Infant breathing issues can occur as early as the day of birth, or develop later in the child's life. If your child is born with breathing issues, know the doctors at the hospital will take good care of your infant. If you are at home and your infant is having trouble breathing, contact your doctor to determine the cause of the breathing issues.
Types
Always make sure your infant does not have something lodged in her throat if she has difficulty breathing. If so, call 911. Other infant breathing issues include a lung condition called transient tachypnea of the newborn, or TTN. According to Kids Health, about 1 percent of all newborns have TTN. This condition causes rapid and labored breathing during the first hours of life and usually eases after a few days with treatment. Other breathing issues include bronchiolitis, which is a respiratory tract infection that affects the bronchioles airways that lead to the lungs. The airways become inflamed and fill with mucus, making breathing difficult. Bronchiolitis is common in infants and young children because they have small airways, the peak occurrence is between 3 to 6 months of age. Bronchiolitis typically lasts about 12 days, but the coughing can last for weeks.
Causes
TTN occurs when extra fluid in the infant's lungs is not squeezed out or absorbed before or during birth. The extra fluid makes inhaling oxygen difficult. Bronchiolitis is most often caused by a viral infection, most commonly respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. According to Kids Health, RSV infections are the cause of more than half of all bronchiolitis cases. Other virus associated with bronchiolitis include influenza, rhinovirus and human metapneumovirus. These viruses causing bronchiolitis are contagious and can spread by sneezing, coughing, laughing and also on things an infected person has touched.
Symptoms
Symptoms of TTN include rapid breathing, more than 60 breaths per minute, moaning sounds when the baby exhales, flaring nostrils, bluish skin around the mouth and nose and retractions during breathing. Symptoms of bronchiolitis include stuffiness, mild cough, mild fever and runny nose. Usually these symptoms last a few days and are followed by a worsening cough and wheezing. Sometimes this is also followed by rapid, shallow breathing, rapid heartbreak, flaring nostrils and difficulty sleeping.
Risk Factors
TTN can occur in both full-term babies and preemies. Babies at higher risk include babies delivered by cesarean section, born to mothers with diabetes or asthma and small babies. Bronchiolitis is more commonly found in infants who attend day-care or are exposed to cigarette smoke. Other conditions that increase the risk of this infection include prematurity, prior chronic lung or heart disease and a weakened immune system. Infants who have not been breastfed are more likely to develop bronchiolitis, as are male infants and infants who live in crowded conditions.
Treatment
Treatment for TTN includes admitting the infant into the neonatal intensive care unit so the infant will be closely watched. Monitors will measure heart rate, oxygen levels and breathing rate. Some infants may need extra oxygen. Since Bronchiolitis is the result of a virus your doctor will not prescribe an antibiotic for your infant, it will just need to run its course.
Prevention
The best prevention from contracting the viruses that cause bronchiolitis or other breathing issues is to wash your infants hand frequently. Since infants constantly touch surfaces and put their hands in their mouth, it is important to avoid being around sick children.
