Noisy breathing in a child. Inspiratory stridor in a child, children. What does hard breathing mean in children?

When the airways are normal, the child breathes silently and effortlessly. When their patency is impaired, a high-pitched sound may appear when breathing, as air passes through the narrowed breathing tubes with effort. These are the sounds that occur when a child inhales and exhales through narrowed airways. Impaired patency respiratory tract may occur due to swelling caused by infection, foreign body, inflammation and spasm of the bronchial muscles in asthma. Sometimes a rough wheeze is heard only when inhaling: this may be a symptom of croup. This wheezing is called stridor (see Help for croup).

URGENT CARE

Call emergency services for your child if wheezing is accompanied by:

• difficulty breathing
• around the child's lips
• unusual drowsiness, lethargy
• inability to speak or produce
• normal sounds

ATTENTION!

Wheezing in a child may appear suddenly when the respiratory tract gets foreign body. Minor wheezing may be accompanied by ARVI. If you experience wheezing when breathing, consult a doctor immediately.

Do you easily recognize your baby from thousands of other children by his breathing? Have you ever thought that noisy breathing in a child can mean serious problems in the respiratory system? Let's assess the situation without panic - in our article.

The word "stridor" comes from the Latin "stridor" - hissing, whistling.

Noisy breathing - stridor - occurs due to a narrowed lumen of the larynx or trachea.

This narrowing can be caused by two main reasons:

• congenital (features of the structure of the respiratory tract of newborns);
• acquired (for example, hitting foreign objects into the child's respiratory system).

Stridor is a symptom, not a diagnosis.

There are three forms of stridor:

Inspiratory stridor:

• noisy breathing is heard when inhaling;
• low sound.

Expiratory stridor:

• noisy breathing occurs when exhaling;
• average pitch.

Biphasic stridor:

• loud, noisy breathing.

The main task of parents is to notice how and when the baby’s usual breathing has changed and tell the doctor about it.

Expert opinion

Alexander Perfilyev, pediatrician at the clinic for children and adolescents “SM-Doctor”": Signs of breathing problems can also include wheezing heard at a distance, increased breathing (shortness of breath), cyanosis of the nasolabial triangle (the appearance of a bluish coloration of the skin), retraction (retraction) of the intercostal spaces.

How can you tell if your child has trouble breathing?

The main symptom of the disease is a whistling, ringing noise that can occur during inhalation, exhalation, or both. Intensity noisy breathing worsens when the baby lies on his back, is overexcited or screams. However, stridor may disappear during sleep. First of all, it is necessary to prevent foreign bodies from entering the respiratory tract.

Causes of noisy breathing, or stridor, in children

Let's look at the most common causes of noisy breathing in children.

Other causes of stridor may include foreign bodies in the airway, various tumors larynx, trachea or esophagus, infections, swelling, e.g. due to allergic reaction.

Stridor in children: which doctor should I contact?

To understand what causes noisy breathing in a child, great importance have data obtained by the doctor during examination little patient, as well as parental observations.

Expert opinion

Alexander Perfilyev, pediatrician at the clinic for children and adolescents “SM-Doctor”: Due to the variety of forms and causes of difficulty breathing, consultation and intervention may be required various specialists- ENT doctor, allergist, pulmonologist, infectious disease specialist. IN mandatory X-rays and other examinations will be prescribed according to the specialist’s indications. It is worth noting that for any respiratory disorders it is necessary to carry out the entire range of diagnostic and medical procedures as soon as possible!

Noisy breathing may be a consequence wide range disorders in the body. Therefore, if stridor in a child causes problems with feeding or sleeping, consultations with specialists such as,

Harsh, difficult and noisy breathing in a child

Asked by: AnnaKom

Gender: Male

Age: 1

Chronic diseases: No

Hello, December 23, 2016 the child choked and swallowed half a cap from the ties on his socks (the cap is X-rayed). He began to cough, his complexion turned purple, the child cried and could not breathe air. My actions, I tried to get something out of the throat with my finger (what exactly I didn’t know yet), after this the child vomited, then I took him by the legs and, holding him upside down, tapped him on the back, after which the child began to breathe, his complexion was normal. I called an ambulance because after this incident the child coughed and began to breathe slightly hoarsely. The ambulance took us to the emergency room, where they took an x-ray, listened to us and ruled out a foreign matter in the respiratory tract and gastrointestinal tract. The child drank and ate well. On December 24, 2016, in the morning, when the child woke up, during physical activity and movement, breathing became very noisy, audible even from the next room, with wheezing, and a rare cough. During the day, I found this half of the cap in my stool. By the evening, breathing became even noisier and shortness of breath appeared, they called an ambulance again, went again to the emergency room, where, based on yesterday’s picture and listening, they again ruled out a foreign body in the respiratory tract and gastrointestinal tract. At the same time, having said that we are beginning obstructive bronchitis and advised to call a pediatrician. On December 25, 2016, a pediatrician was called, diagnosed with bronchitis with obstruction, and prescribed Klacid, Fluditec, Viferon. During treatment, on December 28, 2016, the temperature rises to 38.7 with a coughing attack and severe discharge from the nose and mouth clear mucus, the cough is continuous for about 10 minutes, the child in panic cannot breathe air, the mucus leaves, the skin of the arms and legs becomes marbled, bluish, the face is purple, the cough intensifies, the child cannot open his eyes due to the fever. My actions: I undress until naked, call an ambulance, wipe a napkin to the ami, give Nurofen, sit the child down when he coughs, calm him down. After 15 minutes the attack passes, upon arrival of the ambulance the child is crawling and active, the temperature drops to 37.5. We go to the hospital by ambulance, in the emergency department the pediatrician diagnoses us with obstructive bronchitis and advises us to change the antibiotic and add inhalations. Invites surgeons, cat. They take 2 more x-rays, listen and rule out a foreign body. There, blood is taken from a finger, the result is increased leukocytes. 12/29/16 we called the pediatrician, the cat prescribed ceftriaxone 350 t once a day/5 days, inhalations Berodual + Pulmicort 2 r. d, lazolvan 1 rub. d. Pulmicort was gradually stopped (we ended up inhaling 2 packs, i.e. 10 pieces of 2.5 ml each) and Berodual was stopped, local doctors visited every day and listened to the child. On January 7, 2017, there was a repeated coughing attack with mucus coming out of the nose and mouth, the cough was continuous for about 10 minutes, it felt like at the end of the attack the child wanted to vomit, the cough was either barking or wet. During an attack, he cannot breathe air. We called an ambulance again. The ambulance arrived when the attack had passed, there was no temperature, they listened and said that the lungs were clean, there were no noises or wheezing. It is worth noting that despite all this time, breathing did not improve, with a course of antibiotics Klacida for 5 days and ceftriaxone for 5 days, breathing became a little quieter, but when the child moved, during active activities, this hoarse sound began hard breathing and sometimes shortness of breath. From January 8, 2017 to January 10, 2017, local doctors on duty visited and listened, the lungs were clean, there was no wheezing, the reason for such breathing was not clear. 01/10/17 handed over to the general public. Urinalysis, blood, tank analysis. 01/11/17 test results without pathologies, the local doctor sends us for examination to pulmonology department children's clinical hospital with diagnoses in question: "respiratory. Allergy (the child has red cheeks from birth to some foods/atopic) foreign body and bronchitis", where we are now undergoing examination for this moment. Breathing has not returned to normal since December 23, 2017. At night, during sleep, breathing is quiet and normal. Breathing feature: difficulty in exhaling. The child inhales the air quite audibly and holds it in and with difficulty exhales loudly, and so on all the time he is awake, until sleep. Please tell me what could be the reason for this sudden failure in breathing? My assumptions and my question is, can a foreign body somehow get into the nasopharynx and give such breathing? (I definitely didn’t see it, maybe the child stuffed another part of the cap, ate it, etc. there were 4 caps on the socks). When listening, pulmonologists say that the wheezing is conductive. Can obstructive bronchitis give such breathing for a month? Thanks in advance for your answer.

Acute respiratory infections: difficulty diagnosing, snot, chest cough, temperature, hypotension, small swallowing Daughters 2 and 10, often ill, adaptation, 2 months in kindergarten and 4 times on sick leave. On Friday the snot started, I started taking Miramistin and Rinofluimucil in the nose, Sunday my chest was wet expectorant cough, added marshmallow syrup and tantum verde. After visiting the pediatrician, she pressed on her temples when she coughed and complained of headache only when coughing. On Tuesday morning, the temperature reached 39. Antipyretics last up to 4 hours, the temperature is from 37.3 to 38.7. The cough is more severe, not deep with phlegm, breathing is harsh, not deep in sleep, frequent small swallowing in sleep, sometimes breathing through the nose, more often through the mouth. The snot is transparent and poorly separated. There is congestion. He doesn't eat well, so I force him to feed him warm little by little. Toilet the nose with aqualore. In the morning, the muscle spasm was relieved, the temperature rose sharply, the body was cold, pale, trembling, cutting pain in the calf muscles. On Tuesday evening the spasms recurred, while sitting at the table did not long time she suddenly became cold, turned pale, and began to fall. They put her to bed, and the daughter came to her senses. The pressure turned out to be low. They were no longer allowed to get up. Emergency doctors and a pediatrician recorded hyperemia of the soul above the tonsils, the tonsils themselves are hidden, breathing is harsher on the right. They cannot diagnose acute respiratory infections, pediatricians took three days of observation at home. Antipyretics and viferon were added to the medications, marshmallow was replaced with syrup with thyme. On Tuesday, my temperature rose once to 37.5, congestion doesn’t mean anything. Runny nose, sore throat, slight muscle aches. I washed my nose with saline and took an antiviral, and it got better. What could be the nature and cause of the child’s illness, what treatment could be adequate under the guidance of a doctor, what should he pay close attention to in the future? What should I pay attention to regarding my child? Could it be bacterial and viral infection together? Absence yellow snot and delayed temperature confuse the conversation. THANK YOU FOR YOUR REPLY

7 answers

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Hello Anna!
The reason is a violation of protection when a foreign body enters, swallowing is impaired and choking appears. Inhalation therapy restores breathing processes. Duration 2-3 months.

Many people are interested in the reasons heavy breathing in children. Any, even minor, change in the child’s condition causes concern among parents. Babies breathe differently than adults: they sigh during sleep, the tummy and chest move more often, but this physiological norm. Any breathing disorder is called difficulty breathing, and it is this factor that is decisive when choosing treatment tactics. In this article we will talk about what disorders in the baby’s respiratory system you need to pay attention to and how to help if the child is breathing heavily.

Breathing process

Breathing is difficult physiological process. It includes two varieties: external and internal. Respiratory process divided into the act of inhalation and exhalation. Inhalation is the active part, during which the diaphragm and respiratory muscles contract chest, muscles of the anterior abdominal wall. At the same time, the ribs protrude forward, and movement outward of the chest and abdominal walls is felt. The passive part of the process is exhalation. The respiratory muscles and diaphragm relax, the ribs move down and inward. The physiological respiratory rate is directly dependent on the age of the child: the younger he is, the higher the frequency. With age, this figure approaches that of an adult.

It happens that Small child breathing heavily. Why is this happening?

Diagnostics

If the breathing process is complicated by symptoms such as confusion, increased chest movements, unusual sounds, it is necessary to pay attention to this and clarify the reasons. Sometimes such manifestations can be caused by nightmares or common cold, but it happens that heavy breathing indicates much more serious problems and requires immediate treatment. In most cases, heavy and noisy breathing occurs due to false or Viral Symptoms and treatment we will consider below.

Childhood infections

Sometimes this can be a manifestation of childhood infections such as measles, chickenpox, rubella, diphtheria, scarlet fever, and whooping cough. Inflammatory process the larynx and tracheal mucosa acts in such a way that the lumen narrows. The child begins to experience air deficiency when breathing. This is precisely the reason for the severe and deep breathing, the voice changes, becoming hoarse. A barking cough also appears. Defeat respiratory system always causes, but depending on the situation and the nature of the pathology, the treatment required is different. Doctors categorically prohibit self-prescription of inhalations for a child. Such self-medication can negatively affect the baby’s health and cause a crisis.

Allergy

Very common cause hard and heavy breathing becomes an allergy. In this situation, it is necessary to determine the type of allergen and try to exclude the child from contact with it. You should also consult your doctor about medications that can be used to relieve attacks. The risk of allergic reactions is reduced if you adjust your diet and include as much food as possible in your diet. more vitamins and minerals to strengthen the immune system.

Except painful conditions that the child is breathing heavily may be physiological feature body. This is typical for children under the age of one and a half years. In this case, the reason lies in the high elasticity of the tissues of the respiratory tract. If the child eats normally, sleeps soundly and grows well, there is no need to pay attention to these features. Upon reaching one and a half years will happen thickening of the cartilage of the larynx and heaviness breathing will pass by herself. But it’s still worth bringing this to the doctor’s attention at your next appointment to make sure there is no pathology.

Causes and treatments

So, the child is one year old and is breathing heavily, what should you do?

Naturally, the specialist selects treatment depending on the reasons that caused the breathing pathology. If the baby's condition does not cause serious concern, currently, you need to make an appointment with your pediatrician. If the baby’s condition rapidly deteriorates and he cannot breathe normally, then you should call an ambulance. This must be done if hardness of breathing is accompanied by difficulty passing air, blueness of the nasolabial triangle, inability to make sounds, lethargy and drowsiness.

If difficulty breathing is caused by a cold or acute respiratory viral infection, it is usually accompanied by nasal congestion, cough, sore throat and elevated temperature. You need to call a doctor to confirm the diagnosis; before that, the child is given plenty of warm drink and provide bed rest. The doctor will prescribe treatment, and the difficulty in breathing will disappear as treatment progresses and other symptoms of the disease disappear.

Bronchiolitis

It happens that a child breathes heavily in his sleep.

Another reason may be a disease such as bronchiolitis. It has viral nature and affects the bronchi. Most often occurs in infants of the first year of life. The condition is accompanied by a persistent, prolonged cough, which not only makes breathing difficult, but makes this process very problematic. With this pathology, the child does not breathe, but frequent and deep sighs. At the same time, the appetite decreases, the baby is capricious and sleeps poorly. It is necessary to call a doctor who decides whether hospitalization is necessary. When the disease is cured, breathing returns to normal.

If a child has asthma, then his breathing will be difficult, he coughs and chokes at the slightest physical activity. As a rule, the child's closest relatives have asthma or allergies. In this case, only a doctor can prescribe effective and, most importantly, appropriate therapy for the condition. With this disease, self-medication is especially dangerous.

Breathing difficulties may occur with croup. In addition, the condition is accompanied barking cough, hoarse voice and fever. Breathing worsens at night. It is necessary to call an ambulance, and before it arrives, try to alleviate the child’s condition. To do this you need to pour hot water and close the door tightly, then bring the child into the bathroom and let him breathe warm, humidified air. This helps to expand the airway lumen. If this does not have a beneficial effect, you can take the child outside and let him breathe in the fresh night air.

Pneumonia

Another common cause of heavy breathing is pneumonia. In this case, the child very often sighs hoarsely, coughs heavily, and the temperature can rise above 38 degrees. As you inhale, you can notice how the skin retracts into the intercostal spaces. Urgent hospitalization is required here; treatment of pneumonia at home can lead to serious complications.

This is what harsh breathing in a child means.

All listed reasons are pathological conditions that require drug treatment, but other circumstances may also occur in which breathing will be difficult. For example, the impact may cause the baby to become harsh, intermittent, and wheezing. In this condition it is necessary urgent Care specialist

Adenoiditis

There may also be diseases that interfere normal breathing, in which it is necessary surgical intervention. This type of pathology includes adenoiditis. How larger size adenoids, the more they interfere with free breathing. With this disease, the child's sleep is accompanied by snoring and hoarse sighs. The baby breathes through his mouth all the time, due to the fact that his nose is stuffy, in the morning, when he wakes up, he looks sleep-deprived and irritated, and often suffers from colds.

In this situation, it is necessary to consult an ENT doctor, who will prescribe treatment. If the child’s condition is critical, then surgery to remove the adenoids is prescribed. In addition to all this, this condition can occur due to basic dry air in the room or inhalation of smoke from cigarettes. When a child is breathing heavily, how can you help him? More on this later.

How to alleviate the child's condition?

There are ways that can alleviate the child’s condition and help prevent drying out of the larynx and relieve spasms:

• humidification of indoor air using special devices;
• inhalation of warm, humidified air;
• inhalation with mineral water, soda or saline solution.

For inhalation you can use aerosol and steam inhalers, in a hospital setting - steam-oxygen tents. We remind you once again that inhalations can only be done after consulting a doctor.

Croup in children: symptoms and treatment

Croup is characterized by a triad of symptoms:

• barking paroxysmal cough;
• stridor (noisy breathing), especially with crying and excitement;
• hoarseness of voice.

In addition, there is an appearance secondary signs illness - severe anxiety, palpitations, nausea, hyperthermia.

When increasing respiratory failure all signs worsen, the child’s skin becomes gray or bluish in color, salivation intensifies, wheezing is heard already in calmness, anxiety is replaced by lethargy.

Children with this diagnosis require hospitalization. The first thing doctors should do is restore the airway. To do this, it is important to reduce swelling and also free the lumen from accumulated mucus.

Drug therapy is prescribed:

• Glucocorticoids are required to reduce laryngeal edema (through a nebulizer, for example).
• Drugs that relieve spasms of the respiratory tract (Salbutamol, Atroventa, Baralgina).
• Inhalations with Ambroxol are performed to remove sputum.
• If necessary, use antihistamines.

IN difficult cases tracheal intubation or tracheotomy with artificial ventilation lungs.

If a child has difficulty breathing, now we know what to do.

Children who suffer from bronchitis often experience mild wheezing, but if breathing is normal, this should not be a cause for concern. In the map below primary diagnosis Only those disorders are considered in which the child’s breathing becomes so loud that it can be clearly heard even in a large room.

Noisy breathing may be accompanied by different sounds- from loud wheezing and whistling to a sharp “crowing”, which intensifies during inspiration. Such noisy breathing is a dangerous symptom for a child (unless the child has already been diagnosed with bronchial asthma and has all the necessary medications. In any case, when a child experiences noisy breathing, adults should be attentive and observant so as not to miss the appearance of the symptoms listed below and take appropriate measures in a timely manner.

Primary diagnostic chart for noisy breathing in children

1. Was the child completely healthy a few minutes ago?

- Yes- Perhaps there is something stuck in the child's trachea foreign body. If the child is small, he should be turned upside down and patted well on the back. If the stuck foreign body cannot be removed, it is necessary to urgently call an ambulance or take the child to the hospital yourself as quickly as possible.

If you managed to remove the foreign body yourself, no additional treatment the child does not need it - he will quickly return to his normal state. But if after some time he develops a cough or an increase in body temperature, this may be a sign of pneumonia (pneumonia) - in this case, you need to consult a doctor, who will most likely hospitalize the child. In the hospital, the child will undergo a thorough diagnosis and appropriate treatment will be prescribed.

- No- see point 2.

2. Child under 4 years old?

- Yes- see point 3.

- No- see point 4.

3. Is your child exhibiting one or more concerning symptoms (listed below)?

Dangerous symptoms in children

If, in addition to noisy breathing, a child has at least one of the following symptoms, he has severe violations breathing (this is an emergency situation in which it is necessary to urgently consult a doctor):

- blue tongue;
- unusual drowsiness;
- difficulty speaking or pronouncing normal sounds;
- unusually rapid breathing.

- Yes - EMERGENCY!!! YOU MUST CALL AN AMBULANCE!!! The child may have spasm (constriction) airways , which can be caused by inflammation of the mucous membrane and swelling of tissue in the throat (croup) as a result of an allergic reaction or infection. While waiting for the ambulance, you can try to ease the child’s breathing on your own by humidifying the air with steam. To do this, the child must be placed in the bathroom and the shower or taps must be turned on. hot water. If the child suddenly stops breathing, you need to do mouth-to-mouth breathing. Upon the arrival of doctors and first aid medical care, the child will most likely be hospitalized. He will be treated at the hospital necessary diagnostics and prescribe appropriate treatment (oxygen therapy, infusion therapy etc.).

- No- The child may have pneumonia (pneumonia) or inflammation of the trachea due to an allergic reaction or infection. Pending medical care To make the child's breathing easier, he can be placed in a room with high air humidity (in the bathroom and open the shower with hot water). After examining the child, the doctor may recommend hospitalization; in some cases, treatment is prescribed at home.

4. Does your child have one or more of the dangerous symptoms listed above?

- Yes - EMERGENCY!!! YOU MUST CALL AN AMBULANCE!!! Severe attack bronchial asthma causes serious violations breathing. While waiting for emergency medical help, adults need to remain calm and try to provide moral support to the child. It will be much easier for him to breathe if he is seated in such a way that he rests on the back of a chair. If there are bronchodilators in the house, the child can be given them in an age-appropriate dose. After first aid is provided, the child is hospitalized for the purpose of thorough diagnosis and special therapy (oxygen therapy, etc.).

- No- see point 5.

5. Has the child already been diagnosed with bronchial asthma and is he receiving appropriate treatment?

- Yes- Most likely the child has another asthma attack. In this case, he should be seated on a chair so that his back completely touches the back of the chair, and he should be given medications prescribed by the doctor. These drugs can be given repeatedly every 4 hours. But if the child’s condition does not improve after 6 hours and/or he has at least one of dangerous symptoms(see above), you must urgently seek medical help.

- No - YOU MUST CONSULT A DOCTOR!!! Perhaps the child first attack of bronchial asthma. While waiting for medical help, adults need to remain calm and try to provide moral support to the child. It will be much easier for him to breathe if he is seated in such a way that he rests on the back of a chair. If the doctor confirms the diagnosis, he will prescribe appropriate treatment. If one or more of the dangerous symptoms listed above appears, the child may need to be hospitalized.