Rapid breathing in a child appears for various reasons. Parents are not always able to distinguish a pathological condition from physiological characteristics. If the behavior of the baby changes, additional symptoms appear, you cannot postpone the visit to the doctor.
Baby
Features of breathing in newborns
Children, especially newborns, breathe differently from adults. To understand if everything is in order with the baby, you need to observe his behavior, sleep quality, appetite, pay attention to skin color. A newborn can breathe irregularly, irregularly. It is important that this does not interfere with his eating, sleeping. Babies breathe through their belly and through their nose. We must not forget about hygiene, be sure to get rid of mucous secretions.
Difficulty breathing
Breathing problems appear against the background of infectious diseases, inflammatory processes. To help your baby, you need to see a doctor. Only he will be able to say if there are deviations from the norm, and, if necessary, prescribe treatment.
Hard
In a healthy child, only inhalation is heard. The exhalation remains almost imperceptible. The inhalation is longer. The exhalation is effortless. If it becomes noisy, the duration increases, they speak of hard breathing.
Heavy
Even a nursing baby can become short of breath. It usually accompanies inflammatory and infectious processes in the bronchi. Often this causes a cough and a feeling of tightness in the chest. Heavy breathing can occur with laryngitis, sore throat, allergies.
Frequent
A newborn's breathing may change. So sometimes babies stop breathing for 10-15 seconds. This happens more often with premature babies. After breathing can become more frequent, then it is restored. If such cases become permanent, you need to consult a pediatrician.
Note! Rapid breathing accompanied by coughing may indicate the presence of pneumonia. At the same time, the baby refuses to eat, becomes restless, his temperature rises.
Restless baby
Frequent breathing on the background of a change in behavior is a reason to call an ambulance.
Hoarseness
Wheezing occurs when the airway is narrowed. A similar symptom most often accompanies laryngitis, bronchitis. In the first case, the larynx is affected, and the voice becomes hoarse. In severe cases, a false croup begins, threatening suffocation. If phlegm accumulates in the bronchial area, then breathing also changes. Wheezing can be heard even from a distance. A foreign body accidentally swallowed by a crumb can also lead to difficulty breathing, the appearance of extraneous sounds.
Respiration rate
A child's breathing changes as they get older:
- At birth, the frequency ranges from 40 to 60. This is how many times the baby breathes in and out per minute. You can count by placing your hand on the chest of the crumbs. How many times it rises, so much the baby exhaled;
- By 6 months, the frequency is reduced to 35-40;
- In a year, the baby inhales and exhales about 30 times per minute.
Causes of increased breathing rate
The child breathes frequently for the following reasons:
- Increased activity. The kid crawled, tried to walk, turned over from one side to the other;
- Cry. After a prolonged hysterics, breathing becomes disordered, it is restored only when the child calms down. He may continue to sob even in his sleep. This means that the baby will breathe unevenly;
- Foreign body in the nose or throat;
- Respiratory tract infections;
- Allergic reaction;
- Problems with the cardiovascular system;
- Bronchial asthma.
Note! Without a doctor's examination, it is impossible to unequivocally answer the question of why the baby has rapid breathing. It can be a variant of the norm or become a sign of a pathology that needs to be treated.
Rapid breathing can begin in a child in a dream if he lay down to rest in an overexcited state. The kid cannot cope with the flow of information received during wakefulness, can sob, sometimes twitch. The main thing is that the temperature remains normal, and the skin does not change color.
Helping the child
If the child has shallow breathing, he is short of air. The inspiratory rate rises to make up for the lack of oxygen. Rapid shallow breathing can appear in babies immediately after birth, then the child needs supportive therapy. Later, a similar condition is usually a symptom of pneumonia and requires immediate hospitalization.
It is necessary to call a doctor if the child begins to breathe frequently during sleep at a temperature. Infections and inflammations develop rapidly in children under one year old. Timely medical attention will help avoid complications. It is especially dangerous if the crumbs have blue skin in the mouth and nose.
If breathing is impaired, you can use the tips:
- Calm down the child, do not leave him alone;
- Ventilate the room, make sure that the baby is not in a draft. Adhere to the optimal temperature and humidity in the house;
- Rinse your baby's nose if he has a runny nose. A cold is a lot of inconvenience, so at the first sign you need to moisten the mucous membranes;
- If the baby begins to cough, and the attack does not stop, you need to go with him to the bath, turn on a hot shower. If you have a nebulizer, inhale with saline.
Inhalation
What not to do
With increased breathing in a child, it is necessary to exclude the fact that the baby has swallowed a foreign object. If the baby chokes, you need to help him clear his throat.
Note! It is worth excluding tight swaddling. Compression of the chest will only harm the baby. You do not need to put the baby on your stomach during sleep, it is better to make sure that the baby lies on its side.
If the child has frequent breathing and begins to cough, do not give him medications without consulting a doctor. The use of antihistamines is not prohibited. If the baby has a fever, his lips turn blue, he cannot cry, he needs urgent help. You should never be nervous. Worrying will only aggravate the situation and worsen the baby's condition.
Calm mom
Young parents should be aware that newborn babies breathe frequently. It is important that there are no alarming symptoms, no extraneous sounds, in particular, wheezing, appear, the baby's temperature remains normal. To make sure that the baby is healthy, you need to contact the pediatrician.
