The child is breathing heavily: possible causes, diagnosis and treatment.

Breathing is the most important process in the human body of any age, on a par with the contraction of the heart muscle. Breathing removes from the body carbon dioxide and saturates cells with oxygen. Without it, not a single living creature on the planet can exist. The maximum a person can spend without oxygen is 5 minutes. The world record, recorded after a long period of human preparation for existence in airless space, namely under water, is 18 minutes.

A newborn baby breathes more often than adults, due to the fact that the respiratory system itself is not yet fully formed

The process itself is divided into two stages. When a person inhales through the respiratory tract, air enters the lungs, which is divided into oxygen and carbon dioxide, passing through circulatory system. When you exhale, carbon dioxide is removed from the body. Oxygen is distributed to all tissues and organs through the arteries, and carbon dioxide is eliminated through venous blood back to the lungs. Nature itself ordered this wisely and functionally. The breathing of any newborn, like an adult, is an important rhythmic process, failures in which can indicate problems in the body and lead to serious consequences.

Newborn breathing

Babies' breathing has great value both as an indicator of the baby’s health, and as the main life-supporting process of a newborn child, which has its own age characteristics, in particular, a very narrow respiratory passage. The child's airways are short, so deep, full inhalation and exhalation are not possible. The nasopharynx is narrow, and the smallest foreign object, trapped there, can cause sneezing and coughing, and the accumulation of mucus and dust can cause snoring, snoring and choking. Even a slight runny nose is dangerous for a baby due to hyperemia of the mucous membrane and narrowing of the lumen.

Young parents should try to make every effort to prevent the baby from catching a viral disease and catching a cold, because both rhinitis and bronchitis infancy are very dangerous, they have to be treated long and hard, because toddlers are not yet allowed to take most medications. Support, do for the baby, dose the frequency of guests and the duration of walks.

Frequent walks and fresh air have a beneficial effect on the baby’s health and his breathing.

Specifics of baby breathing

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The baby's body develops literally by the hour. All organs and systems work in an enhanced mode, therefore both the baby’s pulse rate and blood pressure much higher than that of an adult. So, the pulse reaches 140 beats per minute. Organism little man physiologically tuned to rapid breathing in order to compensate for the impossibility of deep, full inhalations and exhalations due to imperfections respiratory system, narrow passages, weak muscles and small ribs.

Babies' breathing is shallow, they often breathe intermittently and unevenly, which can frighten parents. It's even possible respiratory failure. By the age of 7, the child’s respiratory system is fully formed, the baby outgrows it and stops getting very sick. Breathing becomes similar to that of adults, and rhinitis, bronchitis and pneumonia are more easily tolerated.

Sports and yoga, frequent walks and room ventilation will help your child under 7 years old to more easily tolerate imperfections in their respiratory system.

Tempo, frequency and types of breathing

If the baby breathes frequently, but there are no wheezing or noises, then this breathing is normal process. If any abnormalities are observed, the child should be shown to a doctor.

If your little one does not have a stuffy nose and his body is functioning normally, then the baby takes two or three short, light breaths, then one deep breath, while the exhalations remain equally shallow. This is the specificity of breathing of any newborn. The child breathes frequently and quickly. The baby takes about 40-60 breaths per minute to provide the body with oxygen. A 9-month-old toddler should breathe more rhythmically, deeply and evenly. Noises, wheezing, and flaring of the wings of the nose should worry parents and force them to show the child to a pediatrician.

Quantity breathing movements usually counted by movements chest baby at rest. Respiratory rate norms are given in the list:

until the third week of life – 40-60 breaths;
from the third week of life to three months – 40-45 breaths per minute;
from 4 months to six months – 35-40;
from six months to 1 year – 30-36 inhalations and exhalations per minute.

To make the data more clear, let us point out that the normal respiratory rate of an adult is up to 20 inhalations and exhalations per minute, and in a sleeping state the indicator decreases by another 5 units. Standards help pediatricians determine health status. If the respiratory rate, abbreviated as respiratory rate, deviates from generally accepted positions, we can talk about a disease of the respiratory or other system in the newborn’s body. Parents themselves can not miss the onset of the disease by periodically calculating the respiratory rate at home, according to Dr. Komarovsky.

Each mother can independently check the frequency and type of breathing

During life, a baby can breathe three in different ways, which is physiologically provided by nature, namely:

Breast type. It is predetermined by characteristic chest movements and does not ventilate enough lower sections lungs.
Abdominal type. With it, the diaphragm moves and abdominal wall, A upper sections the lungs are not sufficiently ventilated.
Mixed type. The most complete type of breathing, both the upper and lower sections are ventilated respiratory tract.

Deviations from the norm

Options physiological development do not always meet generally accepted standards due to human ill health. Causes of deviations from normal breathing that are not pathology:

The baby may breathe too quickly during physical activity, games, in an excited state of positive or negative character, in moments of crying;
in their sleep, newborns can sniffle, wheeze and even whistle melodiously; if this phenomenon is infrequent, then it is due solely to the underdevelopment of the respiratory system and does not require the intervention of doctors.

The baby's breathing rate may change depending on his condition, for example, while crying

Why might children hold their breath?

Before the baby reaches the sixth month of his life, he may experience shortness of breath (apnea), and this is not a pathology. During sleep, holding your breath accounts for up to 10 percent of the total time. Uneven breathing may have the following causes:

ARVI. For colds and viral diseases the breathing rate becomes higher, there may be delays, wheezing, and sniffling.
Oxygen deficiency. It manifests itself not only by holding your breath, but also by blueness of the skin and clouding of consciousness. The child gasps for air. In this case, doctor intervention is needed.
Increased body temperature. Lost rhythm and shortness of breath often indicate an increase in temperature; this can occur not only against the background of ARVI, but also during teething.
False croup. The most serious illness, causing suffocation, requires immediate calling an ambulance.

If we're talking about about children under 7 years old and especially kindergarten age, then cause of apnea may be adenoids, due to large size which the child holds his breath. Adenoiditis is a common disease that occurs in children attending nurseries. preschool changing clothes in cold rooms and very often suffering from ARVI. It is characterized by difficulty breathing, especially at night, because enlarged adenoids prevent the baby from breathing fully through the nose.

Difficulty breathing in a child may be a consequence of enlarged adenoids. In this case, breathing will return to normal only with treatment. of this disease

Adenoiditis is treated with antiseptic sprays and nasal drops; homeopathy and long-term stays in warm home conditions are quite popular. Anti-enlargement medications are effective lymph nodes. Treatment requires long-term and continuous treatment; if unsuccessful, removal of the adenoids may be recommended.

Has your baby suddenly stopped breathing? Parents should know what to do in this case. If you find a sleeping child who is not breathing, carefully wake him up, while providing access fresh air into the room. If breathing does not return after 15 seconds, call ambulance, and do CPR yourself.

What is wheezing?

Ideally, a newborn's breathing occurs without difficulty or wheezing. The appearance of noise indicates a problem in the body. Wheezing is difficulty inhaling and exhaling through narrowed airways and can occur due to infection, bronchospasm, swelling or foreign body. Symptom false croup– rough wheezing when inhaling, stridor (we recommend reading:).

When is medical attention required?

If you hear wheezing, then analyze general condition baby. Call an ambulance if you notice one of the following symptoms: blue skin around the lips; the child is lethargic and drowsy, consciousness is foggy; the baby cannot speak.

Wheezing in a baby may mean that colds. In this case, mommy needs to call a pediatrician at home

Please note that there are cases when a toddler accidentally inhales foreign body. Make sure that there are no small objects, jewelry, toys, beads or rhinestones near the baby.

Let us tabulate the situations when wheezing is noticeable in a child’s breathing, possible reasons and your actions (we recommend reading:).

Situation	Cause	Actions
The baby periodically experiences wheezing out of the blue, especially during sleep (we recommend reading:). He is developing normally, and a routine examination by a pediatrician does not show any pathologies.	Physiological imperfection of the baby's respiratory tract. There are no pathologies.	Be calm about this phenomenon, the situation will change when your baby is one year old. Consult a doctor if your baby wheezes too loudly or frequently, or if your baby makes sounds that are unusual for your ear when he inhales or exhales. The main thing is to provide comfortable conditions for the development of the child’s body, humidify the air, maintain the temperature in the children’s room within 21 degrees Celsius, ventilate the nursery 2 times a day (see also:).
Wheezing due to ARVI or cold. The little one has a cough and runny nose.	Viral disease.	Contact your pediatrician and ENT doctor. Drink plenty of fluids and comfortable conditions for the baby until the doctor arrives.
The child periodically develops a cough or runny nose, which does not go away with anti-ARVI medications, and lasts more than 2 days (see also:). Relatives have been diagnosed with allergies or asthma.	Allergic cough or asthma.	Analyze what may cause allergies. First of all, make sure that there are no allergens in the mother’s diet if the baby is breastfeeding. During feeding, unwanted substances may be transferred to him. The flowering period of ragweed and other allergic plants, dust in the room, and the child’s clothing all play a role. Contact an allergist and get tested for allergens.

When should you call an ambulance?

There are situations when your child urgently needs to call a doctor or an ambulance. Let us indicate in which cases wheezing is a harbinger of a serious illness in the baby. This may be the beginning of a serious illness, critical condition or foreign body entering the respiratory tract, causing suffocation and swelling.

You can relieve a child’s difficulty breathing with bronchitis using syrup, which will be prescribed by your doctor.

Wheezing accompanied by frequent painful coughing that lasts more than a day.	Bronchiolitis is an infection of the bronchioles of the lungs, the smallest branches of the bronchi. It appears more often in children.	This serious illness requires urgent medical care. Possibly hospitalization.
A kindergarten-aged child speaks through his nose, snores and wheezes during sleep, swallows, and is susceptible to frequent colds. The baby gets tired quickly and breathes through his mouth.	Adenoiditis.	Contact your ENT doctor. Keep your child warm, limit trips, do wet cleaning more often, and humidify the room.
Wheezing and severe cough against the background of elevated temperature.	Bronchitis. Pneumonia.	See your doctor as soon as possible. If the child is no longer infancy, and you have experience in treating his ARVI, you can give your child suitable cough syrup and an antiallergic drug to alleviate the condition. Bronchitis and, especially, pneumonia may require hospitalization.
Wheezing against a background of dry barking cough, high temperature, hoarseness of voice, strange crying.	False croup.	Call an ambulance. Before the doctors arrive, humidify the room and provide a flow of fresh air.
Sudden, severe wheezing, especially after the baby was left alone for some time, and there were people nearby small items, from toys to buttons. The baby is crying loudly and hoarsely.	A foreign body has entered the respiratory tract.	Call an ambulance only medical worker will help clear the airways of foreign bodies.

Why is wheezing more common in babies?

Most often, wheezing is diagnosed in children under 3 years of age. This is due to insufficient formation of the respiratory tract. They are narrow and easier to clog with mucus, dust, and are prone to swelling. It is more difficult for children to undergo treatment, because they cannot take many medications produced pharmaceutical industry, so acute respiratory viral infections and colds are more difficult and longer. Why is breathing sometimes heavy and noisy? It's all about dry and dusty air, according to Dr. Komarovsky. It is necessary to humidify the air and harden children to avoid breathing problems, colds, early adenoiditis and complications.

What to do if your pediatrician finds that your breathing is hard small child? Is this symptom a cause for concern and could it indicate more serious diagnoses such as bronchitis, pneumonia or even asthma? Should you worry if you yourself begin to notice that your child is breathing heavily and loudly? Let's listen to the recommendations of experts.

Noisy breathing in itself is not a pathology and does not require treatment if the baby develops normally and feels well. This may be a structural feature of the nasopharynx or, more often, a reaction to too dusty and dry air in an apartment or garden. Children under one year old may breathe unevenly because their respiratory system is not yet fully developed. But if you notice that your child suddenly begins to breathe heavily, shortness of breath, coughing or wheezing appears, night snoring If it becomes difficult for him to breathe through his nose, be sure to consult a doctor and get an x-ray of his lungs.

The diagnosis of “hard breathing” can only be made by a doctor based on auscultation (listening) and is quite subjective. Normal healthy lungs and the airways work only on inhalation and relax on exhalation, which means that the doctor hears the inhalation well and almost does not hear the exhalation. If the exhalation becomes noisier, this may indicate an inflammatory process in the bronchi or the presence of mucus accumulations.

What does harsh breathing in children mean?

Parents often note such a sign as heavy breathing after suffering from an acute respiratory infection. If the child feels well, there is no fever, and the doctor does not note wheezing, this symptom is not a cause for concern. But often cause of severe breathing can appear completely different:

If a child breathes noisily, this indicates an accumulation of mucus in the bronchi and respiratory tract, which must be removed so as not to provoke inflammatory processes. Mucus begins to accumulate if the air in the room is too dry, if the child does not walk outside much or drinks little. Abundant warm drink, regular ventilation, air humidification and frequent walks work wonders.
Hard breathing in a child may indicate progressive bronchitis if it is combined with a dry cough, wheezing and elevated temperature. This diagnosis should only be made by a doctor.
If hard breathing is combined with attacks of suffocation, shortness of breath and worsens during physical activity, this may indicate bronchial asthma, especially if there are people in the family suffering from this disease.
A child may have difficulty breathing after a nasal injury or with adenoids. Be sure to consult an ENT doctor.
The mucous membranes of the nose and respiratory tract may swell due to the presence of allergens in the child's environment, such as dust or mites living in feather pillows. Allergy tests will help determine the cause.

In any case, if you notice your child's breathing is harsh, contact a doctor you trust. A specialist will help you create full picture diseases and make the right decision.

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 (structural features of the respiratory tract of newborns);
acquired (for example, foreign objects entering 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 respiratory distress may 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, the data obtained by the doctor during examination are of great importance. 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 of various specialists may be required - 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 can be the result of a wide range of disorders in the body. Therefore, if stridor in a child causes problems with feeding or sleeping, consultations with specialists such as,

Quite often, children in the first months of life snore loudly and heavily while sleeping. Most often, a child's noisy breathing is caused by excessive dryness of the nasal mucosa, which occurs due to a decrease in air humidity. In addition, constant inhalation of dry air contributes to the appearance of dry crusts in the nasal cavity, which makes breathing difficult.

Also, snoring may be associated with anatomical and physiological features of the structure of the nasopharynx, characteristic of infants. The nasal passages in infants are significantly narrow, which contributes to the appearance of noise when inhaled air passes through the nose. As the baby develops, the nasal passages enlarge, and closer to the age of one year, breathing becomes quieter. Define the real reason Only an otolaryngologist, whom you should definitely visit, can determine why a child sniffles during sleep.

As a rule, the causes of noisy breathing in a child at night are various anatomical changes nasopharynx, causing narrowing of the nasal passages.

These include:

adenoid growths;
acute or chronic form runny nose;
deformation of the nasal septum;
nasal polyps;
swelling of the mucous membrane of inflammatory origin;
anatomical abnormalities of the nasal cavity;
malformations of the hard and soft palate.

A child may also wheeze heavily during sleep if they regurgitate excessively after feeding. When the baby is in a lying position, the gastric contents enter the posterior section nasal cavity. In this case, the inhaled air passes through the nasopharynx, accompanied by wheezing sounds. To prevent similar phenomena, you should keep the baby in vertical position 10 minutes after each meal.

If a child sniffles loudly through his nose in his sleep, but there is no disturbance in appetite, general malaise, or sleep disturbance, he is active and does not experience any discomfort, then there is no reason to worry. It is only necessary to ensure optimal temperature and humidity conditions in the room and proper hygienic care.

In case of lack of air during feeding, breast refusal, increased irritability baby, you should definitely seek medical help.

What should mom do?

Only after it has been established why the child sniffles at night can we begin to eliminate this problem.

Comfort

First of all, it is necessary to ensure comfortable microclimatic conditions in the room where the child is; the air in the room should not be dry and polluted. The best option To maintain the required temperature and humidity conditions, it is considered to use a humidifier. If it is not possible to purchase one, as an alternative, you can place towels soaked in water on the radiator, or place containers filled with water in the room. In addition, we should not forget about wet cleaning and regular ventilation of the room.

Hydration

In addition, you should moisturize the nasal mucosa. Nasal drops made from a 0.9% sodium chloride solution help eliminate crusts that have formed and prevent dryness in the nasal cavity. You can also use water-salt solutions for this purpose, which you can purchase at a pharmacy or prepare yourself.

It is recommended to carry out the procedure three times a day, instilling 2-3 drops into each nasal passage. After the manipulations, if necessary, you can remove crusts from the nose using homemade wicks made of sterile cotton wool dipped in olive, peach or vaseline oil.

Drops

In order to normalize nasal breathing, it is necessary to use vasoconstrictor nasal agents. However, you need to know that the effectiveness of such drops is significantly reduced with prolonged use. To prevent excessive drying of the mucous membrane, it is recommended half an hour after using the drugs, vasoconstrictor effect, put drops on the child’s nose sea buckthorn oil or other lubricating drops.

Operation

If sniffing during sleep is caused by anatomical obstacles to full breathing (adenoid growths, polyposis, abnormal development of the nose, etc.), apply surgical methods Treatments aimed at eliminating the causes of noisy breathing at night.

For every caring parent, a child’s anxiety is real torture. If you find any problems with nasal breathing, you should definitely visit a pediatrician and otolaryngologist. Because the sooner the cause is identified and appropriate measures are taken, the faster the problem can be solved.

A newborn baby is a source of happiness and joy for his parents and grandparents. And at the same time - the reason constant anxiety and worries: is everything okay with the baby, who himself cannot tell about his condition. Smile or cry, strong restful sleep, temperature, skin color become the object of close attention. Various signs They tell adults that everything is fine with the child or, conversely, that he needs help.

Infant breathing is one of the important symptoms wellness baby.

How does a healthy child breathe?

A child's respiratory system develops approximately seven years after birth. During the period of formation of the respiratory system, children tend to shallow breathing. Inhalations and exhalations of healthy children are frequent and shallow. Frequent, rapid breathing should not alarm parents. After all, it is a feature of the respiratory system of children.

Parents can count the number of inhalations and exhalations of the child per minute to compare them with the indicators normal breathing. Please note: with age and, accordingly, the degree of development of the respiratory system, normal breathing indicators change, the child begins to breathe more calmly:

1-2 weeks of life - from 40 to 60 inhalations and exhalations;
From 3 weeks to 3 months – from 40 to 45 inhalations and exhalations;
4 – 6 months of life – from 35 to 40 inhalations and exhalations;
7 – 12 months of life – from 30 to 36 inhalations and exhalations.

Counting is done while the child is sleeping. For accurate counting, the adult places his warm hand on the baby's chest.

Heavy breathing is a sign of malaise

Loving adults notice any changes not only in the baby’s behavior. They pay no less attention to how the baby breathes. Heavy breathing in a baby should alert others. Especially when it is accompanied by a change in the usual rhythm and frequency of inhalations and exhalations, it becomes confusing. Often this is complemented by specific sounds. Moans, whistling, and wheezing also make it clear that the baby’s condition has changed.

If the baby's breathing rate is disturbed, changes in the depth of inhalation and exhalation are noticeable, there is a feeling that the baby does not have enough air, which means the child is short of breath.

Let's consider what could be the cause of the baby's difficulty breathing, what causes shortness of breath.

The atmosphere in the nursery is the key to the baby’s health

When it comes to creating comfortable conditions stay for a newborn, many mothers and even grandmothers make some mistakes. Having ensured sterile cleanliness, they do not always attach importance to maintaining the required air regime. But the baby’s developing respiratory system requires certain conditions to be met.

Maintaining the required air humidity

Excessively dry air will cause the newborn's mucous membranes to dry out, which will lead to heavy breathing with possible occurrence wheezing. The child breathes calmly and easily when the air humidity in the room reaches from 50 to 70%. To achieve this, it is necessary not only to frequently perform wet cleaning, but also to specifically humidify the air. Aquariums with water work well for this, but if you don't have any, fill them with clean water any containers.

But from the carpets, large quantity books, indoor plants It is better to refuse: they can become a source of allergies and lead to heavy breathing for the child.

Clean air is the norm for a baby

There is no doubt among any adults that the baby should breathe clean air. Systematic ventilation of the room will fill the nursery with freshness. No less important is not only being close to the child (even on a walk), but also communicating with the baby immediately after a cigarette. A child involuntarily forced to inhale tobacco smoke or air mixed with tobacco tar, experiencing breathing problems.

But even in ideal conditions Infants' breathing often becomes heavy.

Causes of heavy breathing

Experts name several main reasons heavy breathing in newborns:

Disease;
Allergy;
Foreign body.

In each case, heavy breathing is accompanied by additional manifestations that help more accurately determine the reason that the child is breathing heavily. Having identified what led to heavy breathing in each specific case, medical specialists prescribe comprehensive treatment.

We will tell you about each reason in more detail so that the parents of the baby can respond promptly and correctly to changes in the baby’s breathing.

Foreign body

Every day, a healthy baby, growing and developing, becomes more active and mobile. Getting acquainted with the world around him, he examines the world around him with curiosity, manipulates objects that are in his palms. The adult is required to be extremely collected and attentive and not allow small objects to fall into the child’s hands.

Often they become the reasons for the baby's heavy breathing. Once in the baby's mouth, they can then move into the airways during inhalation and become an obstacle to airflow.

It is also dangerous for small parts to get into nasal cavity baby. His breathing becomes harsh, wheezing appears, sometimes quite strong. If a child a few minutes before was healthy and playing happily, and then began to breathe with heavy wheezing, a foreign body in the nasopharynx may be the cause of the changes.

The main thing that parents should remember in this case is: there is no need to waste time, waiting for everything to “go away on its own” and the baby to return to play. Immediate contact with a specialist is the best decision!

Allergy

Young parents may be surprised when experienced grandmothers, noticing that the baby is breathing heavily, check to see if the baby has allergies. You shouldn't be surprised. Indeed, in addition to such manifestations on food or other factors environment, like skin redness, peeling, rashes, allergies can also be a problem for normal functioning respiratory system.

Heavy breathing with wheezing, shortness of breath, tears, constant transparent discharge from the nose is a reason to urgently consult a pediatrician. Allergies are dangerous and insidious not only because of their sudden occurrence, but also very rapid development. It is impossible to delay in clarifying the diagnosis - allergies are not a cold, without timely assistance The baby may go into shock.

Disease

In addition to inhalation foreign object and developed allergic reaction, a variety of colds and infectious diseases accompanied by heavy breathing of the baby.

Colds

Often the cause of difficulty breathing in a small child is even a minor cold (cold, acute respiratory viral infections, bronchial lesions). The mucus that accumulates during coughing and runny nose clogs the narrow nasal passages, the baby begins to breathe more often, inhales and exhales through the mouth.

Asthma

Inflammation of the airways, known as asthma, is no accident in Greek means suffocation. An adult notices that the baby is breathing with difficulty, and there is a feeling that the baby is not getting enough air. This is due to the fact that the child takes a small breath and exhales the air for a long time. During physical activity or during sleep, a severe coughing attack may occur.

Pneumonia

A serious illness, which is a serious problem for adults, becomes a real challenge for newborns. How earlier treatment professionals will handle it it will go faster baby is on the mend. Therefore, the mother should immediately call a doctor if she notices signs of illness. Inflammation of the lungs is characterized by heavy breathing of the baby, accompanied by a severe cough.

The general condition of the baby also indicates a serious illness. The temperature rises, sick children become noticeably paler, in some cases the child refuses mother's milk or other food, becomes restless.

Other children continue to breastfeed, albeit sluggishly, but the mother should be wary of such a change skin. Triangle, formed by the nose and the lips of the baby, acquires a bluish tint, especially during feeding or when the baby cries. This is evidence oxygen starvation. And at the same time - an indication of the need for urgent intervention by specialists.

Helping a child who is breathing heavily

Occurs in children with various diseases shortness of breath requires consultation and intervention from medical professionals. What can the baby's parents do when the doctor has already been called, but is not yet near the baby.

First, calm down so as not to transfer your anxiety to the little person.

And secondly, try to calm the baby, because calm state It won't be so hard for him to breathe. To do this, you can follow the following procedures:

Ventilation of the room

Fresh air will make your newborn's breathing easier.

Ensuring freedom of movement

If the child is dressed, he should be allowed to move and breathe freely. It is better to take off tight, constricting clothes or at least unfasten them.

Washing

Washing helps many children. The water should be comfortable, preferably cool water that is pleasant to the baby.

Drink

You can give your child something to drink. In many cases, when children have heavy breathing, their mouth becomes dry; liquid will relieve this symptom.

The pediatrician will determine the causes of the baby’s heavy breathing and do necessary appointments. Having found out why your baby began to breathe heavily and received recommendations to alleviate the child’s condition, you can help him. Strict execution the procedures prescribed by the doctor will return to your baby free breathing, it will continue to make you happy every day.