Symptoms of bronchitis in four-year-old baby

Bronchitis is a disease that afflicts many elderly people. Most cases of bronchitis in the elderly are acquired, due to improper living and eating habits. The most common symptoms of bronchitis are shortness of breath and increased breathing, but some children also suffer from bronchitis, which is generally caused by congenital heredity. So what symptoms will a four-year-old baby have if he suffers from bronchitis?

Symptoms of bronchitis in children

(a) Age: Mostly seen in children under 1 year old, especially infants under 6 months old.

(2) The disease can occur throughout the year, but is more common in winter and spring.

(III) The onset is relatively acute, with early cold symptoms such as coughing and sneezing. After 1 to 2 days, the cough worsens, and there are paroxysmal dyspnea, wheezing, pale complexion, cyanosis of the lips, and the three-point concave sign. The early lung signs are mainly wheezing, followed by moist sounds. When symptoms are severe, they may be accompanied by congestive heart failure, respiratory failure, hypoxic encephalopathy, and water and electrolyte imbalances. The body temperature generally does not exceed 38.5℃, and the course of the disease is 1 to 2 weeks.

(iv) White blood cell count is mostly normal or slightly increased. Blood gas analysis may reveal hypoxemia and decreased or increased partial pressure of carbon dioxide in arterial blood. Chest X-rays show thickened lung texture, increased translucency of both lungs or small shadows and atelectasis. If conditions permit, rapid virus diagnosis of respiratory secretions can be performed to identify the type of virus.

Home care for bronchitis in children

Bronchitis is a common respiratory disease in children with a high prevalence. It can occur throughout the year and reaches its peak in winter and spring. When suffering from bronchitis, children often have varying degrees of fever, cough, loss of appetite, or vomiting, diarrhea, etc. Younger children may also have symptoms of bronchiolitis such as wheezing and gasping. Although a small number of children may develop bronchopneumonia, most children have mild symptoms and are mainly treated with medication and care at home. Parents should follow the doctor's instructions to give their children medication on time and provide good home care:

1. Keep warm: Temperature changes, especially cold stimulation can reduce the local resistance of the bronchial mucosa and aggravate bronchitis. Therefore, parents should add or remove clothes for their children in time as the temperature changes, especially cover the children with quilts when sleeping to keep the body temperature above 36.5 degrees Celsius.

2. Feed more water: Children with bronchitis will have varying degrees of fever, and water evaporation is greater, so you should pay attention to feeding the child more water. It can be supplemented with sugar water or sugar and salt water, or with rice soup or egg soup. The diet is mainly semi-liquid to increase the water content in the body and meet the body's needs.

3. Adequate nutrition: When children suffer from bronchitis, they consume a lot of nutrients. In addition, fever and bacterial toxins affect gastrointestinal function and cause poor digestion and absorption. Therefore, nutritional deficiencies in the children's bodies cannot be ignored. In this regard, parents should adopt the method of small meals and frequent meals for their children, and provide them with light, nutritious, balanced and easily digestible semi-liquid or liquid diets, such as porridge, cooked noodles, egg custard, fresh vegetables, fruit juice, etc.

4. Turn over and pat the back: When the child coughs and expectorates, it indicates that the secretions in the bronchial tubes have increased. In order to promote the smooth discharge of secretions, nebulizer inhalation can be used to help expectorate, 2-3 times a day, each time for 5-20 minutes. If it is an infant, in addition to patting the back, you should also help the child turn over once every 1-2 hours, so that the child remains in a semi-recumbent position to facilitate the discharge of phlegm.

5. Antipyretic: Children with bronchitis usually have a low to moderate fever. If the body temperature is below 38.5 degrees Celsius, there is generally no need to give antipyretics. The main treatment is to target the cause and solve the problem fundamentally. If the body temperature is high, older children can be cooled physically, such as by applying a cold towel to the head or bathing with warm water. However, this method is not suitable for young children, and medication should be used to reduce the temperature if necessary.

6. Maintain a good family environment: The child’s room should be warm, well ventilated and lit, and the air should have a certain humidity to prevent excessive dryness. If there are smokers at home, it is best to quit smoking or go outdoors to smoke to prevent the adverse effects of smoke on the child.