As the weather changes, most kids catch a cold. Especially in winters, the nasal passages get clogged and children suffer from Wheezing, i.e. a whistling sound that is produced while breathing. The airways become narrow due to swelling and mucus in them. Wheezing can lead to severe breathing problems which can prove to be fatal. If your child is suffering from any kind of breathing problems, you need to get him/her treated at the earliest to avoid any further complications.
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What causes wheezing?
Most of the times, wheezing is caused due to asthma. This is because the muscles in the lining of the airways get constricted. Many children contract asthma during childhood and
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Smoking – Cigarette smoking constricts the lungs and wheezing starts as a result of smoking.
Due to a respiratory tract infection – Any kind of infection in the respiratory tract can lead to wheezing.
By inhaling a foreign object – It is not uncommon for small children to inhale foreign objects. Many times, children inhale small parts of toys, nuts and other things while playing.
Research has shown that some children are more prone to suffer from wheezing than others. These include those who are allergic to dust particles, children exposed to cigarette smoke and those who go to a daycare center.
What are the symptoms of Wheezing?
Unfortunately, the most common symptoms of wheezing are cold and cough which is associated with a mild viral infection. Cold and flu affect our respiratory system and thus cause wheezing. Other symptoms of wheezing include tightness of the chest, bluish tinge around the mouth, fever, loss of voice, stuffy nose, coughing and shortness of breath. Contracting a viral infection during a change of season is very common but any recurring viral infection that causes breathing difficulties should be reported to a medical practitioner at the
Most of the time, it is from smoking. The tissue in the lungs will become inflame and produce mucous because of exposure to these chemicals. Theophylline and ß2 agonist will act to relax and dilate the airways and allow more oxygen to enter. They will also decrease the lungs sensitivity so that they do not react so much to inhaled chemicals.
Croup: Croup is another common airway inflammation caused by virus that can affect the trachea, larynx and possibility the bronchi (Murray, Sidani, & Zoorob, 2011) thus causing infection in the upper respiratory tract. Murray et al. describes it as the most common illness in children under the age of 6 to 36 months and cause for cough mostly when a child cries; acute stridor and hoarseness in febrile children (Murray et al., 2011). It can be a life-threatening situation in the life of the young infant and the family. Croup symptoms exhibit as hoarseness, barking cough, inspiratory stridor, and respiratory distress. I chose this diagnosis as my first preference because when I read the mother’s subjective report it matches that of croup symptoms: a barking cough, no fever, severe at night and when the baby cries, fatigue due to excessiveness of the tears, pain due to inflames and swollen of the airway. Murray et al., led us to understand that the etiologies of this viral causing agent can be traced to the parainfluenza viruses, type 1. (2011). This virus is commonly spread through contact or droplet secretion.
Craven , D., & Hjalmarson, K. (2010). Ventilator-associated tracheobronchitis and pneumonia: thinking outside the box. Clinical Infectious Diseases: An Official Publication Of The Infectious Diseases Society Of America , 1, p.S59-66. Retrieved from http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/detail?sid=44b983f2-9b91-407c-a053-fd8507d9a657@sessionmgr4002&vid=9&hid=116&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ==
The functioning of the chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) is that it has a permanent decrease in the ability to force air out of the lungs. Consequently, it causes emphysema to become a more advanced disease with no cure. Emphysema is known for their permanent enlargement of the alveoli, which are accompanied by the destruction of the alveolar walls. The lungs lose their elasticity, so it loses its ability to recoil passively during expiration. People who have emphysema becomes exhausted fast because they need about fifteen to twenty percent of their body energy to breath which is more than what a healthy person needs. Smoking inhibits and destroys cilia in the conducting zone structures, which is the line of defense for the respiratory system.
Imagine a young child competing with his or her fellow classmates during recess and immediately losing the ability to breathe normally. He or she stops in the middle of the competition and falls to the ground while holding his or her chest trying to find air. When you are young, being able to keep up with your peers during recess and sporting events is very important, however, having asthma restricts this. Asthma has a significant impact on childhood development and the diagnosis of asthma for children 18 years and younger has dramatically increased over the years. Asthma is known as a “chronic inflammation of the small and large airways” with “evident bronchial hyper-responsiveness, airflow obstruction, and in some patients, sub-basement fibrosis and over-secretion of mucus” (Toole, 2013). The constant recreation of the lung walls can even occur in young children and “lead to permanent lung damages and reduced lung function” (Toole, 2013). While one of the factors is genetics, many of the following can be prevented or managed. Obesity, exposure to secondhand smoke, and hospitalization with pneumonia in the early years of life have all been suggested to increase children’s risk of developing asthma.
Second is pneumonia, which is a lung inflammation, may also cause short of breath and a cough. An infection is usually the caused of the disease so, so you will need to take antibiotics. If you have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), it is likely your breathlessness is a sign this condition has suddenly got worse. (Manning & Mahler, 2001)
The causes of pleurisy are different. Often the problem arises as a result of a disease that affects the lungs, such as tuberculosis, pneumonia or lung cancer. Other times the disturbance is due to the action of an infectious agent or to the penetration of an irritating substance. It can also happen that, through the bloodstream or lymphatic, are transported in the
His positive result of nasopharyngeal aspirate for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) indicates that Liam has acute bronchiolitis, which is a viral infection (Glasper & Richardson, 2010). “Bronchiolitis is the most common reason for admission to hospital in the first 6 months of life. It describes a clinical syndrome of cough tachypnoea, feeding difficulties and respiratory crackles in chest auscultation” (Fitzgerald, 2011, p.160). Bronchiolitis can cause respiratory distress and desaturation (91% in the room air) due to airway blockage; therefore the infant appears to have nasal flaring, intercostal and subcostal retractions, and tachypnoea (54 breathes/min) during breathing (Glasper & Richardson, 2010). Tachycardia (152 beats/min) could occur due to hypoxemia and compensatory mechanism for low blood pressure (74/46mmHg) (Fitzgerald, 2011; Glasper & Richardson, 2010).
Influenza or flu is caused by RNA viruses of the family orthomyxoviridae, that affects the nose, throat, and lungs- the respiratory system. The common symptoms are: fever and respiratory problems, such as cough, sore throat,stuffy nose, as well as headaches and muscle aches. Influenza viruses are spread mainly by droplets made from people coughing, sneezing or talking while having the flu. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people or can inhaled into the lungs. It is least common for the virus to spread by touching an infected surface then their mouth or nose. Flu viruses are divided into 3 categories, A, B, C. A and B are responsible for problems in the respiratory system that typically occurs during the winter. Influenza types C is quite different from A and B. Type C only cause mild respiratory symptom or none at all.
Your level of asthma control can vary over time and with changes in your home, school, or work environments. These changes can alter how often you're exposed to the factors that can worsen your asthma.
Air then travels to the bronchioles which are narrow (bronchoconstriction) due to the natural defence in keeping irritants out of the airway, causing wheezing breath sounds.(Eldridge, 2016) The air then proceeds to the alveoli, which are weakened and damaged air sacs due to the progression of the disease, that are unable to efficiently move O2 into the blood stream and gas exchange CO2 to be expelled through exhale, causing hypoxemia, lethargy, dyspnoea and high CO2 reading. (“Lung conditions - chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),”
The clinical manifestation one may see in patients with chronic bronchitis are chronic cough, weight loss, excessive sputum, and dyspnea. Chronic cough is from the body trying to expel the excessive mucus build up to return breathing back to normal. Dyspnea is from the thickening of the bronchial walls causing constriction, thereby altering the breathing pattern. This causes the body to use other surrounding muscles to help with breathing which can be exhausting. These patients ca...
Asthmatic children are especially at risk. Exposure to secondhand smoke increases the number of episodes and severity of symptoms in hundreds of thousands of asthmatic children. Between 200,000 and 1,000,000 asthmatic children have their condition worsened by secondhand smoke.
It’s no surprise that colder weather brings on runny noses and winter coughs. Keep yourself moving, put the right foods in your body and make sure you continue your healthy lifestyle to prevent your body contracting any unwanted bacteria. No one wants to spend a time of giving and receiving stuck in bed, so burn those calories, even if they keep you frozen. Switch Up Your Routine: If you’re a person who loves to exercise outdoors, use the weather change as a time to try something new and change up your routine. Map out a new routine at the start of each season and find different ways to stay in shape.
Congestion, usually with a runny nose or post-nasal drip. Coughing with a sore throat. Trouble swallowing, along with a hoarse voice. Many people, along with their families, are surprised by allergies that show up later on in life; however, they can emerge in anyone at any age. Sometimes, a pet may be responsible for the allergic reaction, even though your elderly parent has been around (and loved) cats and dogs forever.