Laryngitis in children - the child suffocates. Treatment of laryngitis in children: immediate action only

Very often this problem appears without any previous symptoms. An attack of laryngitis often begins at night. The child suddenly wakes up with difficulty breathing. Although the day before he spoke a little hoarsely and had a slight runny nose. Harmless symptoms, but still it is they who make parents wary and resort to preventive treatment diseases.

How do symptoms of an attack of laryngitis develop in children?

The child wakes up with a sharp dry cough, which only intensifies and gradually begins to turn into suffocation. This is the main symptom of the disease, which doctors also call false croup. If this happens, the main thing is to reassure the child, convince him that nothing terrible is happening and there is nothing to worry about, since the child will be very worried because he will not understand what is happening to him.

Severe attacks of the disease, in which wheezing is manifested, usually last several hours and are treated very quickly, pass as quickly as they appear. The next day, the baby will look tired and grouchy, with a hoarse voice, but he will still happily play, watch cartoons, etc., despite the fact that he had a seizure during the night. This very sign distinguishes exacerbation from acute infectious laryngitis. Although, in principle, false croup can also occur against the background of infection. For example, at the beginning of measles, before the rash.

However, most often such exacerbations are allergic reaction. It happens that some people experience attacks once every few years of their life, but it also happens that an attack of laryngitis occurs every time a child comes into contact with an allergen. This usually happens in the spring, when there are a lot of such allergens.

How to effectively relieve a child’s seizure?

Despite the fact that such attacks are very easily treated, especially with the medications that we now have, many parents are still very worried about this phenomenon. And really think about how you would feel if you saw your child suddenly wake up in the middle of the night with a terrible cough that turns into choking.

In such a situation, you can give the child baby syrup, which includes a large number of essential oils. To stop coughing, give required dose syrup for the baby. Quite often this method works great.

All drugs, syrups, etc., which can be taken orally or by injection, can very quickly relieve attacks of laryngitis and the anxiety caused by it. If you notice everything in a timely manner and give medications, you can avoid dire consequences, and the child will fall asleep almost instantly and feel great the next day. But most importantly, do not forget that in case of exacerbation you need to call a doctor.

Effective ways to relieve an attack of exacerbation of laryngitis in a child at home

If an exacerbation occurs during sleep, the baby must be seated and given something to drink. If the cough continues, the child should walk. To stop a child's cough, alkaline mineral water, warm milk, a glass of water with a quarter teaspoon of soda, or chamomile decoction are excellent drinks. Such remedies have a softening effect on the mucous membrane of the pharynx, after which the cough weakens and the soreness goes away.

You can also relieve a child's cough with butter or honey. Give your child a teaspoon of oil or honey, and he will slowly suck it up. But it is important to remember that if your baby is allergic to honey, the condition can only get worse.

If no improvement is observed, and the cough only gets worse, it is recommended to give the baby inhalation. During periods of severe suffocation with laryngitis in a child and in emergency, you can just open hot water in the bathroom at the strongest pressure, and let the baby breathe over the steam. During this procedure, the humidity in the room rises, due to which the airways are moistened and the cough subsides.

You can do inhalations with the addition of cedar essential oil. To do this, pour hot water into a bowl and add a little oil to it.

It is not always possible to relieve an attack of laryngitis on your own at home. In such cases, you should not delay consulting a doctor. If you are advised to hospitalize your baby, do not hesitate. The consequences of a severe exacerbation can be very serious and sometimes even fatal.

Often, between the ages of one and three years, a child develops a disease such as laryngitis. In common parlance it is commonly called false croup. This inflammatory process affects the throat and vocal cords. Often adults perceive this pathology not seriously, but this disease, if untimely and improper treatment may cause suffocation and death. To prevent this from happening, you need to know how to provide assistance with laryngitis.

If an adult falls ill with this disease, then there is no need to panic. You just need to know how to provide first aid for laryngitis and follow all the recommendations.

First of all, you should stop talking completely. Any irritant effect on the ligaments can lead to a worsening of the situation.
Accept only warm food and drinks. During this time, you should avoid hot and spicy food, carbonated and alcoholic drinks.
Take plenty of fluids. In this case, any juices, compotes and fruit drinks, coffee are contraindicated. You can only drink mineral or regular water and teas.
If it's cold outside, you can't go out. It is better to stay at home for a few days.
Constantly humidify the air. For such purposes, you can purchase a humidifier. If it is not there, then it is enough to hang wet towels or diapers on the radiator and the door. If an attack occurs, doctors advise going into the bathroom, closing the door and turning on the hot water. The steam will help moisturize the mucous membranes.
Refuse addiction in the form of smoking.
Perform steam inhalations with the addition of soda or essential oils.
Rinse your throat every hour with solutions from sea salt or infusions of medicinal herbs.
You can steam your feet with the addition of dry mustard.
With absence high temperature You can make alcohol, wet or dry.

The treatment process is best carried out in combination, especially if laryngitis is a consequence colds or the flu.

First aid for children with laryngitis

Laryngitis for children is terrible disease. The disease is much more severe at this age than in adults. Therefore, when it occurs, you need to know how to properly provide first aid for laryngitis in children.

Humidify and ventilate the room where the child is located as often as possible.
If a child has a seizure, the first step is to calm him down.
When manifested barking cough the baby needs to be seated. This measure will help make breathing easier.
If there is no high temperature, you can give your child warm foot baths. Such measures will allow the blood to move away from the throat, due to which the swelling will subside.
A sick baby must be given water. If the child refuses, then you need to do something differently. Every hour, offer him one or two spoons of water every fifteen minutes.
To reduce tissue swelling and eliminate spasms, antihistamine and antispasmodic drugs can be given.
If the child begins to choke or there is a stop in breathing, then you need to call the baby vomiting reflex. The vomiting center is located close to the respiratory center, so when one is affected, the second one also appears.
During sleep, the child's head should be slightly elevated. Therefore, it is recommended to add a folded blanket or another pillow. This measure will help improve respiratory process. In the future, when feeling unwell the baby will intuitively take this position, since this way the condition improves.
IN mandatory the child needs to call a doctor at home. Only a correct diagnosis and treatment process will allow.

Diagnosis of laryngitis

The symptoms of laryngitis, which occurs in children, can be divided into several stages:

in the early stages inflammatory process The baby develops hoarseness. After some time, the voice begins to disappear;
at greater development laryngitis, the child’s voice becomes strained;
then a dry cough occurs, which sounds like a dog barking. In medicine it is usually called barking;
when the disease progresses to more severe form, whistling and sinking of the intercostal space when inhaling appears. When an attack occurs nasolabial triangle starts to turn blue.

Swelling of the larynx mainly manifests itself at night. But you can suspect the occurrence of the disease even during the day. If parents have already encountered laryngitis, then identifying the symptoms will not be difficult. When the baby cries and is capricious, you may notice the development of hoarseness. To help your child in a timely manner, you need to know.

After the ambulance arrives, specialists will provide assistance to the child with laryngitis. After this, they will tell the parents what to do during attacks.

The basis healing process includes moisturizing the mucous membrane of the larynx. Therefore, you need to use a nebulizer with saline solution or mineral water. For therapeutic therapy Pulmicort or Berodual are often prescribed. Inhalations with these drugs should be carried out twice a day. And the total number of procedures per day should be at least four times.

The baby is also prescribed antitussives to stop the onset of an attack. Coughing leads to further irritation of the throat and vocal cords. They should be taken no more than two to three days. After this, expectorants are prescribed.

If laryngitis is viral nature, then children are assigned antivirals in the form of Viferon suppositories or Ergoferon tablets.
If laryngitis occurs in a child older than four to five years, then rinsing, irrigating the throat or dissolving antiseptic tablets can be done.

To prevent laryngitis from reoccurring, immunostimulating therapy must be carried out. To do this, you should strengthen the body with the help of hardening procedures, proper nutrition, sports and reception vitamin complexes. It is necessary to take walks in the fresh air as often as possible, but avoid hypothermia and contact with sick people.

If laryngitis occurs once, this does not mean that it will appear again. But knowing first aid measures, this disease will not be so dangerous.

First aid for chronic laryngitis

There are a number of professions where it is regularly necessary to use the vocal cords. Therefore, laryngitis occurs quite often in such people. If it appears once, then it appears regularly.

Therefore, in such a situation, the patient needs to know how to provide first aid for laryngitis. chronic form.
Actions should be:

in carrying out warm baths with the addition of mustard;
in setting mustard plasters as a distracting procedure;
in gargling with various alkaline solutions, infusions of medicinal herbs;
in relieving irritation from the mucous membrane using inhalations with the addition of sage, sea buckthorn and eucalyptus;
drinking too much;
in use warm milk with the addition of honey, soda and mineral water.

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Laryngitis with laryngeal stenosis is a disease life-threatening baby. This acute condition when the inflamed epiglottis and surrounding tissues practically block the passage of air. An attack of stenosis requires urgent assistance the child, which can also be provided by parents. In this article we will talk about the principles of first aid and approaches to treating the disease.

Stenosing laryngitis – severe childhood disease. This acute laryngitis, extending not only to the entrance to the larynx and the area of the true vocal cords, but also to the subglottic space. As a result he causes difficulty breathing and severe shortness of breath.

On a note! Often stenotic laryngitis is called acute obstructive croup. In severe cases, the disease can easily move lower, damaging the trachea and bronchi.

Laryngitis with laryngeal stenosis may occur on initial stage ARVI under the influence of pathogenic microbes and viruses. Main pathogens:

parainfluenza,
influenza viruses group A and B,
rhinoviruses,
enteroviruses and others.

Often the cause is a stick that provokes the appearance.

On a note! Several decades ago, the factor that provokes stenosis in children was diphtheria bacillus. She is not on the list today dangerous viruses due to mass vaccination against diphtheria.

Degrees of stenosis

Stenosing laryngitis in children, otherwise false croup, is important to distinguish from true, diphtheria croup. Laryngeal stenosis is characterized by:

suddenness of appearance,
speed of completion while maintaining voice.

For diphtheria croup it is urgently required health care and at the same time the baby:

breathing becomes heavy, increasing in intensity,
the voice disappears.

In addition, diphtheria does not appear spontaneously, but is characterized by increasing symptoms.

The degree of laryngeal stenosis directly depends on the severity little patient. In total, it is customary to distinguish 4 steps.

Degrees of stenosis	Symptoms of the disease
1st degree. Compensation stage. A condition when a child’s body is able to recover on its own after a pathological impact on it.	hoarse voice; noisy breathing; short attacks associated with respiratory failure; rare barking cough; a slight bluish tint to the nasolabial triangle. In general, the baby's condition is satisfactory. The attacks do not last long. The prognosis for the course of the disease at this stage is favorable.
2nd degree. Subcompensation is a stage of the disease characterized by increased symptoms and deterioration of the condition.	breathing quickens, it can be heard even at a distance; anxiety increases, coughing becomes more frequent; general sleep disturbance; outwardly the stage is manifested by the fact that rib cage When inhaling, it looks moderately retracted. At this stage, stenosis is of a paroxysmal nature or occurs continuously. The child may suffer for up to 5 days.
3rd degree. Decompensation. The functioning of the larynx is disrupted, since the organ has exhausted all its own resources in the fight against the disease.	acute lack of air; the chest is strongly retracted; severe shortness of breath; increased anxiety appears, similar to agony; pale skin with characteristic blueness of the nasolabial area; tachycardia; increased sweating; consciousness is confused
4th degree. Asphyxia. A condition when the pulse becomes thread-like, breathing is practically not audible.	Cyanosis throughout the skin; lack of movement and consciousness; body temperature drops to a minimum; the pulse is weakly palpable; The reaction of the pupil to light is very weak, often completely absent. This is the most severe degree of stenosis, when it is no longer possible to help the child.

Carefully! Any of these stages of stenosing laryngitis requires immediate hospitalization of the child. Treatment at home is unacceptable. In the hospital, the baby’s condition will be assessed using a special Westley scale. Depending on the severity of certain symptoms, points are scored. The lowest score of three corresponds to mild stage attack. The crisis state is assessed at 6 or more points.

Causes

In most cases the disease is possible in children from birth to 6 years. This is due to special age structure larynx:

respiratory muscles are very weak,
the mucosa is thin and rich in cellular elements,
the submucosal layer is very loose and soft.

Therefore, croup develops almost at lightning speed: 1-2 days after the onset of acute respiratory diseases . Characteristic attacks of laryngeal stenosis - appearance and worsening at night.

Suddenly, in the middle of the night, the child becomes restless, cries, puts his hands to his mouth, and coughs. As you inhale and exhale, a whistle comes out of the larynx, the baby himself becomes pale, the area around the nose and mouth turns blue.

Causes of laryngitis with stenosis In addition to the above-described age-related features, there may be several:

Infection, which provoked a complication in the form of laryngeal stenosis. This also includes complications after suffering from scarlet fever and.
Often the cause of laryngeal stenosis can be chicken pox, measles, herpes.
Allergic reaction.
Frequent "air contact" with cigarette smoke. This happens if one of the parents smokes in the house where the child lives. Caustic cigarette smoke is a strong factor provoking laryngitis with an attack of stenosis. Such irritants include dust.
In the child as a whole reduced immunity.

Therapy

Therapy aimed at relieving an attack of stenosis includes a number of measures that promote removing excess mucus from respiratory tract baby. This is necessary so that a gap opens in the larynx and breathing is restored.

Urgent Care

Started an attack of laryngeal stenosis requires immediate emergency intervention from parents or doctors. A pediatrician can predict the development of stenosis after initial examination baby. As a rule, according to external manifestations laryngitis, the doctor can already predict the development of attacks false croup in the coming days or even days.

If the child has the first signs of false croup before the arrival of doctors, you must act according to the following algorithm:

Try calm the baby down, taking him in her arms. How bigger baby nervous, the worse the access of oxygen.
Urgently provide access fresh air into the room: open the windows, but make sure that the air is not too cold. Free the neck area from restrictive clothing, unbutton the collar or remove the child’s clothing altogether.
Make the air as humid as possible. To do this, you can use a humidifier, or hang wet sheets on radiators and doors.
Children's doctors advise taking the baby to the bathroom, turning on the hot water and closing the door. Warm air can make breathing easier for a suffering child.
Give it to the baby drink: warm drink will make breathing a little easier.
Allowed to give antihistamine according to the child's age. Most often I use Zodak and Zyrtec drops.
Inhalations with Pulmicort. This hormonal drug quickly stops an attack and restores breathing. Discuss the possibility of using this drug with your pediatrician in advance and select the dose.
Since there is no indication for laryngitis, the use of Pulmicort is usually allowed in the hospital. However, your doctor may allow its use at home.

Carefully! As a rule, attacks of laryngeal stenosis occur at night with almost lightning speed. It may take several minutes from the initial stage to the asphyxia stage. Only urgent Care may provide qualified assistance to kid.

Why does a child suffocate at night and attacks of false croup are more severe? The body of any person is designed in such a way that The amount of mucus increases during sleep, the muscles of the respiratory tract contract.

If during the day a awake baby can cough up this mucus, then at night this process is absent. All this provokes a narrowing of the lumen of the larynx and attacks.

The principles of first aid are similar. Two conditions must be met:

Providing fresh air. In winter, you can wrap your child in a warm blanket and take him out to the balcony; in summer, when it’s stuffy outside, it’s permissible to sit the baby in front of an open refrigerator.
Inhalations with saline solution, and if there is no improvement, carry out inhalation with Pulmicort according to the rules described above.

Treatment

Treatment of stenotic laryngitis can be carried out in two ways:

medicinal
surgical.

The latter is resorted to in extremely severe cases.

For laryngeal stenosis and stenosing laryngitis have no effectiveness the following drugs and methods:

antibiotics;
antiviral agents;
steam inhalations.

Traditional treatment for this type of laryngitis consists of inhalation procedures using glucocorticosteroids in hospital care.

Prescribed drugs

Dosage

Suspension Budesonide(inhalation)

0.5-2 mg / 1-2 times a day until the attack disappears

Dexamethasone(intramuscular or intravenous administration) or Prednisolone

For grade 2 stenosis, the child is given an amount of the drug at the rate of 0.6 mg/kg.

Adrenaline solution. Used only for severe stenosis. The drug is administered by inhalation

Children under 4 years of age: no more than 2.5 ml of the drug + 3 ml of saline solution.

Children over 4 years old: no more than 5 ml of adrenaline + 3 ml of saline solution.

It is permissible to carry out only three inhalations per day. It is not advisable to get carried away with adrenaline, since its effect is short-lived, and the consequences of its use are still poorly understood.

It is very important to continue treating the child under the supervision of a doctor in a hospital. When, if laryngeal stenosis has progressed to the stage of asphyxia, it may be necessary surgical intervention . An incision is made in the front of the necks between the tracheal rings, into which a thin tube is inserted. It will supply oxygen to the lungs, due to which the child will begin to breathe normally.

Conclusion

Laryngeal stenosis with laryngitis associated with age characteristics structures of the larynx in children. As a rule, attacks of false croup occur in preschool children.
If your child is choking at night, parents need to carry out a series urgent measures to stop an attack. If there is no improvement within a few minutes, calling an ambulance is mandatory.
Usually, stenosing laryngitis is a consequence Therefore, during treatment it is important to create conditions for recovery and promptly relieve symptoms of infection.

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