How Do I Know if My Baby Is Having Trouble Breathing

Breathing bug to expect out for in children

Breathing bug in children tin have a number of different causes. This page tells you what signs to look out for and what they might hateful, from coughing or a runny nose to wheezing, fast breathing or coloured mucus.

Call 999 now if your child has any of these breathing-related symptoms:

Severe breathing difficulties

Grunting with the try of trying to breathe

The muscles under their ribs are sucking in with each breath

Fast breathing

Your kid won't wake upward, or won't stay awake

Breathing stops for more twenty seconds

Regular shorter pauses in their breathing while they are awake

Very pale or blue skin, or the inside of their lips and tongue are blue

Fitting, if they have never had a fit before

What signs and symptoms are linked with breathing issues?

The following signs and symptoms can all make it difficult for your child to breathe.

a runny nose, blocked nose and sneezing
a coughing
animate problems
a high temperature
drowsiness
problems with feeding and drinking
aches and pains, sore throat, earache
coloured mucus
a change in skin colour

Runny olfactory organ, blocked nose and sneezing

A runny nose is usually caused past a cold.

Sometimes it's acquired by an allergy – this is frequently called hay fever.

If your child's runny nose is caused past allergies, they may exist more probable to have asthma and problems sleeping too.

Coughing

Everyone coughs from time to time. A coughing helps clear the airway of mucus and things like dust and smoke. An occasional cough is not normally a sign of anything serious.

More persistent coughs are due to a common cold or viral infection that usually clears upwards in a few days. Some coughs carry on for a few weeks later on the infection has cleared. Mutual cough medicines do not stop coughing and are not recommended. If your child is older than 1 twelvemonth, you could give them honey to aid soothe their pharynx. Honey must not be given to infants nether 12 months.

Visit your doctor if:

your child is vomiting afterward they cough
has bouts of cough that final over a minute several times a day, or
has a cough that lasts for longer than 3-4 weeks

Information technology is very helpful to doctors and nurses if yous can video the cough on your mobile telephone. This is because different coughs are signs of different conditions:

croup (barking cough)
bronchiolitis (raspy and moist cough)
whooping coughing (bouts of coughing where your child may bring up mucus or vomit. They may gasp subsequently coughing, or make a whooping noise)
asthma (usually a dry coughing). If your child has asthma they may cough more at night. Symptoms might too be brought on by hot or humid weather, or common cold or damp air or smoke.
long term conditions like cystic fibrosis and primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) (constant moisture cough)

Animate problems

It'southward important to seek assistance if your child is breathing in a dissimilar way than usual. Check out when to call 999 and when to become to the md.

Fast breathing can be a sign of an infection of the lower airways, such every bit bronchiolitis or pneumonia. All children are different, simply equally a rough guide, fast breathing tin be defined every bit:

more than 50 breaths per minute for infants (two months to i yr)
more than than 40 breaths per infinitesimal for children (1-12 years)
more than 20 breaths per infinitesimal for children over 12 and adults.

The main thing to spotter out for is if your child is animate persistently faster than usual.

Wheezing is a high-pitched audio that comes from the breast when your kid is breathing out. Wheezing is a common symptom of asthma. Notwithstanding wheezing can have many causes, and so it does non necessarily mean your kid has asthma.

We know that unlike doctors, nurses and parents all mean something dissimilar by wheeze. If your child is well enough, a video on your mobile phone is a very helpful way of showing the nurse or doctor what happens.

Breathlessness or difficulty animate that becomes worse over a few hours could be a sign of an asthma assault.

Pneumonia and chest infections tin also crusade breathlessness. Children usually have a fever with these conditions.

Sudden and unexpected breathlessness or difficulty animate could hateful your child has something blocking their airway and is choking.

Difficulty breathing during exercise tin exist a sign of asthma.

What do breathing difficulties wait like?

Breathing may exist faster than usual, or irregular

Your child's nostrils may flare (get wider) when they breathe

They may wheeze when breathing out

They may make a loftier-pitched sound when breathing in (stridor)

They may brand a grunting sound when animate out. Phone call 999 if this happens

The muscles under their ribs may suck in with each jiff. Call 999 for urgent medical help.

Discover out when to phone call 999 about your child's breathing difficulties

High temperature

A fever is a high temperature. In children, a temperature of over 38C (100.4F) is a fever.

What'due south causing my child's fever?

A high temperature can be a sign of infection – including infections in the upper respiratory tract and lungs. Fever helps children and adults to fight infection.

Your child'due south fever could also be caused by other illnesses, or by vaccinations.

In itself, a fever is non dangerous. It is the cause of the fever that is the business. Always seek medical communication if you are worried.

NHS advice on fever

The NHS website has more information on temperature and fever.

They recommend that y'all seek urgent help if your kid:

is nether 3 months and has a temperature of 38C (101F) or over
is 3-half-dozen months and has a temperature of 39C (102F) or over

Contact your GP for an urgent appointment. Out of hours, call NHS 111 (in England and Scotland), 0845 46 47 (in Wales) or your local out-of-hours service in Northern Republic of ireland.

The NHS also suggests you should ever get medical help for your child of any age who has a high temperature if:

you think your child may be dehydrated
your child develops a ruby rash that doesn't fade when a glass is rolled over it
your child has a fit
your child doesn't stop crying
the fever lasts for more than 5 days
your child'southward health is getting worse
you're concerned about looking afterward your kid at domicile

Treating a fever in hospital

A high temperature will brand your child experience poorly, accept a faster breathing rate and a faster pulse. Children who are becoming severely ill will as well accept faster breathing and a faster pulse.

Wellness care professionals may care for a temperature to come across if the pulse and animate are slower without the fever.

Drowsiness

If your kid has a high temperature (fever) they may also be drowsy or confused.

Children with a temperature often lack involvement or are more than sleepy or irritable than usual. They usually improve later taking children's paracetamol or ibuprofen to bring their temperature downwardly.

Seek urgent assist from your GP or health visitor if your kid is drowsy and:

has other symptoms of breathing difficulty
doesn't ameliorate subsequently taking paracetamol or ibuprofen

Out of hours, call NHS 111 (in England and Scotland), 0845 46 47 (in Wales) or your local out-of-hours service in Northern Ireland.

Call 999 if y'all're unable to wake your child or, if woken up, they are very drowsy and don't stay awake.

Problems with feeding and drinking

Problems with feeding and drinking can be a sign of a trouble with the lungs and airways.

Your child may non be feeding or drinking if:

they have an infection and a high temperature
they are struggling to feed and exhale at the same time

Seek help if your child is having difficulty breastfeeding or they are drinking one-half, or less than half, the amount they usually would. They may need to go to hospital to make sure they get enough food and fluid.

Aches and pains

Chest pain, headaches and other aches and pains can be symptoms of a chest infection.

A tight, sore chest can be a sign of asthma.

Babies and small children do usually not complain about aches and pains. But they might be irritable if you pick them upward.

If your child is older they might say, 'My chest's hurting' or 'I've got a tummy ache'.

Coloured mucus

Mucus protects your child'due south airways. Information technology traps unwanted particles and carries them away.

Mucus tin be a problem if information technology doesn't work properly or if at that place'due south too much of it. A build-upwards of mucus in your kid's airways is called catarrh.

Young children commonly consume their mucus so yous may non know what color information technology is.

Merely if you are able to encounter it, yellow, green or brown mucus is a sign of infection or allergy. It might not exist serious or need handling. For example, green mucus running from their nose can be caused by balmy infections that don't demand antibiotics.

A change in pare colour

A change in your child's skin colour may mean they practise non accept enough oxygen in their blood or their circulation is poor.

Telephone call 999 if:

your child's skin is very stake and they have other symptoms of an infection or difficulty animate
your kid's peel looks blue
the inside of their lips and tongue are blue.

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Source: https://www.blf.org.uk/support-for-you/signs-of-breathing-problems-in-children/breathing-problems-to-look-out-for