How to Tell if a Baby Is Having Trouble Breathing

Breathing problems to wait out for in children

Breathing problems in children can have a number of unlike causes. This page tells y'all what signs to expect out for and what they might mean, from cough or a runny nose to wheezing, fast animate or coloured mucus.

Phone call 999 now if your child has any of these animate-related symptoms:

Severe animate difficulties

Grunting with the effort of trying to breathe

The muscles under their ribs are sucking in with each breath

Fast breathing

Your child won't wake up, or won't stay awake

Breathing stops for more than twenty seconds

Regular shorter pauses in their breathing while they are awake

Very stake or blue pare, or the within of their lips and tongue are bluish

Plumbing fixtures, if they take never had a fit earlier

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 olfactory organ, blocked olfactory organ and sneezing
a cough
breathing problems
a high temperature
drowsiness
bug with feeding and drinking
aches and pains, sore throat, earache
coloured mucus
a change in skin colour

Runny nose, blocked olfactory organ and sneezing

A runny nose is commonly caused by a cold.

Sometimes information technology's caused past an allergy – this is often called hay fever.

If your kid's runny nose is caused by allergies, they may be more likely to accept asthma and bug 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 usually a sign of anything serious.

More persistent coughs are due to a cold or viral infection that unremarkably clears up in a few days. Some coughs carry on for a few weeks after the infection has cleared. Common cough medicines exercise not terminate coughing and are non recommended. If your child is older than 1 year, you could give them honey to help soothe their throat. Honey must not exist given to infants under 12 months.

Visit your doctor if:

your child is vomiting later they cough
has bouts of coughing that last over a minute several times a day, or
has a cough that lasts for longer than 3-iv weeks

It is very helpful to doctors and nurses if you can video the coughing on your mobile phone. This is because different coughs are signs of different conditions:

croup (barking coughing)
bronchiolitis (raspy and moist cough)
whooping cough (bouts of coughing where your child may bring up mucus or vomit. They may gasp later on cough, or brand a whooping dissonance)
asthma (unremarkably a dry out cough). If your child has asthma they may cough more than at night. Symptoms might besides be brought on past hot or humid atmospheric condition, or cold or damp air or fume.
long term conditions similar cystic fibrosis and principal ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) (constant wet cough)

Animate problems

It's important to seek help if your child is breathing in a different fashion than usual. Check out when to call 999 and when to go to the doc.

Fast animate can be a sign of an infection of the lower airways, such as bronchiolitis or pneumonia. All children are different, but as a crude guide, fast breathing can be defined as:

more than l breaths per minute for infants (ii months to 1 year)
more than 40 breaths per minute for children (1-12 years)
more than than twenty breaths per infinitesimal for children over 12 and adults.

The chief affair to lookout out for is if your child is breathing persistently faster than usual.

Wheezing is a high-pitched audio that comes from the chest when your child is animate out. Wheezing is a common symptom of asthma. Withal wheezing can accept many causes, so it does not necessarily mean your kid has asthma.

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

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

Pneumonia and breast infections tin also crusade breathlessness. Children usually have a fever with these atmospheric condition.

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

Difficulty breathing during exercise can be a sign of asthma.

What exercise breathing difficulties expect similar?

Breathing may be faster than usual, or irregular

Your kid's nostrils may flare (get wider) when they exhale

They may wheeze when breathing out

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

They may make a grunting sound when animate out. Call 999 if this happens

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

Notice out when to call 999 about your kid'southward breathing difficulties

High temperature

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

What's causing my child'due south fever?

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

Your child'southward fever could too exist caused by other illnesses, or past vaccinations.

In itself, a fever is not unsafe. Information technology is the crusade of the fever that is the concern. 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 you lot seek urgent aid if your child:

is under 3 months and has a temperature of 38C (101F) or over
is 3-vi months and has a temperature of 39C (102F) or over

Contact your GP for an urgent date. 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.

The NHS also suggests y'all should always become medical help for your child of whatever historic period who has a high temperature if:

you recollect your child may be dehydrated
your child develops a red rash that doesn't fade when a drinking glass is rolled over it
your child has a fit
your kid doesn't stop crying
the fever lasts for more than 5 days
your kid'south health is getting worse
y'all're concerned about looking afterwards your child at dwelling house

Treating a fever in infirmary

A high temperature will make your child feel poorly, have a faster breathing rate and a faster pulse. Children who are condign severely ill will also have faster breathing and a faster pulse.

Health intendance professionals may treat a temperature to see if the pulse and breathing are slower without the fever.

Drowsiness

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

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

Seek urgent help from your GP or health company if your child is drowsy and:

has other symptoms of animate difficulty
doesn't better afterwards 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 you'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 tin can exist a sign of a problem with the lungs and airways.

Your child may not be feeding or drinking if:

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

Seek assist if your child is having difficulty breastfeeding or they are drinking one-half, or less than half, the corporeality they ordinarily would. They may need to go to infirmary to make certain they get plenty food and fluid.

Aches and pains

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

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

Babies and small-scale children practise usually not complain about aches and pains. But they might be irritable if yous option them up.

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

Coloured mucus

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

Fungus tin be a problem if it doesn't work properly or if there'south too much of it. A build-up of mucus in your child'due south airways is chosen catarrh.

Immature children usually consume their mucus so you may not know what colour information technology is.

But if yous are able to see it, yellow, green or brownish fungus is a sign of infection or allergy. Information technology might non be serious or need treatment. For example, green fungus running from their olfactory organ tin be caused past mild infections that don't need antibiotics.

A change in peel colour

A change in your child's peel colour may mean they do not accept enough oxygen in their claret or their circulation is poor.

Call 999 if:

your child's skin is very pale and they have other symptoms of an infection or difficulty breathing
your child's peel looks blue
the within 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