Bronchiolitis is a lung infection caused by a virus. The average age of children who get bronchiolitis is 6Â months. They are never older than 2 years.
The symptoms of bronchiolitis include:
The symptoms are similar to asthma.
The wheezing is caused by a narrowing of the smallest airways in the lung (bronchioles). This narrowing results from inflammation (swelling) caused by a virus, usually the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). RSV occurs in epidemics almost every winter.
The virus is found in nasal secretions of infected people. It is spread by an infected person who sneezes or coughs less than 6 feet away from someone else or by his or her hands after touching the nose or eyes.
People do not develop permanent immunity to the virus, which means that they can be infected by it many times.
Wheezing and tight breathing (trouble breathing out) become worse for 2 or 3Â days and then improve. Overall, the wheezing lasts approximately 7Â days and the cough about 14Â days.
The most common complication of bronchiolitis is an ear infection, occurring in about 20% of infants. Bacterial pneumonia is an uncommon complication. Only 1% or 2% of children with bronchiolitis are hospitalized because they need oxygen or intravenous fluids.
In the long run, approximately 30% of the children who develop bronchiolitis later develop asthma. Recurrences of wheezing (asthma) occur mainly in children who have close relatives with asthma. Asthma is treated with medicines.
About 1/4 of children with bronchiolitis are helped by asthma-type medicines. Your healthcare provider may prescribe medicine for your child.
In addition, you can give your child acetaminophen every 4 to 6 hours or ibuprofen every 6 to 8 hours if the fever is over 102°F (39°C).
Coughing spasms are often caused by sticky secretions in the back of the throat. Warm liquids usually relax the airway and loosen the secretions. Offer warm lemonade or apple juice if your child is over 4 months old.
In addition, breathing warm, moist air helps to loosen up the sticky mucus that may be choking your child. You can provide warm mist by sitting in the bathroom with the shower on. Or you can fill a humidifier with warm water and have your child breathe in the warm mist it produces. Avoid steam vaporizers because they can cause burns.
Dry air tends to make coughs worse. Use a humidifier in your child's bedroom if the air in your home is dry.
If the nose is blocked, your child will not be able to drink from a bottle or to breast-feed. Most stuffy noses are blocked by dry or sticky mucus. Suction alone cannot remove dry secretions. Warm tap-water or saline nosedrops are better than any medicine you can buy for loosening up mucus. Place three drops of warm water or saline in each nostril. After about one minute, use a soft rubber suction bulb to suck out the mucus. You can repeat this procedure several times until your child's breathing through the nose becomes quiet and easy.
Encourage your child to drink enough fluids.
Eating is often tiring, so offer your child formula, breast milk, or regular milk (if he is over 1 year old) in smaller amounts at more frequent intervals. If your child vomits during a coughing spasm, feed him or her again.
Tobacco smoke aggravates coughing. Children who have an RSV infection are much more likely to wheeze if they are exposed to tobacco smoke. Don't let anyone smoke around your child. In fact, try not to let anybody smoke inside your home.
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