When the weather is cool, babies are always sick. This time, Doudou had cold symptoms and started to have a fever and cough, but this time, the cough felt different, the baby coughed like a puppy, and the baby did not eat and cried non-stop. The mother was so frustrated by the baby that she took her baby to the hospital to see the doctor. The doctor looked at Doduo’s condition and immediately admitted the baby to the hospital. The mother was a bit uncomfortable, just a small cough, is it necessary to be hospitalized? The doctor said: This is not a common cold, it is acute laryngitis, not treated in time will kill you! This sentence, scared Doduo mother out of a cold sweat!
What is pediatric acute laryngitis?
The first thing you need to do is to get a good idea of what you are getting into. The disease is mostly caused by viruses, bacteria or allergies, and is mostly secondary to pharyngitis, rhinitis or cold. It is characterized by hoarseness, coughing like a dog’s bark, accompanied by varying degrees of inspiratory wheezing, and aggravated at night. After acute laryngitis, the baby’s laryngeal cavity is narrow, the submucosal tissue in the larynx is loose, and the mucosal lymphatic vessels are abundant, which can easily produce edema and block the laryngeal cavity.
In addition, the coughing function of children is not strong, and it is not easy to discharge secretions from the larynx and lower whistle, which makes it more difficult to whistle. Therefore, the condition of pediatric acute laryngitis is often more serious than that of adults, and can be life-threatening if not treated in a timely manner.
”Acute laryngitis” ≠ “throat inflammation”
Some parents mistakenly believe that “acute laryngitis” is just a common “throat infection” and that it doesn’t matter. In fact, we understand that the “throat” often refers to the large area behind the mouth and nose cavity, while the medical anatomy refers to the “larynx” in a deeper location, referring to the narrowest part of the entire inspiratory tract.
When “laryngitis” occurs, the larynx is locally congested and edematous, causing the narrow part to become even narrower, and the edema will obviously block the airway, unable to breathe, causing asphyxiation, which can be life-threatening in serious cases.
How can I detect acute laryngitis in my baby in time?
Acute laryngitis is a serious and special emergency that needs attention during infancy and early childhood, with an acute onset and rapid progress.
1. Acute laryngitis is mostly accompanied by fever, hoarseness, coughing, etc. Initially, hoarseness is mostly not serious, and there is a wheezing sound when crying, and then the inflammation invades the subglottis area, and it becomes an “empty, empty” coughing sound, like a puppy barking. The symptoms are lighter during the day and worse at night.
2. The baby may have a blue face and trismus (i.e., significant depression of the supraclavicular fossa, suprasternal fossa and epigastric region when inhaling).
Again, parents should pay extra attention to any abnormal cough in young children. If you find that your child has a hoarse voice, an “empty, empty” cough, or even sudden inspiratory difficulties at night, parents should pay enough attention to it and must seek medical attention in time to avoid delaying the best time for treatment.
In the process of getting to the doctor, you should try to calm the child to avoid aggravating the child’s tension and irritability, do not wear too much clothing, and at the same time, you can let the child lie on his or her side to try to keep the airway open.
How to treat acute laryngitis in babies?
Acute laryngitis is a serious condition that must be treated in the hospital and should be treated urgently. Antibiotics and hormones are used to fight inflammation and reduce laryngeal edema.
Severe babies need intramuscular or intravenous hormone drips and ultrasound nebulized medication inhalation. For children with extreme whistling difficulties and asphyxia, tracheotomy needs to be performed immediately to keep the airway open.
Daily care for babies with acute laryngitis
1, temperature and humidity appropriate: indoor air should be fresh, the temperature should be at 18 ℃ ~ 20 ℃, humidity should be maintained at about 60% ~ 70%. During sleep, you should also avoid blowing convective wind.
2.Less use of voice: Try not to let the baby cry loudly. When caring for your baby, you should make it emotionally stable and avoid irritability and crying to prevent increased whistling difficulties.
3.Eat more fruits: Eat more fruits and dried fruits such as pears, radishes and plums as appropriate to enhance the maintenance of the throat.
4, light diet: avoid giving babies to eat irritating food, can enter the liquid or semi-liquid easy to digest food. In addition, give the baby more water, if necessary, with the assistance of the doctor for infusion.
5, adequate rest: let the baby get rest, try to lie down or semi-lying, keep the airway open, minimize the activity to reduce oxygen consumption. Pay attention to the observation of whistling, heart rate and other conditions, and find abnormalities in time to deal with.
How can I prevent my baby from getting laryngitis?
Take your baby less often to places with lots of people and turbid air; do the right amount of outdoor activities every day, get more sunlight, and open the windows more often even in winter. Add clothes to your baby in time to avoid getting cold.