What is capillary bronchitis?
Capillary bronchitis is a common infection of the lower respiratory tract in infants and children, mostly caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection.
For most adults or older children, the infection usually presents as a mild cold, but for children under 2 years old, it can affect the small bronchi and cause bronchiolitis, which is also more common in the colder winter and spring months.
Based on the child’s medical history and physical examination, the doctor can diagnose and evaluate capillary bronchitis in a relatively straightforward manner, without the need for blood and chest tests in most cases.
Initially, the symptoms of capillary bronchitis are more like those of a cold, with congestion, runny nose, cough and fever, but after 1 to 2 days there is an increased cough, faster breathing and even difficulty in breathing, reaching a peak in the 5th to 7th day, when the symptoms are most severe, before gradually entering a period of improvement, when the cough can subside after about 8 to 15 days, although some babies may take Some babies may take 3 to 4 weeks for the cough to subside completely.
What can I do for home care?
In general, medication is not recommended for the treatment of capillary bronchitis (with or without medication, it does not usually affect the degree and duration of the child’s illness).
If the illness is considered to be caused by the influenza virus or is more severe, the doctor may prescribe medication to treat or relieve the baby’s symptoms, which should be given according to medical advice rather than self-administered.
In the early stages of the disease, when the baby’s symptoms are mild, parents can take the following measures to alleviate the baby’s symptoms and relieve his discomfort.
Relieving the child’s nasal congestion with saline (or physiological seawater) nasal drops or spray, or clearing the nasal passages with a nasal aspirator.
Air humidifiers can be used appropriately to keep the indoor humidity at 40 to 60%.
ensuring that the child takes in enough fluids to avoid dehydration
ensuring adequate energy supply, normal feeding or smaller and more frequent meals to avoid choking, and encouraging continued breastfeeding even during the baby’s illness.
Holding your baby upright and patting his back when his nasal congestion or cough is obvious can also make him more comfortable.
When should I go to the doctor?
Most of the symptoms of bronchitis are mild and can be cured on their own, but some babies have more severe symptoms. If, in addition to coughing, parents notice that their baby is also suffering from wheezing, shortness of breath or any of the following symptoms, they should take their baby to the doctor promptly.
Difficulty in breathing in the baby, with a high-pitched whistle-like sound when inhaling or exhaling.
depressions in the baby’s skin between and around the rib cage and sternum when breathing.
the baby is struggling to breathe, even affecting sucking and swallowing, and has difficulty eating and drinking.
The baby’s lips and nails are blue.
The baby shows signs of dehydration, such as dry lips, no tears when crying, and a significant decrease in the amount of urine.
The baby has a fever that lasts for more than 3 days or a fever in babies under 3 months of age.
Parents should also take their babies to the doctor promptly if they are unsure about their baby’s condition or if the baby has some other condition that looks serious.
Some points to note.
1. Is it a delayed condition if the baby’s cough gets worse and worse?
Not necessarily.
According to the course of capillary bronchitis, the cough usually gets progressively worse on the 3rd to 4th day and reaches its peak on the 5th to 7th day. This is the natural course of this disease and most children have this pattern, first getting progressively worse and gradually starting to get better and relieved after the peak.
2. Can capillary bronchitis develop into pneumonia?
The current view is that capillary bronchitis is a special type of pneumonia, which may be diagnosed differently by different doctors, but the treatment and therapy are the same.
3.Does the more severe fever mean that the baby is sicker?
Does the absence of fever mean it is milder?
There is no necessary connection between the temperature and the severity of the disease. The severity of the baby’s disease needs to be judged by a professional doctor, usually based on the baby’s feeding condition, mental state, breathing condition and some examination results.
4.Can babies get recurrent capillary bronchitis?
It is possible, because the human body has a short period of immunity to a variety of viruses such as respiratory syncytial virus, and may be re-infected, especially in children with allergic bases are more likely to be repeatedly infected, coughing and wheezing.
How to prevent capillary bronchitis?
The best way to keep your baby from suffering is to actively prevent it, and parents must keep in mind the following preventive measures: 1.
1, diligent ventilation
Pay attention to keep the living environment ventilated to increase air circulation, more conducive to prevent the spread of the virus.
2, good isolation
Avoid crowded places during periods of high disease prevalence.
If a family member has a “cold” or other respiratory infections, then please try to stay away from the baby, and when you need to get close to the child, pay attention to wear a mask and wash your hands regularly (especially after cleaning the nose and before touching the baby) to reduce cross-infection.
3, adhere to breastfeeding
The risk of hospitalization for respiratory infections in breastfed infants is significantly lower than in formula-fed infants.
4.Wash hands regularly
Proper hand washing can effectively reduce intestinal and respiratory infections, click here to see how you should wash your hands.
5.Avoid first-hand, second-hand and third-hand smoke
Studies have found that children exposed to tobacco have a higher probability of respiratory infections, and their condition is more serious than children who are not exposed to tobacco, so for the sake of their children’s health and, of course, their own health, parents had better quit smoking.
6.Vaccination
Flu vaccination 1 to 2 months before the flu epidemic can prevent capillary bronchitis caused by the flu virus.