In addition, an older child will breathe for about 20 to 30 minutes a minute.

But if your child is breathing faster than usual, this is called respiratory distress or discomfort in breathing.

So how do I know that my child is facing respiratory distress? and cause of it?

You might hear a wheezing noise loudly like hollow musical noise that comes again, and again, which is respiratory distress.

Parents might also feel a pit in the neck or just below the rib cage is hollow and the child is breathing very fast.

This is a problem and needs immediate medical attention.

Causes of respiratory distress in children occur due to:

  • Infections
  • chronic illness
  • blocked airway
  • premature birth

When your child has to work hard to breathe, which leads to not getting enough oxygen to the lungs which cause more prone to infections.

Check Out – Common Medical Causes of Trouble In Breath And Its Treatment

Why Is My Child Having Breathing difficulty?

There are several reasons why your toddler’s difficulty in the breath which include:

Cold

Breathing difficulty in children or newborn babies can occur due to colds, its symptoms can range from mild to severe.

If the baby has a nose block, due to a cold say, for instance, you see the baby breathing through the mouth, and each child has several episodes a year.

However, this problem is a simple nose block and it can be treated with a simple saline nasal block or simple nasal drops, and gone on its own.

Pneumonia

It is a respiratory system (lungs) disease, where inflammation occurs in your Alveoli (air sacs in the lungs).

This inflammation makes the fluid in our alveoli, and due to this a person has difficulty in breathing, this condition is called pneumonia.

According to a report, children under the age of 5 died in India at a higher rate than any other age group in 2018.

Symptoms in under 5 years children include:

  • Fast breathing
  • cough
  • fever
  • cry more than normal

Under 1 year toddlers may feel tired, and have difficulty eating, and drinking.

Above 65 older adults and less than 2-year children are more at risk of pneumonia.

Allergy

It is an overreaction of our immune system which usually occur due to harmless substances Pollen, animal fur, and certain food these substances are called allergens.

Genetic allergies are more serious in children than in non-allergic parents, and precautions and a healthy lifestyle are the only management.

Food allergy can cause severe and sudden life-threatening, which may lead to serious trouble with breath and a quick drop in BP.

When an affected substance enters the lungs it affects the airways, which brings asthma symptoms like coughing, wheezing, and trouble breathing.

Check Out – Seasonal Allergy: Causes, Symptoms, How To Treat It

Premature birth

After early birth Breathing difficulties in children are common because the lungs are one of the last organs to mature in the womb.

This is why premature birth babies, spend days or weeks on ventilators.

A ventilator helps in moving air in and out of your lungs so that your body can get the oxygen it needs.

what causes premature birth? there are several causes in pregnancy that leads to early birth which include:

  • Initiation of the labour with or without rupture of the membrane
  • certain disease – diabetes, cervical incompetence, High BP, kidney and heart disease
  • An unhealthy lifestyle includes – smoking, too much alcohol, and a lack of nutrition
  • obesity
  • a weal cervical opening early
  • the fetus is smaller than expected during pregnancy
  • physical injury or trauma
  • stress life events, like domestic violence and death of loved ones
  • previous premature birth
  • multiple miscarriages or abortions
  • polyhydramnios (a condition that leads to excessive accumulation of the amniotic fluid in the amniotic sac)

Early birth babies need quick medical attention for warmth and breathing, this would determine the life and death situation for the baby.

Asthma

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory condition where the airway is obstructed, which tends to run in genetics or family.

In childhood asthma, the lungs and airways become easily triggered, due to certain exposure substances, such as inhaling pollen, dust, etc.

This situation can interfere with children’s activities like playing, school, and sleep, due to difficulty in breathing (3)

Cough

Breathing difficulty and coughing are common among young children and occur due to the common cold.

A wet cough can lead to building up mucus in the air passages of the lungs, this can cause trouble in breathing at all ages, and infection.

Croup cough is commonly found in infants and young children and is caused by the parainfluenza viruses.

In this, the narrowing of the windpipe and infection of the upper airway obstructs breathing which causes a barking cough.

In addition, a child with continuous cough and fever for more than 2 weeks can be a sign of pneumonia.

Other Causes of Breathing Difficulty In Children

There are other several causes of difficulty in breathing which can range from mild to severe in toddlers including:

  • lung collapse
  • a bacterial infection such as tonsillitis and epiglottitis
  • chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
  • exposure to toxic gases
  • cystic fibrosis
  • blockage of airways by an inhaled object for example – food or any small object
  • passive smoking
  • viral infections such as bronchiolitis, and pneumonia is also a viral infection

Signs of Breathing Difficulty In Children

If your child faces difficulty in breathing then you may see these common signs and symptoms (6) which include:

  • Increase rate of breathing
  • nostrils widen when breathing
  • grunting or hollow sound when toddler breath
  • lips and tongue may appear blue or pale skin
  • dizziness due to the low oxygen levels in the blood
  • cough is seen worse
  • high pitch noise when toddlers inhale and exhale
  • taking a breath by opening the mouth to fulfil oxygen needs instead of the nose
  • runny or blocked and sneezing nose

But some symptoms may look different which may point toward a disease or illness are:

  • Chest indrawing
  • fast breathing
  • stomach issues like – enlarged liver and spleen
  • hyperinflated chest
  • irregular heartbeat
  • swelling of lymph nodes

Breathing Difficulty In Children At Night

At night not only with children or toddlers but even with adults trouble in breathing becomes worse (8) due to:

During sleep, the airways become more narrow, which prevents more airflow goes into the lungs.

Wet cough and colds (also runny noise can also trigger asthma situation) that make the condition worse.

Essential Tips Before Bed

  • Taking a hot shower before bed
  • add a pillow below the head when you turn right or left during sleep.
  • use a nasal spray or strips to clean out airways
  • humidifiers in your room open your nasal passages and help you sleep.
  • the bedroom should be cosy

Check Out – Why Do Most Of The illnesses Get Worse At Night?

What Can I Do For?

In the case of toddlers, do not go searching for remedies, consult a child doctor, which will recommend what’s good for your child.

Cold and cough – If you see that cough is the reason for it, then a warm and sweet drink soothes the throat and relieves the cough.

Asthma – In severe asthma oxygen levels above 95% are kept in all children.

In childhood asthma, preventing trigger substances like pollen, and dust can make prevent asthma from causing breathing difficulties.

During sleep lift the head up with added pillows to keep the airways more open.

Pneumonia – Your healthcare may give you some antibiotics, cough, fever, and pain delivers medicine, and rest is also vital.

Allergy – In this, prevention is the only way to manage it, because no medicine can bring a cure for your allergy triggers situation.

If your toddler is allergic to dust, then make sure they keep wearing a mask in the polluted area and wash their hands before eating food.

Also, little exercise like dancing and general movements keep their immune system strong.

Use an air purifier in your bedroom to collect unwanted dust.

Down Line

There are several reasons for Breathing Difficulties In children or newborn babies cold, and coughs are common.

However, if your baby is allergic to something, so make sure prevention is the only cure and management for the baby.

In severe cases, the baby needs immediate medical attention, where doctors keep the child’s oxygen level at a normal stage.

Healthytalk8

Hello, I'm Sahil bisht, I am a Mechanical engineer, As well as, aspiring blogger with an obsession for health. This blog delicate to people who want to learn in health.

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