Posted by Dr Joe on February 28, 2011 · 89 Comments
One of the more common illnesses that is encountered during the winter months in infants and young children is a respiratory problem referred to as Bronchiolitis or “wheezy bronchitis”. This is a condition caused by a viral infection that attacks the respiratory tree, both upper (nose and throat) and lower (the smaller airways leading to the air sacks in the lungs). It is most commonly caused by RSV or Respiratory Syncitial Virus. It can also be caused by other winter time viral infections but the exact cause is relatively unimportant as the symptoms are nearly the same.
Your child will usually develop signs and symptoms of a regular cold with sneezing, runny nose, mild cough, and sometimes a low grade fever. At this stage it will be impossible to tell if this will progress to bronchiolitis, but most of the time this will remain a cold and your “cures” are limited as your doctor will tell you. In a certain number of infants and young children, after a few days of the cold, the cough might progress to a more significant stage and the infant or young child may show some signs of having difficulty breathing; more rapid breathing rate than normal will usually be the first of such signs, but fever alone can raise an infant’s rate of breathing, and if you are unsure call your baby’s Doctor and he/she will help you figure that out.
Because the primary problem with bronchiolitis is swelling in the respiratory passages (lower and upper), air might have to begin to squeeze through narrower passages in the lungs and similar to what we have presented about asthma in the past, this may lead to wheezing. Wheezing is a whistling (musical) type of noise when your child breathes out versus noisy breathing in noticed in those infants with the upper airway cold. Admittedly this may be difficult to see by non- medical parents, but you can ask your Doctor how to do this in a reliable and repeatable manner.
Most infants and young children will remain in this stage and, as long as he/she is feeding well , does not have fever over 103, and seems fairly cheerful with his/her usual skin color, you do not need to worry, and all the symptoms will resolve as the cold goes away.
Occasionally, the situation can worsen with more difficulty breathing, now showing itself by your child using more muscles of his/her body to help force the air through the small airways in the chest: those muscles might include the abdominal, neck and intercostals (muscles between the ribs). At this stage your child should certainly be under the care of a physician, who might, depending on the appearance of your child admit him/her to the hospital so that more intensive care can be used to help him/her breathe.
The illness is self limited in that between 3 and 7 days normal resolution will take place. The worsening progression that I outlined above will generally not happen very fast and you will have time to see that your child is getting worse. Anywhere along the way, should you have doubts about your ability to adequately monitor your child’s status you should be talking to his/her Doctor.
I would like to stress once again that most bronchiolitis illnesses in infants and young adults remains mild and in fact may be indistinguishable from a normal cold.
If you would like to hear more about bronchiolitis please leave me a note in the comments below
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Sir,
My child is 13 years. From his childhood it is experienced whenever he gets bad cold his nose throat and lungs get infected and coughing. In year 2008 when he was 9 years old during winter he was having bad cold and coughing, he got breathlessness. He was admitted to hospital and they diagonosed wheezy bronchitis. They gave gave him neubilization and he was well within a week. Now this year last month he again got the same problem and was hospitilised again he was given neubilization and became well within a weeks time. Now he again got this attack. At present he is under treatmnet. Can he get rid of this problem forever? Every time the cause of lung infection and wheezy bronchitis is bad cold (sneeze). Here I want to bring in your notice that he is also suffering from Protein Loss through urine since from childhood. The routine urine tests show one (+) for albumin and 24 hour tests varried from 250 mgs to 900mgs since from childhood. At present he is not taking any medicine for this problem because no doctor advised any medicine for it. Sir, I want to know that whether this problem of wheezy bronchitis has any relation with protein loss. I think his lungs may be week because this protiene loss so he gets frequent bad cold and lung infection. I will be greatfull to you if you give advice in this matter so that his both the problems are solved.
Only rarely will these two symptoms be related. He should be seen and evaluated by a Pediatric Pulmonologist (lung specialist) at this point as he probable has asthma that can be controlled very well. The prognosis for asthma is uncertain but he is likely to improve as he gets older. Medications at this time will keep the trouble he is having at a minimum. The protein in the urine is a separate issue and should be followed by a Pediatric Nephrologist for evaluation. Occasionally this can be a sign of serious kidney disease.
Dear Sir,
My son is 3 yrs old and since childhood he has the tendency to get cough n cold very quickly, sometimes small dose of medicine helps however sometimes doctor has to give him antiboitics. He was diognosed with wheezy bronchitis yesterday. he has lost his apetite, vomit after his meals sometimes. I want to treat him for long run as this keeps coming back and I have no solution for his treatment.
Also, i make sure not to give him cold water or any other drinks, but sometimes he likes to have juice which he drinks but only room temprature.
I stay in Dubai and the weather is really dusty here (not sure if dust can cause this)
Your advise will greatly help.
Hello Shweta:
What you are describing is not very unusual. First of all I don’t think you need to be concerned with the temperature of the fluids that he drinks. Nothing will make this condition worse. At a young age children can get a little wheezing with colds or allergies and usually this situation will resolve itself by age 5 or 6 years old. A small percentage of these children will go on to have asthma in the future-If he also has eczema, this raises the chance of asthma. Certainly dusty conditions can irritate the respiratory tract and cause congestion, as can exposure to cigarette smoke and other irritants. As far as treating this on a long term basis, it depends on how often it is occurring and how many problems it causes him- all information I do not have at this time. Certainly also if he is truly wheezing there are medications to use as a preventative- these issues you need to discuss with his Doctor. He should not need an antibiotic every time this occurs.
Please let me hear from you, Dr. Skoloff
Shweta: Your son needs evaluation by his Doctor for other things such as allergy or asthma. Please set up appointment soon and sorry for the delayed response- thought I had already answered your question.
Hi Dr. Joe
I was just searching Bronchiolitis in children and your article came up. Thank you for the information you have provided. But I was just wondering could you answer a question for me?
My 4 year old daughter became ill on Sunday morning, she just woke with a slight cough and a sniffle but nothing much. But as day went on I noticed her heart seemed to be beating rapidly, then her breathing became wheezy and she was working hard to breath, chest, tummy etc moving with every short, hallow breath. Brought her to an emergency doc that evening (just 12 hours after her waking with slight cold).
I was told she had Bronchiolitis and was given steroids, antibiotics and cough medicine for her. Two days later and shes way better already. But is it really Bronchiolitis? Did it not come on way too fast? And every other article I found on the subject said it is n illness that only effects children under 2. Interested in hearing your thoughts. Thank you
Bronchiolitis can certainly affect a child at an age but 2 yrs old is only a gross estimate. In general the younger the child the more severe are the symptoms to the point that it may just look like a cold with a cough in older children. It usually follows a “cold” but can come on fairly fast. If your child gets this repeatedly he/she should be seen by your Dr. to get at the root of the problem. Other causes my be present such as allergy or asthma.
Hi Dr. Joe,
My child is 3.5 years old. From his childhood it is experienced whenever he gets bad cold his nose throat and lungs get infected and coughing. In year 2009 when he was 9 months old during winter he was having bad cold and coughing, he got breathlessness. He was admitted to hospital and they diagonosed wheezy bronchitis. They gave gave him neubilization and he was well within a week. Now at regular intervals (appx. 4 times in a year) he is facing the problem cough and cold and we have been adviced by our doctor to give him asthalin inhaler / seroflo 50 inhaler. Can he get rid of this problem forever? Sir, I want to know that whether this problem of wheezy bronchitis has any relation with protein loss. I think his lungs may be week because this protiene loss so he gets frequent bad cold and lung infection. I will be greatfull to you if you give advice in this matter so that his both the problems are solved. Please also guide us what precaution we should take that he will be cured as early as possible.
Hello Srivatsan: Please see my comments back to Jillian. The likelihood is that your child will outgrow this problem, but as I said in my comment back to Jillian, some children will go on to have asthma and this is very difficult to predict. Tell me more about the protein loss. Have you been told this by a Doctor? What is the source of the protein loss? ThEre may be some relation between protein loss and wheezing but this is unusual.
Hi Jillian: One can catch the virus that causes bronchiolitis at any age but the symptoms that you as a parent see can vary with age. The virus (RSV) attacks the respiratory tree and concentrates on the lower part. The small airways in the respiratory tree are narrower in infants and young children and since the virus attacks this area and causes some swelling and irritation, the smaller the bronchioles (the small airways) the more wheezing there is and breathing problems. Occasionally the patterns are not followed exactly and older children can have this problem. The illness can come on rapidly depending on the particular child.
One other wrinkle to this issue is that a certain small percentage of children with bronchiolitis will go on to be asthmatic, but there is no telling who those children are. Please let me know if you have another concerns.
Dear Mr. Joe.
My son is 2 years old. He has cold every month. Till he is one year old he was pretty much OK. When he was around 1 year old he has developed wheezing with cold symptoms. Firts he gets cold, if the medicine can’t help. then after 2 3 days it will become more sevious which leads to wheezing. Since then, it became very common every 2 months he is having cold episodes with wheezing. So when I see his cold getting worse, then I will give him ( Doctor’s advise) ( Saline drops+ Ventolin) 2 -3 times day and and zyrtec ( once per day)…for 2 days, then he will be fine. Some times home remedies works but not always. When he starts wheezing, his nostrils will become dry and all mucus gets blocked. As long as his mucous coming out he will do fine, but once the mucus can’t come out then wheezing will develop. I am very much concerned about his wheezing episodes, what it could be? and how I can prevent. Will my kid outgrow from it or is there anything worry about it.
Appreciate your reply,
Regards.
Hi,
My child have exactly folllowed the same symtomp.Can u please tell me if something helped u to cure him. Please respond.
See my previous response to Kann
Kann: Very sorry for the delay in my answer as I thought I had already answered your question.Your child may have the wheezing that occurs in infants and young children and usually goes away over time. On the other hand he may also have allergies and/or asthma and so requires close follow up to make this determination. Keep your appointments with your current Doctor but suggest a referral to an allergist or Pulmonologist if he is not improving.
Hi
My daughter was diagnosed with wheezing bronchitis at 5 months old…she is now 8 yrs old…..every year she has attacks, we live in scotland so the cold weather here in the winter definitely does not help…….my child uses brown inhaler (preventer) and a blue inhaler…these do not work most of the time……she can turn blue from trying to get air into her lungs……..could this be a different illness to the the diagnosis i was given?
Hi Michelle, I aM SORRY FOR THE LONG DELAY in answering but I thought I had already answered and the web site is sometimes faulty. Your child should be seen by a Pediatric Pulmonoligist ( lung specialist) so he can offer some advise, diagnosis and help with treatment. It sounds like your daughter is experiencing fairly severe symptoms of asthma.
hi doctor Joe ,i would like to ask other opiniun from you I have 3 month old baby boy hes having cough runny nose and fever 38.2 he diagnose wheezy bronchitiS I bought him to the clinic a nd doctor give him antibiotic zetromax 200mg for 5 day, fenestril,otrivin nasal drop. for 1 week. but coughing and runny nose still not subside he have still wheezy sound and secretion. he finished already his medication for 5 days antibiotic.i bought him back to his doctor he give him again vutalin syrup for 1 week 1ml.i am worried his condition, anyway he is active playing ang drinking his milk but sometimes specially at night he is irritable, he sleep in short interval like 30 minutes what advice can
you give me to help my little baby from this caugh.
Your child needs a full evaluation by either your Dr. or an allergist. they will be able to control these symptoms.
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My 12m old is weezing dry skin runny nose and a cough but i cant make a appointment till feb because there booked is there anything i can do to help her breath better.
Hello doc.my son was three months old when he was diagonised with bronchiolitus .and since then it kept on happening three four times.after every five six days gap.but whenever I stop him with nebolizing this thing starts.well it is February and it is onset of summers but he is still coughing but only sometimes as well wheezes sometimes while playing.what is it I fail to understand even the doctor does not know
Plzzz help!!
Priya, if your Doctor will not respond to you to find out what is wrong, I would take your son to a Pediatric Pulmonologist (lung specialist) for further evaluation
My daughter has had a cough 4months know the X-ray showed she has bronchitis the chough won’t stop getting worse day and night need help please
Christine, so sorry for the delay in my answer. Idon’t knowhow old your daughter is but a cough lasting that long should be thoroughly evaluated. If your Doctor will not do this evaluation you shouldtake your child to a Pediatric Pulmonologist (lung specialist)fir further evaluation. Chronic coughs are not unusual in children but there are some issues to be ruled out.
Hi my child is 14 month old she was 10weeks early and she has had a cough for 5days now and she is wheezing and her chest is pulling in a little bit her inhaler is not working
So sorry for the delay in my response. Your child needs further evaluation to determine the cause of the coughing that is not responding to the medications. Your own Doctor or a Peddiatric Pulmonologist (lung specialist) can go further in the evaluation.
Dear Sir,
My son is 6 Yrs old, the first wheezing attack he had when he was 9 months old. He was hospitalized and after a week he was fine. We traveled to US from India, and were in US for about 2 years 9 months. During every spring and fall he will get wheezing and he was suggested a nebulizer. When he was 3 and half we returned to India. For two years he did not have much of wheezing trouble. We are in US now for the past 9 months, he’s got wheezing trouble again. He is 6 years old now, will he get rid of the wheezing when he grows or will it stay through out his life? Is there any exercise or home remedies to cure the wheezing?
Your suggestion is very important to us.
Ashwini, I apologize for the delay in my answer but your child undoubtedly has allergies and possibly asthma and should be evaluated by a Doctor. Your current Doctor can initiate an evaluation but if not I would see an allergist.
Hi Dr. Joe
My 2 yrs old son is allergic to dust smoke as told by his pediatrician…during climate change he catches cough vry easily…which usually lasts for 1 month or more..and has been nebulized 3 to 4 times…Dr has asked me 2 give montair 4mg which m giving him since 5 months….he was ok during this time but this time again during climate change he got bad cough…
New Dr. has given azithromycin truecort and livolin for 3 dayz.
And has told me if dere s no improvement then i ll chk may be inhaler required or not…
Im worried is inhaler be safe at this age and isn’t dere any permanant solution for this…i dont want to use inhaler at this age of time
Heha> An inhaler is very safe at any age and can solve the problem of a cough and/or wheezing if used properly. It sounds like your Doctor is using the correct medicine for the problem. It is difficult to predict if this problem will continue as your son gets older but most improve with age. You should follow up with your doctor requested by him or needed by you. You might check into going to a Pediatric Pulmonologist (lung specialist) if the problem continues
Hi my son is 5 months old and is going onto week 3 of Bronchitus doctors have given him nothing i have takem him back 4 times, he wheezes terrible doesnt sleep at night as he is restless coughing alot and struggling to bring mucus up off his chest so he is choking, he is on and off on his feeds sometime has them all some times takes a small amount. I am now unsure what to do as my son doesnt seem to be getting any better!
If you have not received adequate treatment from your Doctor, sit down with him/her and have a discussion as to what he/she thinks is causing the problem with your 5 month old. If you are still not satisfied I would set up an appointment with a pediatric pulmonologist (lung specialist). If you live near a pediatric medical center you can find such a person; otherwise call your local medical society and ask where the nearest pediatric pulmonologist is.
My 18mnth old son woke late monday night with stuffy nose. Now he has been wheezing all day and snoring when he can sleep. No real cough but when he does its phlemy. His breathing is deep, hard and faster than normal. He has no fever and is very active still drinking fluids and eating. He sounds like darth vader to be honest. Whats wrong with him and what should i do?
I tried sending you a reply several days ago but did not go. So sorry. He undoubtedly has a resiratory virus which will get better from 5 – 7 days after onset. The fact thathe is active and has no fever is qa good thing. You need to make a judgement based on how much trouble he seems to be having breathing. If he seems very stressed you need to have him seen by a Doctor. Probably nothing to worry about but keep your eye on him.
My 4 year old son had this awful weezing, coughing, and rapid breathing to the point where his skin is sinking under his rib cage, between his ribs, and his throat. We gave him breathing treatments with his nebulizer and now its morning he finally fell asleep and his weezing is mild as well as his coughing, but his breathing is still rapid. Should I take him to the doctors or just keep giving him his treatments and wait to see if his nap d breathing will subside? He had an episode like this about a month ago but it wasn’t this bad so I’m concerned. His doctor is booked up so should I take him to the ER?
If your child continues to wheeze and have distressed breathing after you have tried the medications you have at home, he/she should be seen by a physician. There are other ways of dealing with this problem and it is possible your child should receive one or more of these. I realize that this answer is quite delayed but for the future this is important.
My 2 month old son has bronchitis. We’ve gone to urgent care and his doctor for a follow up. My question is we’re on day 5 and I have seen slight improvement on his breathing, but he can’t keep anything down. Once he drinks breast milk or pedilyte, he vomits it up almost immediately. I’m concerned that he’s not getting enough to eat daily. Is there anything we can do to combat this?
Bronchitis can take a long time to go away (especially the cough) but if he is having trouble breathing he should be seen by a Dr. Certainly not being able to eat or drink is a significant problem but fluids are more important than solid foods. The smaller (younger) the child is, the shorter time it takes to become dehydrated, so your two month old should be seen within a day of these symptoms.
At the age of 3 my son started attending play school after a while he started having frequent cold and coughs which were treated by his pedia by prescribing oral medicines line montair LC, Ambrodile, antibiotic etc. then after a few months we went for a holiday my son spent a few hours in the kids swimming pool there he started coughing and after a day when we returned home he started coughing heavily with wheezing sound his pedia then prescribed him one puff of seroflow 125 twice a day and we r continuing with it since about last 7-8 months and have been prescribed asthalin inhaler for severe cough, though we have never been required to use asthalin. After starting with seroflow some times he has mild/ moderate cough but it is more or less in control. Is it the right medication to begin with does it have side effects can it be treated by some other means. Hi we live in Delhi, India.
One more detail I missed out my son has frequent colds I feel atleast about 1/3rd to 1/2 days of the month he has cold. If he eats anything cold even in small quantity he is surely to have cold the next day. Being a mother I am very concerned about his health.
When any child enters a school-like situation for the first time, he/she experiences a period of time when they seem to catch several colds in a row. This is not unusual as your child is being exposed for the first time to children who are sometimes contagious, so I would not worry about that. Neither exposure to pool water or drinking cold fluids can cause a cold, but there may be other reasons that your child may cough. Asthma or allergies are among the most common. When your Dr. placed your child on the inhaler he probably was considering a diagnosis of asthma. But if there is no good response, your Dr. should know about that so that he can try other things. If you have access to a Pediatric pulmonologist (lung specialist) it might not be a bad idea to set up an appointment with him for your child.
Hi there my girl is 3 years old and when she was little she never had bronchitis but I just wanted to know if she will be alright in long term
If your child never had bronchitis in the past there is no reason she should get it as she gets older. Bronchitis can occur randomly as part of a cold, but she should be fine.
My grandson is coughing bad at night and early morning. He can over Thursday when i had people here painting. I want to know could thr painting have an effect on his coughing. Mary
Certainly if your child has very sensitive airways (reactive airway disease) the smell of the paint could make his cough worse, but not for a long period of time after he is removed from the house. There is no way to be sure but other things such as smokers in the house and or mold deposits might cause the same thing. Tell your Doctor and he might want to see him.
Hello sir
My son is two years now. He has wheezing attack every month.
It certainly sounds like your child has asthma- and fairly severe. This can be handled once the diagnosis is firmly made and with the use of certain medications. There is no reason that this pattern should continue with the proper treatment. Bring your child into his/her Pediatrician and ask the same question.
hi dr joe, my twin started coughing then few minutes later were very tired .later that day they started breathing heavily. that night they were fuzzy n still breathing rapidly and would fall asleep for couple minutes then wake up cryn sayn their mouth hurt. they finally fell asleep and now this morning are still asleep and breathing rapidly wheezing cough but no fever,i gave them children cough medicine when they first began to get sick yesterday but nothin else ever since. what should i do please and thank you.
Need some other information to begin to answer your question. Did both children get this illness at the same time? How old are they? And have they had this before? Regardless of your answers, your children should be seen by their Doctor soon, as rapid breathing is a sign that their illness is affecting their lungs and they may not be getting enough oxygen.
Good morning doctor, my son started wheezing when we went to park. Since then we have being to his doctor and emergency room but all the medication tend not have permanent cure to his ailments. He is coughing, wheezing and breathing rate is high. The medication only suppresses it and it will came back again before the next dose. Both inhaler and albuterol sulfate and steroid . What is best solution to this problem and is more than four weeks. Thanks
It sounds like your child probably has asthma- a chronic disease that cannot be cured permanently but can be controlled, and controlled well. If your Dr. cannot control this problem, you should bring your child to a pediatric pulmonologist (lung specialist) to help solve this problem for you. by the way I would not bring your child to the ER or urgent care for this problem but would stick with one physician who can follow through.
Hey I have a question. My son is going on 2 next month but he been having a running nose ( none stop ) like every sec I’m wiping his nose and nothing works for him and I’m getting really worried about why this never went away and he breath so heavy and bad when he sleep. If anyone have answer please fill free to email me. Bessyscute@gmail.com
Courtney: It sounds like your child has some form of respiratory allergy that might be controlled with the right medications. Bring your child to a Pediatric allergist who will be able to help you.
My child goes to sleep fine and wakes up with a cough and runny nose sometimes fever. We make a dr apt he says it allergy’s, which she does have really bad allergy’s but it’s not allergys every single time we go. The dr prolongs treatment and it develops to a much nastier cough and other symptoms over the next two days so we make another dr apt. The dr still says it’s her alllergies. The next day it’s worse, so back to the dr we go and now we have bronchitis.
This happens just about every month and a half she goes through this. do think she would be if it from doing home breathing treatments? Do your think a air purifier would help us? Any help will do. She is 4.
Thanks from
Two miserable restless parents.
Aimee: There is no reason you and she should suffer with what seems to be allergy related issues. If either of you are smokers that should stop now. If you have furry pets, they should be kept out of your child’s room and the room should be cleaned daily. A sealed (zippered) matress cover should be used in your child’s room and you should take her to a Pediatric allergist for further help. Hope all goes well for all three of you.
hi doctor my daughter is 9 months now she was diagnosed with rsv when she was 1 months…now she is sick again.first she had runny nose but now I hear a mucus she she is coughing..n I feel mucus in her thought too..but she is doing good no crankiness nothing…will u plz answer how can I cure it n it is dangerous..do I need to take any emergency action for it.
RSV is a very common infection in young children and babies. It is usually nothing more than a severe cold, but sometimes there is wheezing and trouble breathing. If this is the first illness at 9 months since she had RSV at age 1 month, you are very lucky as most children get 6 or so illnesses in the first year of life. If this is just a cold you may use a humidifier at night with just plain cold water, saline nose drops in her nostrils and suction out her nostrils with a bulb aspirator. If she is well other wise and not running fever or having difficulty breathing this is all you need to do and I doubt is this is related to the RSV. If she is running fever > 101.5 for 3 or more days or is wheezing and having trouble breathing, you should bring her to her Pediatrician.
Hello my baby boy was born 4 weeks premature and is 6 weeks old. but otherwise no complications at birth.for the last four weeks he has been having allot of trouble breathing .more so when he is eating and sleeping he will gasp for air and the best way I can describe it is he sounds like an old man who’s been a smoker for 50 years .it’s all most like his throat and nose are clogged with mucus when he eats he can’t breath and when we take the bottle from him he stopped breathing and it takes a while for him to breath it’s almost like his airways are clogged his stomach muscles will be as fence as can be and it’s about giving me and my wife heart attacks more times than I can count.we took him to the Dr twice and the put tubes down his nose to clean his airways and test for rsv I believe it was the most horrible thing I’ve ever seen . And the next morning he was back to breathing the same way I’m so scared please tell me what to do
Hi Nick,
I’m so sorry for what you and your wife are going through…I’m sure it must be terrifying. And while we wish we could help, Dr Joe and the rest of the team here at Pediatric Safety are just not equipped to provide a specific diagnosis or treatment plan for a child without having seen them in person. Our goal is to add to the information being provided by your doctor, never to replace it. Nick, given the severity of the symptoms you describe, our best advice at this point would be to take your child back to his doctor and if you don’t feel like you’re getting the answers you need, ask for a referral to see a specialist. Wishing the best for you and your family! Stefanie Zucker, Pediatric Safety
My grandson is 1 1/2 years old have weezing also suffers from asthma we took him to ERICA but they can’t seem to know why is weezing
I don’t have many details: how long has he had wheezing? Is he otherwise healthy and growing well? Has he received any medicines for the wheezing and have they helped? You can always have him seen by a Pediatric Pulmonolgist (lung specialist). Please let me know.
My 3yrs daughter fast 2yrs she had cold tendency monthly onces but after 2yrs it has increased with serious cough n some times fever also dr. Saying it’s common weather problem all chest x-ray, blood reports r normal but she is getting frequently plz help me
It sounds like your child might have allergies. Pick up claritin or zyrtec syrup and give her 1 teaspoon per day for a week. If no improvement try to have her seen by an allergy specialist .
My baby is 2 years and half.he start having high temperature ,running nose at times cough and his breathing is high when he was 2 years and he has bn having it every month.doctor neutralized it for him and he says is not clear too that we should do chest xray ,which i did but d radiologist said we should come next week friday for d result.what is the causes of dis sickness every month.please i need ur reply sir
Hi Moriam,
I’m so sorry for what you are going through. And while we wish we could help, Dr Joe and the rest of the team here at Pediatric Safety are just not equipped to provide a specific diagnosis or treatment plan for a child without having seen them in person. Our goal is to add to the information being provided by your doctor, never to replace it. Moriam, given the severity of the symptoms you describe, our best advice at this point would be to take your baby back to their doctor, bring the x-rays, and if you don’t feel like you’re getting the answers you need, ask for a referral to see a specialist. Wishing the best for you and your family! Stefanie Zucker, Pediatric Safety
Hi,
My 15 month old was seen at the local walk in centre 2 weeks ago and diagnosed with acute bronchitis. He was given a course of 7 days worth of antibiotics and an atrovent inhaler to use 3 times a day. The dr did not tell me how long to use the inhaler for. Any idea how long to use it? I used it for 2 weeks and stopped it but he has now developed a cold and cough again and is starting to sound chesty again so not sure if this is the Bronchitis or just his cough!
Thanks.
Bring your child in to see his own Pediatrician, not just a walk in clinic because they do not know him as well as his very own Doctor. Let him/her now about what has been occurring in your child’s health over the past several weeks and your Doctor will help.
Hi my child is 7 months old and got diagnosed with acute bronchitis I gave her 10 days of antibotics and she is still coughing till she turns purple what can I do
Sometimes the cough from bronchitis can last several weeks but if she is turning colors with the cough she should be seen and evaluated by her Pediatrician. Has she had all of her childhood immunizations she was due for? If not, get her totally immunized as soon as possible.
Hi my daughter is 3 months old I’ve been to the docs for past two days. Anyway last week got told my daughter had a viral. Then last night I got told it’s still a viral but everywhere is clear even though she was wheezing. Now today I took her to emergency doctors who told me her throat and ears were red and she has a wheeze in the left side front and back. Which is what there concerned about they don’t seem bothered about her reduced feeding or the sleepiness and high pitch screaming I also told them she had black tar like thing mixed in with her stool when I changed her nappy. When she breaths it’s like she’s taking deep breaths but she isn’t.
Bring her back to her Doctor or change Doctors until you get an answer for her problems.
Hello Doctor
I have 5 years old daughter, since she was two we have been in hospital every two months. She has been diagnosed that she suffers from viral wheeze. She doesn’t have any allergy or eczema but every time she gets a cold and has runny nose she becomes wheezy and breathless. She is on Montelukast every evening, 1 puff in the morning and evening of Clenil Modulite 100 mcg preventer and also Ventolin Evohaler if she needs it. I am writing to you as I don’t know what to do anymore because she gets ill so often, every two months we are in the hospital with viral wheeze or chest infection, she is treated with Nebulizers and 3 day course of prednisolone, sometimes she will also get antybiotycs. When she gets unwell, she is very poorly, she brings up green mucus and have a nasty cough. She is just five and already took so much of medication I am wondering if she could have a problem with her lungs? what could I do to prevent all this happening to her so often?
Thank you
I would bring your child to see a Pediatric Pulmonologist (lung specialist) and I am sure he will be able to help her.
Hello
I have a 3 month old boy who just went through a broncolitis (diagnosed by his doctor and treated by nebulizer and some sessions with phisioterapist to help him get rid of the secretion). All the cough is gone and his lungs and bronchitis are fine but he is still snoring – during his naps and also when he is awake. Its not whezing tough its this darth vader sound. His nose is also a bit blocked but the mucus is more in the “afternose” then in the nostrils. My q is – is it some sort of a side effect, a way of getting back to full health a new cold or something else? We live in brussels so its really humid but he hasnt been out for two weeks now. Thank you in advance for your help! And for all the great work you are doing here!
Bronchiolitis is a very common illness in young children and is characterized by cold symptoms, cough, and sometimes wheezing. Some mild congestion can persist for several weeks afterward and this is probably happening now. If he is acting well, feeding well and no trouble breathing you don’t have to do anything and this should go away within a month.
My son is going to be 2 years old December 10 and took him to the Er and told me he has bronchiolitis but he has not been eating anything for 4 days and I am scared he also as diarrhea
Hi Claudia
If you haven’t already, you need to bring your son in to be seen, either by his pediatrician or to the ER if his symptoms have not subsided. Unfortunately Dr Joe and the rest of the team here at Pediatric Safety are just not equipped to provide a specific diagnosis or treatment plan for a child without having seen them in person. Our goal is to add to the information being provided by your doctor, never to replace it. And if you’re scared – go with your gut feeling – this is your baby. Seek out local medical professionals who can keep an eye on your son and if there’s anything serious, they’ll be able to monitor his condition. And please, write us back and let us know how he’s doing! Wishing the best for you and your family! Stefanie Zucker, Pediatric Safety
Hi
My son is 5 month old .He had bronchitis.I talk to specialist,He said when he grow up like 1 year it will go .Is that correct.He gave liquid medication for 1 week.I gave the medication but soon I stop that it will came again breathing heavier like esthma.I have question that is that go away when he grow up or going on .
Hi,my 9 month old was in with my doctor a few days ago and was told has a chest infection and slight asthma. Was given antibiotics for 3 times a day and steroids twice daily and to start him on inhaler and spacer….now the last 2 nights when I give him the spacer and inhaler before bed I put him down asleep and an hour later he is having awful coughing fits is this normal or what should I do?
Since your Doctor has recently seen your child you should direct these questions to him. Sometimes the medicine in the nebulizer can cause poor sleeping or irritability in young children and he may be able to change the dosage or timing around.
My son from 2 years old gets a cold around every two to three months from when he was two and has severe bronchitis each time ….has trouble breathing at night his chest and heart pumps so fast I get so scared…they give him antibiotic and cough syrup each time but I feel it relieves him a couple days but I want to know why it comes back so fast …is there a long term remedie I can do for him or something else that will make this less frequent ?
Without seeing him and listening to his chest during these episodes, I cannot offer a good answer to you. I would rely on his Doctor for an answer and if not you should take him to see a Pediatric Pulmonologist (lung specialist).
Sir my doughter is suffering from cold and mild cough , my doc suggestions are its start of bronchitis as seen from x ray. He suggested to admit her but we are having doubt on his decision as we never seen fever or weaknesses in her. What we should do ? Can we go with medicines as prescribed by doc or do we need to admit her proactively?
Hello,
My 5 year old son was just diagnosed with bronchiolitis. He had is once at 3years old with rsv and was hospitalized for 5 days. Since then we have been on asthma maintence medication and have a fast acting inhaler.
My question for you- isn’t he old for this? Do you have any thoughts on why he got this again at his age? Any thoughts on how to treat this and how to prevent this from happening again?
Any thoughts would be helpful.
When a child gets bronchiolitis ( and you are right that it usually occurs younger than five years old) wheezing can be a part of the illness in a young child. That wheezing usually only lasts as long as the illness, 1-2 weeks. Sometimes that wheezing that we see and hear is really part of what we would see in a child with asthma- and the bronchiolitis merely brings it out early. When we see the first episode in a child it is not possible to tell if this might be an asthmatic child as he/she grows older- this, however, is not the common scenario (usually when the illness is over, it is over) .
On the other hand it is not uncommon at all for a child to have recurrent episodes of wheezing with each regular cold after an episode of bronchiolitis, and this could last for several years. I’m sure I have confused you but listen to his Pediatrician who will weed through the possibilities.
hello ,
my daughter is turning 3 coming May..when she was 1 1/2 year old she had very bad cold and coufgh,doctor put her on nebolizer and antibiotics.after a week or she was fine..then she moved to Malyahsia..when she is about 2.5 years we joined her in school..form then onwards she gets sick very very often..initially starts with cold and then weezing..doctor generally gives nobolizer ,ventomol etc etc..when she stays at home with out going to scholl she is normally ok. but from the time she started school she is like every 2 weeks falling sick with cough needing nebolizer. for past few months we are visiting doctor every 2 weeks..he suggested pink inhaler for 2 months and blue inhaler when needed..we are using pink inhaler for about 5 weeks already but seems no improvement..she fell sick again with cold and cough(probably bcoz of weezing).i am really worried of her situation..her health deteriorated so badly after joining school. and this recurrent weezing episodes really worrying me.. plz suggest me some thing
thank you
Hello Kavita: I’m sorry to hear you are having problems with your little girl. It sounds like she probably had an episode of bronchiolitis when she was 18 months old. Bronchiolitis is a cold that tends to cause wheezing in younger children and babies. This tendancy to wheeze can then be followed by a period of wheezing with every cold that she gets- sometimes up to several years after the initial incident. As soon as a young child enters school it is possible to catch a cold about every month for a while. So her frequent episodes of wheezing and colds can be related to one or both of these issues. It is also possible that she might become asthmatic as she gets older and so these episodes need to be followed by a doctor carefully. An inhaler is the first treament for wheezing due to any cause. If you are not satisfied with your family Doctor seek an appointment with a Pediatric pulmonologist (lung specialist.). Hope all goes well
Sir, My daughter is 2.4 years. On 31st Dec 2017 she dint pass urine for more than 15 hrs and later when she wanted to pass it was painful. Her pediatrician gave Ibugesic plus and she was normal. We were told it was because of milk. Later by mid Jan 2018 since had cough n cold and running nose often. Earlier we tried all home remedies and later also allopathic and homeopath med. It’s been 3 months but her condition had worsened lately. She had 102 fever. She played in park which had sand. We stopped taking her there n also stopped her playgroup. Now we have got her admitted n it’s 4th day of IV. She is all fine now. But her pediatrician asked me if she snors or not. She does since her birth. It’s more evident since a year back. Oh and btw she is detected Acute bronchitis. So how is snoring and bronchitis is related?. What can we do to further prevent it. What prevention do we take.
Priyanka – she probably didn’t urinate because she did not drink enough for the day. Painful urination can be due to many different reasons- although first thought is an infection in the urinary bladder (UTI), but those symptoms would persist longer than 1-2 day and UTI has other symptoms associated with it. Irritation in the area would also cause painful urination. If it persists or returns , should be seen by her Doctor.
The recurrent colds and runny nose and cough might be colds if she is in day care center, this may be frequent (one per month)- with or without fever.. Other wise this may be related to allergies (or even asthma) which can be year-round.
Snoring may be related to enlarged tonsils and adenoids which get larger and cause snoring with colds or allergy.
The bottom line is that if this situation is frequent or constant she should be totally evaluated by her Doctor or a specialist, ENT(ear nose and throat) or children’s pulmonologist (lung specialist).
Please let me know how she is doing.