Winter - Time to be wary of children with bronchiolitis

Bronchiolitis is a pediatric disease characterized by acute inflammation of the small bronchi, less than 2mm in diameter, or bronchioles. Children with bronchiolitis are caused by respiratory syncytial virus. Due to the very contagious ability of the virus, the disease is at risk of becoming an epidemic and is one of the frequent causes of children being hospitalized.
Bronchiolitis usually occurs in children under 2 years of age, most commonly between 3 and 6 months of age. The walls of these bronchioles do not have cartilage but only smooth muscle, so they are often prone to constriction and collapse when infected. When children have the disease, these bronchioles become inflamed, swollen, and secrete a lot of fluid, making the child's airways narrow, even obstructing the airways. Therefore, the child will have wheezing, difficulty breathing and more seriously, the child will be deprived of oxygen.
All cases of children with bronchiolitis, if not diagnosed and treated according to the right regimen, will lead to dangerous health complications such as: respiratory dysfunction, occurrence of shortness of breath. recurrent, diffuse bronchiolitis. More dangerous will cause children to have acute respiratory failure, pneumothorax, pneumonia - mediastinitis, atelectasis and even life-threatening.
Bronchiolitis will have more serious complications in children under 3 months old, premature babies - low birth weight, severely malnourished children, children with underlying medical conditions such as heart disease, lung disease, weakened immune system. Moreover, children with bronchiolitis that do not go away and relapse many times are also the cause of bronchial asthma later on.

When children have bronchiolitis, they often have typical signs such as low-grade fever, cough, runny nose in the first 2-3 days. After that, children will cough more, many children cough so much that many people think they have whooping cough and have to take them to the hospital.
In addition, children with bronchiolitis may be accompanied by wheezing and may have faster breathing, chest tightness, shortness of breath. For breastfed babies, if more severe, they may stop nursing, cyanosis due to lack of oxygen.
Children with bronchiolitis, if well cared for, after 5 to 7 days, the child will have less wheezing, after breathing difficulty will return to normal, the cough will gradually decrease and then completely disappear in about 10-14 days. However, there are children with bronchiolitis that does not go away and the illness can last for weeks. Without good care, bronchiolitis can cause complications such as: otitis media, respiratory failure, atelectasis, pneumonia...

Proper care of children with bronchiolitis will help children avoid the disease, as well as help them recover better.
In the case of children with mild bronchiolitis, without complications, without risk factors, they can be cared for at home. It is very important to take medication as prescribed by the pediatrician. Parents should not arbitrarily give medicine to children because if used incorrectly, it can make the child's illness worse or may have harmful effects on young children.
At home, parents need to take care of their children as follows:
With young children, parents need: Continue to breastfeed or eat enough nutrients. At the same time, you also need to divide into many feedings and meals, this helps reduce vomiting when coughing a lot.
For older children, it is necessary to:
Give children extra water to drink to avoid dehydration. Clear your baby's airway to make it easier for him to breathe and feed better. Drop the child's nose with 2-3 drops of physiological saline, the effect is to clean the child's nose. Give your child the medicine exactly as directed by the doctor. Avoid secondhand smoke as it can make the disease worse. The way to relieve cough and expectoration for your baby is to use steamed honey with green kumquats or steamed honey with chives. If the child has a fever, do not keep the child too warm, use warm water to apply to the armpits, neck and groin. If the child has a high fever of over 38.5 degrees, they can give them paracetamol, but they must be used according to the doctor's prescription, and should pay attention to the dose appropriate to the child's body weight.

Parents need to take their child to the doctor as quickly as possible if:
The child has difficulty breathing or is very fast. The child is wheezing or sleeping soundly. The baby's abdomen and ribs contract with each breath and rise and fall. Pale, pale skin or purple lips. Children show chest tightness when breathing. Children with chronic bronchiolitis can cause severe complications, obstruct the airways, manifest labored breathing, poor appetite and vomiting a lot.

To prevent children from getting bronchiolitis and other inflammatory respiratory diseases in children, it is necessary to take proper care of the child and strengthen the child's resistance.
Breastfeed your baby from birth and maintain exclusive breastfeeding until 2 years of age. When children eat solids, they need to eat enough nutrients, including four main nutritional groups: starch, protein, green vegetables - fruits and lipids from vegetable oils. Give your child plenty of water to drink every day. Fully vaccinated and on schedule according to the instructions of the Ministry of Health. Keep the surrounding environment clean and fresh, and prevent children from being exposed to dust and tobacco smoke. Parents and caregivers need to wash their hands often when caring for children because the virus is spread mainly through direct contact. Avoid letting children have close contact with older children, adults with respiratory infections as well as other diseases. Parents should clean the body, especially the ear, nose and throat area for children every day. Keep your child's bedroom clean, warm and well-ventilated. When there are symptoms of fever, cough, runny nose, poor feeding, stop feeding... it is necessary to take the child immediately to medical facilities for timely examination and treatment. In winter, when the temperature in the air is low, it is a condition that causes bronchiolitis to increase. This is an acute respiratory disease that is common in infants and young children. Children with bronchiolitis are at risk of recurrent episodes, which can easily cause dangerous complications or even death. Therefore, parents need to pay attention to prevention by feeding children with adequate nutrition, keeping the space clean,...
With many years of experience in examination and treatment of diseases in Currently, the Pediatrics Department at Vinmec International General Hospital has become one of the major health care centers, capable of examining, screening and treating many specialized diseases in children. Therefore, if the child shows signs of bronchiolitis or other common respiratory diseases in winter, parents can take the child to Vinmec International General Hospital for examination and support. advice from doctors and health professionals.