Bronchitis symptoms in a child 1. Bronchitis in a child. Causes, symptoms, treatment and prevention. Symptoms of different types of bronchitis

The incidence of bronchitis among children aged 3-8 years is quite high, which is due to the anatomical features of the bronchial tree of babies and the underdevelopment of the immune system.

With proper medical care, inflammation is treated quickly and without complications, especially if symptoms are recognized in time in children.

Depending on the pathogen and the characteristics of the child's body, bronchitis can take various forms. Babies are most often diagnosed with:

• acute bronchitis;
• recurrent;
• chronic;
• obstructive;
• allergic;
• bronchiolitis.

Each type of bronchitis is characterized by both general and specific symptoms. Only taking into account the characteristics of the form of the disease, you can choose the right treatment.

Acute symptoms

Acute bronchitis is common among children of different age categories. It is characterized by an inflammatory process in the bronchial tree in the absence of lesions of the lung tissue. Its occurrence is often associated with an untreated viral disease or hypothermia.

For the initial stage of acute bronchitis, the appearance of such common signs as a feeling of malaise, apathy, headaches, loss of appetite is inherent. Then there is an increase in body temperature, which can be both insignificant and quite high.

In most cases, there is a fever with a temperature of 38 ° C.

The duration of the body's temperature reaction depends on the type of causative agent of acute bronchitis. If it was caused by a parainfluenza virus or respiratory syncytial, then the duration of the fever will not exceed 3 days. But if the cause was mycoplasma or adenovirus, then the temperature increase will persist for 10 days or more.

The initial stage of the disease is characterized by the presence of a painful dry (sometimes "barking") cough. Auscultation (listening) of the child reveals coarse dry and wet coarse and medium bubbling rales. A week later, a dry cough is replaced by a productive (wet), accompanied by active sputum discharge. If this change occurs within a week, then this characterizes a mild form of acute bronchitis.

How are children treated?

If the correct treatment of the child is chosen, then acute bronchitis can be eliminated in 2 weeks. But at the same time, children under the age of two years may have a residual cough for some time.

Basic treatment of acute bronchitis for children from three years of age includes:

• plentiful warm drink (tea, milk, water, compote and other liquid familiar to the child);
• properly organized food with an abundance of fresh vegetables and fruits. Excluded heavy fatty and fried foods;
• maintaining the required level of humidity in the room (at least 60%). This prevents the mucous membranes of the respiratory system from drying out;
• regular ventilation of the room where the sick child is located;
• taking antipyretic drugs at temperatures above 38 ° C;

• antibiotic therapy if a bacterial infection is detected;
• taking antitussive and expectorant drugs;
• inhalation.

If bronchitis torments an infant, it is recommended to periodically turn it from one side to the other. This simple action stimulates the cough reflex, which is necessary for the normal discharge and thinning of sputum.

Cupping, mustard plasters and foot baths can be used as an additional treatment for children over the age of two. It is also useful to lubricate the baby's chest with ointments with a warming effect. However, all these procedures can be carried out only in the absence of elevated body temperature.

Symptoms of a relapsing type of disease

Recurrent bronchitis is characterized by periodic exacerbations (3-4 times a year), which torment the child for one and a half to two years. The disease is more common in children under 6-7 years of age. The symptoms of the disease are similar to the acute form of bronchitis, but appear periodically, during the period of exacerbation, which can last up to 30 days.

In the first days of exacerbation, the child's body temperature rises to 37-38 ° C. The fever does not last long, but a slight increase in temperature may persist for several weeks. Headaches, nasal congestion, general weakness and apathy also appear. After about 5 days, coughing fits begin. At first, it is dry, "tearing", but after 3-4 days it becomes wet with the release of mucus, which may contain pus.

Recurrent bronchitis is characterized by scattered coarse and medium bubbling or dry rales. But if the disease is localized in the large bronchi, then wheezing may be completely absent. However, it is likely to listen to hard breathing in the basal areas of the bronchi.

After an exacerbation, the disease practically does not manifest itself. Only with vigorous physical activity, stress, or with a sharp change in air temperature, a mild cough may occur.

How to treat?

During the period of exacerbation of recurrent bronchitis, treatment is carried out on an outpatient basis, but under the constant supervision of the attending pediatrician.

The set of measures to eliminate the disease includes:

• bed rest at the optimum temperature and humidity of the room (t ° - 18-22 ° C, humidity - 60-70%);
• after the decline in elevated body temperature, regular walks in the fresh air are required;
• good nutrition with an abundance of foods rich in vitamins;
• taking expectorant drugs (for example, Pertussin, marshmallow root syrup);
• inhalations with soda-salt and alkaline water, infusion of sage or chamomile;
• with the threat of the development of complications of the disease, antibiotic therapy is prescribed;
• the use of mustard plasters, cans, pepper plaster, warming ointments.

During the period of remission, the child should be regularly shown to the pediatrician and pulmonologist. For effective treatment of recurrent bronchitis, you should:

• observe the daily routine;
• do morning exercises and go to exercise therapy classes;
• take long walks on a fresh holiday with active games;
• sign up for swimming, a tourist club or go skiing;

• once a year to visit special recreational boarding houses for children with diseases of the respiratory system.

With the wrong approach or neglect of treatment, recurrent bronchitis in a child can transform into a chronic stage or bronchial asthma.

Symptoms of the chronic form in children

Chronic bronchitis can be diagnosed in a child older than three years, since its characteristic difference is the appearance of exacerbations three times a year for 2 or more years. The disease is dangerous for children, because it causes irreversible negative changes in the walls of the bronchial tree.

If you find the first symptoms of the chronic stage of bronchitis, you should seek help from a qualified doctor.

Chronic bronchitis may be the result of regular acute respiratory infections or constant exposure to irritants (eg, cigarette smoke, highly polluted air) on the child.

The main symptoms of the chronic stage:

• coughing fits that torment the child constantly. During remission, it is often dry, but with an exacerbation it gradually becomes wet. At the same time, a large amount of purulent-mucous sputum is expectorated;

• well-audible wheezing, but with auscultation it is impossible to determine their clear localization. During an exacerbation, wheezing becomes more intense and can persist for 90 or more days;
• shortness of breath, indicating a narrowing of the lumen of the bronchi;
• fever that occurs in the first days of exacerbation. However, during periods of remission, the temperature can rise only to subfebrile indicators;
• constant sweating of the child, cyanosis of the skin on the nasolabial triangle;
• general weakness, regular headaches, loss of appetite, sleep disturbance.

How to treat a child?

Treatment of the chronic stage is aimed primarily at eliminating the focus of inflammation and the resulting obstruction. For this are used:

• antibacterial therapy, which is selected taking into account the sensitivity to certain medications of the pathogenic flora detected in the sputum;
• expectorants and mucolytics;
• inhalation;
• taking vitamins B, C, nicotinic acid.

Symptoms of allergic bronchitis

Allergic bronchitis manifests itself in a child upon contact with an irritant, which can be both endo- and exogenous factors (for example, a certain food product or plant pollen).

Symptoms of the disease are clearly manifested during proximity with the allergen and include:

• slight increase in body temperature;
• dry cough with clear sputum. Attacks often torment the child during a night's sleep;
• shortness of breath, and in some cases, asthma attacks that occur during the active physical activity of the child, in stressful situations, during a cry;
• well auscultated moist medium bubbling rales. With exacerbation, wheezing is heard at a distance;
• tearing, clear and copious discharge from the nose.

How to treat?

To save the child from the disease, it is necessary to establish the exact cause of the allergic reaction. To alleviate the condition with allergic bronchitis, children are prescribed antihistamines (preferably the third generation), expectorants and anti-inflammatory drugs.

To increase the resistance of the child's body with this form of bronchitis, it is useful:

• hardening;
• sunbathing;
• therapeutic breathing exercises;
• halotherapy (treatment with a climate with a high salt content);
• hypoxic therapy (treatment with mountain air with a low oxygen content).

Symptoms of the obstructive form

Obstructive bronchitis is a serious disease in which there is a significant narrowing of the lumen of the bronchi or their blockage with accumulations of sputum. In the absence of timely treatment, the child may experience asthma attacks, threatening the development of hypoxia.

Obstructive bronchitis is most often found in children 3-4 years old, but can also appear in infants or schoolchildren.

You can suspect the disease by symptoms such as:

• the appearance of noisy breathing, accompanied by whistling sounds. Pathological sounds are well audible even at a distance (the so-called remote wheezing);
• shortness of breath of an expiratory or mixed type, which occurs both after vigorous activity and in a calm state;
• the presence of a dry paroxysmal cough with a tendency to increase at night. At the same time, a small amount of sputum is released;
• during auscultation, large and medium bubbling or dry "whistling" rales are heard;
• tachypnea, in which the chest is swollen, and the muscles of the abdomen are involved in breathing;
• body temperature rises slightly or remains within normal limits;
• the presence of leukocytosis, leukopenia and accelerated ESR in the blood test;

How to treat?

If obstructive bronchitis is detected in an infant, then treatment should be carried out exclusively in a hospital. Children over the age of three years can be treated at home, but only in the absence of suspicion of pneumonia, severe intoxication of the body and acute respiratory failure.

The complex of measures for the treatment of obstructive bronchitis in children, among other things, includes taking drugs:

• bronchodilators;
• antitussives;
• anti-inflammatory;
• antihistamines;
• antibacterial;
• antispasmodic.

A special therapeutic drainage and postural massage has a positive effect. Their parents may well perform on their own at home. For preschool children, such procedures will help to quickly get rid of cough and sputum accumulated in the bronchi. For school-age children, massages are recommended to be combined with breathing exercises.

Symptoms of bronchiolitis

Bronchiolitis is an inflammatory process affecting the smallest bronchi and bronchioles. The disease mainly occurs in children aged 3 to 5 years and can cause acute respiratory failure. Bronchiolitis is dangerous for a fragile organism, therefore, if its signs are found, it is necessary to urgently seek medical help.

Bronchitis occurs when inflammation of the lining of the bronchi caused by viruses or bacteria. In infants - as a complication of SARS or diseases of the upper respiratory tract. It manifests itself primarily as a cough - first dry, then wet.

A pediatrician should make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment. What does it consist of, and how else can parents help the child?

Features of the treatment of bronchitis in infants

In young children (up to a year), bronchitis is dangerous because it can quickly become chronic from acute and even be complicated by pneumonia.

The most dangerous form of bronchitis in infants is bronchiolitis - spread of inflammation to small bronchi due to viral infection . The condition of the crumbs deteriorates sharply, his shortness of breath increases and cyanosis occurs.

In no case should you hesitate to call a doctor if the baby is less than a year old or has a fever (above 38 degrees), shortness of breath, cyanotic lips and nails, and a strong unproductive cough. In such a situation, immediate hospitalization is necessary.

Until the ambulance arrives, the parents' help will consist of relieving the symptoms of a cold

1. It is necessary to create the optimal temperature and humidity using heaters and humidifiers, ventilate the room by going out with the child to another room.
2. At a low temperature and the absence of allergic reactions to facilitate breathing crumbs can be lubricated legs with warming creams and ointments.
3. You can hold your baby in your arms over the steam to alleviate a cough. from a container with a hot weak solution of salt (but this is if the child does not have a fever!).
4. Give your baby plenty to drink to avoid dehydration . If you refuse to breast or bottle, drink clean water from a teaspoon - little by little, but often.

In the hospital, the child will be prescribed a number of medications and procedures.

• Inhalation and oxygen breathing to get rid of signs of respiratory failure.
• Preparations with interferon.
• Antihistamines to relieve swelling and avoid allergic reactions to drugs.
• Rehydrants for dehydration.
• Antibiotics — only if there is a need for them. Augmentin, Sumamed, Amoxiclav, Macropen, Cefotaxime, Ceftriaxone are usually prescribed.

How to treat acute bronchitis in children after a year?

In severe cases, the disease will also require hospitalization. It is possible to treat children older than a year on an outpatient basis with mild forms of the disease in compliance with the regimen and recommendations of the doctor.

To successfully overcome the disease, you will need to take a number of necessary measures.

• Neutralize the cause of the infection - viruses, bacteria or allergens.
• Remove puffiness respiratory tract.
• Reduce the viscosity of sputum for her best escape.
• Relieve dry cough .

Parents should know what can and should be done at home

1. The basis of the treatment of bronchitis is the observance of bed rest, and a plentiful warm drink every 30-40 minutes (teas, fruit drinks, herbal decoctions, boiled milk with honey and butter, Borjomi, rosehip infusion).
2. The room where the baby is located should be warm (20-220 C), but well ventilated. To maintain the required humidity of 70%, it is necessary to carry out frequent wet cleaning without products containing chlorine, use a humidifier or wet towels with batteries. Avoid passive smoking. Continue walking only after the heat has subsided; you can also “walk” at home, wrapping the baby in a blanket, sitting at an open window or window for 10-15 minutes.
3. All medicines assigned solely on an individual basis.
4. Additional events (distracting and soothing) can be used only if there are no contraindications and discomfort in the baby. A good help in the treatment will be a tapping massage and baths with decoctions of anti-inflammatory herbs (in the absence of fever). Again, all this is done only in the absence of a high temperature and on the recommendation of a doctor!
5. During the illness, it is recommended adhere to a strict dairy and vegetable fortified hypoallergenic diet. The food is fractional, the food should be enough high-calorie.

What will the doctor prescribe

1. Medications to relieve a wet cough (may be given but not required)

• Mucolytics to loosen mucus- Ambroxol (Fervex, Lazolvan), Acetylcysteine, Bromhexine; required when antibiotics are prescribed.
• Expectorants for the removal of sputum from the bronchi- Pertussin, Mukaltin, herbal products (they use marshmallow, anise, elecampane, thermopsis, licorice, plantain). Infants are not prescribed because of the possibility of a gag reflex and increased cough.

2. Medications to relieve dry non-productive cough : Stoptussin, Sinekod.

3. Broad-spectrum antibiotics if needed . They are prescribed with caution, if a bacterial origin of the infection is suspected and for babies up to six months old - to prevent pneumonia. In other cases, according to the well-known pediatrician E. Komarovsky, they do not reduce, but increase the risk of various complications - allergies, dysbacteriosis and the formation of resistance of microorganisms to the drug.

4. Paracetamol Syrups to Reduce Inflammation and Fever - at elevated temperatures.

5. Preparations to increase immunity and fight viruses - vitamin C, echinacea, Bronchomunal, Aflubin, Umckalor, Anaferon, products with interferon.

Pharmaceutical preparations should be given according to the schedule at the same time of day. You should not mix several drugs - start a diary and mark the intake of all medications.

• Inhalation using specially designed devices - steam, oil inhaler or nebulizer. For procedures, saline solution, mineral water, soda solution, essential oils are used.
• Steaming the legs and rubbing them with warming ointments - if there is no temperature and allergies.
• Warm compresses with sunflower oil on the back and right side of the chest. Put in the evening in the absence of temperature.
• Vibrating chest massage . It is prescribed when a wet cough appears, it is not used in the acute period of the disease and with fever. The child is laid on the tummy so that the head is lower than the legs. The skin is stroked, and then beaten from the bottom up towards the spine for 8-10 minutes. After the procedure, the child must clear his throat, so very young children cannot be massaged.
• Turning babies more often from one side to the other - this will cause the movement of sputum and a reflex cough.
• Breathing exercises : "Blow up the balloons" and "Blow out the candles".

Obstructive bronchitis in young children, what to do?

If, with bronchitis, a significant accumulation of mucus caused blockage of the bronchi, the cough became hoarse, and the breath "whistles", then the child's condition is already quite serious and requires urgent treatment.

The primary task is to restore the patency of the bronchi

1. Try to calm yourself and calm the baby , because with excitation, respiratory failure increases. Age-appropriate sedatives can be used.

2. Do not refuse hospitalization, the hospital will help the child!

• Make an inhalation using a nebulizer or ultrasonic inhaler Effectively and quickly stop obstruction with a mixture of salbutamol and glucocorticoid hormones. It is possible to use mineral water, alkaline soda solution, essential oils and medicinal herbs (if there is no allergy), drugs for sputum thinning. Up to 2 years, inhalations are used only in cases where the child is not afraid of the device, does not cry and does not break out of his hands.
• They will give you a “breathe” with humidified oxygen.
• With severe dehydration and intoxication prescribe infusion therapy with intravenous bronchodilators.
• Conduct medical therapy according to the basic scheme with the use of antibiotics, expectorants, antihistamines, antipyretics, immunostimulating and antiviral drugs, physiotherapy and vibration massage.

Important! Antibiotics are prescribed only for bacterial origin of the infection. Antibiotics are contraindicated for obstruction due to allergies or a virus.

Mode, hygiene, diet, drinking plenty of water and additional actions of parents - breathing exercises, vibration massage to facilitate mucus discharge, compresses - are the same as in acute bronchitis.

An additional postural massage will be useful - tapping on the back of the child in the morning. The baby is laid on the tummy (the head should be lower than the legs) and tapped with the ribs of the palms folded in a boat for about 10 minutes. Then the child needs to clear his throat.

Besides, allowed to walk for an hour a day, dressing for the weather , away from roads (so as not to breathe dust and exhaust gases) and places where many children play (so as not to provoke excessive excitement).

Folk remedies for the treatment of bronchitis in children

Rubbing can be applied with baked onions and bear or badger fat , cabbage-honey cakes, steam legs with mustard or infusions of sage, chamomile, St. John's wort, mint in water with a temperature not exceeding 40⁰С.

Prohibited methods of treatment for bronchitis in children under 2 years of age

Bronchitis in children under 2 years of age requires a balanced and responsible approach to treatment from parents. It should be remembered that some actions can lead to a sharp deterioration in the child's condition.

What can't be done?

1. Unauthorized change in drug dosages and to carry out treatment longer than the appointed time.
2. Use untested "folk remedies" especially for infants and children with a tendency to allergic manifestations. External agents are tested by applying with a cotton swab or disk on the skin behind the ear or in the elbow bend, internal ones - at the tip of a teaspoon. In case of any negative reactions in a child during the day, it is forbidden to use the remedy.
3. Bathe the baby in the bath . The respiratory muscles in children are immature, the process of coughing is difficult. When steaming, sputum clots in the bronchi “swell” even more and it becomes much harder to cough them up - the baby wheezes and chokes, choking on liquid.
4. At elevated body temperature is contraindicated wrapping, rubbing with ointments with a warming effect and baths. Such procedures increase the fever and can be harmful.
5. Perform physiotherapy procedures during the acute period of the disease.
6. Use rubbing any warming ointment or balm, inhalation with essential oil and other products with pungent odors, put mustard plasters. In children under 2 years of age, they can lead to allergic reactions and bronchospasm.
7. Giving a child up to a year of expectorants . These funds dilute sputum, but act only in the upper respiratory tract, not reaching the bronchi. The baby's larynx and nose are additionally clogged, it becomes even more difficult for him to breathe.
8. Give infants codeine-containing drugs.
9. Use medicines in the form of aerosols - this can lead to a spasm of the glottis, the baby will begin to choke.

Timely treatment will surely give a quick result, and the baby will delight you with good health and cute pranks.

The second most severe respiratory pathology in young children, after pneumonia, is bronchitis. Parents are sometimes very frightened by this diagnosis, and they ask the doctor a lot of questions. I will say right away - bronchitis at the present stage is quite successfully treated and passes without a trace - if everything is done correctly.

Bronchitis is an inflammation of the bronchial mucosa. This disease can occur in an acute or chronic form (which is much less common in children than in adults). Most often, acute bronchitis in children begins after a viral infection (for example, influenza), which causes damage to the mucous membrane of the lower respiratory tract. Among the viral pathogens, the most common are influenza, parainfluenza, adenoviruses. First, the child's throat becomes inflamed, and then the infection spreads further, affecting the bronchi. As a rule, large bronchi are affected first, then smaller ones. This is the first reason for the development of bronchitis.

The second cause is less common and is a bacterial infection. Streptococcus, Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella are currently leading among bacterial pathogens. We are also talking about microbes, which, most often, are “transported” into the respiratory tract along with foreign bodies. A small child, talking while eating, can inhale a piece of carrot, apple or seed. In addition, young researchers are very fond of pulling everything into mouth, and they can accidentally breathe in small parts of toys.Foreign bodies, of course, come out of the respiratory tract, and the infection can remain.Bronchitis then develops.

The third reason for the diagnosis of "bronchitis" is mixed. That is, first a viral and then a bacterial infection enters the respiratory tract.

The fourth reason is the defeat of the bronchi under the influence of irritating chemical or physical factors. For example, when inhaling gasoline vapors, polluted smoke.

The fifth reason is allergic. Some children are sensitive to certain allergens, whether it's tree or flower pollen, house dust, laundry detergent or soap odors. All this can cause a reaction of the bronchial mucosa.

Symptoms of bronchitis in children

The term "bronchitis" refers to lesions of the bronchi of any caliber; "bronchiolitis" - mainly small bronchi and bronchioles, "tracheobronchitis" - trachea in combination with bronchi. In the classification adopted in Russia, acute bronchitis, acute obstructive bronchitis, bronchiolitis (including obliterating) are distinguished.

Acute bronchitis against the background of an acute viral infection in most cases does not require any specific treatment. The main direction of treatment in this case is the control of symptoms of the disease and general patient care. The main symptoms of acute bronchitis are fever, cough, feeling of weakness. As it became clear, the majority of cases of "cold" are characterized by the same symptoms. It is important to note, however, that with an uncomplicated course of acute bronchitis, an increase in body temperature and a feeling of weakness are moderate, while in severe forms of ARVI, the patient is in a serious condition.

The main manifestations that allow the doctor and parents to suspect bronchitis in the baby are cough, diffuse dry and various wet rales in the lungs. The main symptoms of inflammation of the bronchial mucosa are cough (dry or hacking), fever, chest pain, wheezing. During coughing, sputum may be produced. In acute bronchitis, it looks like a clear liquid without pus, in chronic bronchitis it has pus.

An X-ray completes the picture - when examining specific signs (as, for example, with pneumonia), there are no, usually an increase in the pulmonary pattern, expansion and non-structurality of the roots of the lung in the absence of infiltrative and focal shadows in the lung tissue.

In young children, bronchitis can occur with a syndrome of bronchial obstruction (blockage of small parts of the bronchi) - because of this, the main function of the respiratory system is disturbed - gas exchange and hypoxia develops. The bronchi of different calibers are affected, this occurs against the background of an acute respiratory viral infection, which causes characteristic clinical symptoms. Broncho-obstructive syndrome usually develops on the 3-4th day of SARS and is manifested by expiratory (on exhalation) shortness of breath, noisy wheezing, scattered dry and various wet rales in the lungs. X-ray revealed an increase in the lung pattern, signs of swelling of the lung tissue (increased transparency, horizontal position of the ribs, high standing and flattening of the domes of the diaphragm) in the absence of infiltrative and focal shadows in the lungs. Relapses, that is, repeated episodes of obstructive bronchitis, are always associated with SARS and usually stop by the age of 3-4 years.

With a primary lesion of the small bronchi and bronchioles, acute bronchiolitis occurs. It develops, as a rule, in children of the first year of life against the background of acute respiratory viral infections and is manifested by a pronounced broncho-obstructive syndrome and respiratory failure. Severe expiratory dyspnea (difficulty in exhaling only) or mixed (difficulty in both inhalation and exhalation) is characteristic, with the participation of auxiliary muscles - the tummy and intercostal muscles, retraction of compliant places of the chest, swelling of the wings of the nose, cyanosis (blue). When listening to the chest, the doctor will hear diffuse, moist, finely bubbling and crepitating (as if crackling) rales. The radiograph revealed a sharp swelling of the lung tissue, depletion of the vascular pattern.

Repeated episodes of acute bronchitis, diagnosed 2-3 times a year or more against the background of respiratory viral infections, are defined as recurrent bronchitis. Clinical and radiological manifestations during the period of the disease correspond to the signs of acute bronchitis. It occurs mainly in children of the first 4-5 years of life.

Timely diagnosis of various forms of bronchitis is necessary for the selection of adequate therapy and a monitoring system for babies.

How to treat bronchitis in children?

First of all, I draw your attention to the fact that you can not self-medicate. Parents should definitely consult a doctor who will give recommendations based on the cause of the disease. Treatment is prescribed depending on the age of the patient, and on the characteristics of the course of the disease. For example, not all acute bronchitis needs antibiotic therapy. Such measures are mainly needed only when there is a threat of the transition of a bacterial infection into pneumonia. However, only a doctor can determine this.

A doctor can recommend treating a child with bronchitis at home. But if symptoms of intoxication appear, high temperature in the evenings (up to 38 degrees), shortness of breath, then hospitalization is necessary. This is especially true for young children (up to 3 years). If the child is older, treatment can be carried out at home.

The basic principle of treating children with infectious bronchitis, with all their diversity, is to suppress the infectious onset, improve bronchial cleansing and general therapy. The leading role belongs to antibiotic therapy. Adequate antibiotic therapy can not only stop the symptoms of acute inflammation, but also lead to the removal of the pathogen, reduce the duration of treatment and speedy recovery.

The choice of the starting drug is carried out taking into account the likely etiology (cause) and the sensitivity of the alleged pathogen to antimicrobial drugs. In this case, it is always preferable to take one drug and through the mouth. Currently, three groups of antibiotics, the so-called "gold standard" drugs: penicillins (amoxicillin, inhibitor-protected penicillins), II-III generation cephalosporins) and macrolides are most widely used as first-choice antibacterial drugs.

With mild and moderate exacerbation of chronic inflammation, more often in school-age children, treatment can be carried out only with oral (by mouth) antibiotics.

With a pronounced activity of inflammation, antibiotic therapy is carried out in the "step" therapy mode. In this case, antibiotics are first prescribed parenterally (intravenously, intramuscularly). When the patient's condition improves (usually after 3-5 days), they switch to oral antibiotics.

If the child's condition improved during therapy, the temperature decreased, the symptoms of intoxication disappeared, appetite appeared, the child became more active, then the choice of antibiotic was made correctly and treatment should be continued. If there is no improvement or it is insignificant, the antibiotic should be changed. Indications for changing the antibiotic or connecting the second drug is the clinical failure of therapy (preservation of fever, respiratory failure, intoxication, development of complications). In this case, the correction of therapy should be carried out taking into account the results of microbiological examination (sputum culture) of sputum. Antibiotics must be used very carefully, because later, if a more serious inflammatory disease occurs, they may lose their effectiveness. The fact is that over time, the drug becomes addictive, and then it can no longer be used. You have to turn to other drugs, which, accordingly, are more expensive. It is necessary to treat bronchitis in a complex, using, if necessary, antibiotic therapy with physical methods, including a special diet and home care.

The duration of antibacterial treatment, as a rule, is 7 days (with acute bronchitis) and 10-14 days (with exacerbation of chronic bronchitis).

In recent years, in addition to oral and parenteral administration of antibiotics, administration of antibiotics through a nebulizer has been used.

In the treatment of children with bronchitis, agents are necessarily used, the action of which is aimed at improving the drainage function of the bronchi. Widely used in pediatric practice are mucolytic (sputum-thinning) drugs of direct action - cysteine ​​derivatives - thiolics (acetylcysteine). However, it must be borne in mind that these drugs should be prescribed only with significantly increased sputum viscosity, since they can make the secret too liquid, as a result of which there is a risk of developing bronchorrhea and flooding the lungs with liquid sputum.

Mucoactive drugs of indirect (secretolytic) action include derivatives of the alkaloid vasicin - bromhexine and its metabolites (ambroxol) and mucoregulators based on carbocysteine. These drugs normalize the rheological parameters of the secretion, accelerate mucociliary transport, have an anti-inflammatory effect, while liquefaction of sputum is practically not accompanied by an increase in its volume.

Herbal preparations (ipecac roots, licorice, marshmallow, elecampane, thermopsis herb, thyme), which have an expectorant effect of reflex action, continue to be widely used in the practice of complex therapy of bronchitis.

Important elements of the complex therapy of patients with bronchitis are physiotherapy, massage, postural drainage, exercise therapy.

Usually, bronchitis goes away in 2-3 weeks. But such a period is typical only with timely treatment. Unfortunately, in recent years, the course of bronchitis and pneumonia has changed somewhat. The main difference is the long duration of the disease - up to 3-4 weeks. In addition, all the symptoms now began to manifest themselves more intensely. For example, sometimes children have pain in the region of the heart. The severity of neurosthenic reactions becomes more frequent: the child becomes irritable.

Often, under the mask of bronchitis, other diseases can be hidden. For example, congenital malformations of the lungs and bronchi. Therefore, all children who are diagnosed with chronic bronchitis need to be examined and treated in specialized institutions.

Bronchitis after a "cold"

Sometimes, even with good care for a sick child, a cold is complicated by bronchitis of varying severity: from mild bronchitis, which occurs even without fever, to severe forms with high fever, with the addition of asthmatic syndrome. The main symptom of bronchitis is coughing. At the onset of the disease, the cough is usually dry. The so-called “resolution” gradually sets in, sputum appears and accumulates in the bronchi, and even without a phonendoscope wheezing can be heard.

When sputum appears in the bronchi (wheezing becomes wet), we can assume that the disease has turned towards recovery. The main concern now is that the child coughs in time. It is clear that when the child is old enough, it can be explained to him that it is necessary to cough up and spit out sputum. With a small child it is more difficult. With every breath, with every exhalation, he wheezes - it seems that he himself would have cleared his throat for him ... Sometimes in such cases, a change in the position of the child contributes to coughing. For example, your baby was lying on his right side, and you turned him to the left; at this time, sputum, under the influence of its own weight, begins to move along the walls of the bronchi, irritates them and can provoke a cough - which is what was required.

Bronchitis in children older than 1 year.

Depending on the severity of the process, only the mucous membrane of the bronchus or its entire wall can be affected. As a rule, bronchitis occurs in spring and autumn, following diseases such as rhinitis, pharyngitis, laryngitis, acute respiratory infections (acute respiratory disease); practice shows that children with adenoid growths and with chronic tonsillitis suffer from bronchitis more often than other children. The causative agents of acute bronchitis can be respiratory viruses, and staphylococci, and streptococci, and pneumococci, etc.

The onset of the disease is acute. There is a runny nose, then a dry cough. The child complains of general malaise. Body temperature rises to 38-39 ° C and can last two to three days. After these days, the nature of the cough changes; cough ceases to be dry and persistent (even exhausting), sputum begins to separate, which also changes over time - at first it is mucous, then mucopurulent. Wheezing may be heard at a distance; the child clears his throat, and these rales disappear. Recovery occurs in 7-8 days. In young children, acute bronchitis can occur with an asthmatic component, along with manifestations of exudative diathesis; such bronchitis sometimes lasts for several weeks and ends with complications - pneumonia.

Treatment of bronchitis at home

Regardless of the severity of your child's bronchitis, treatment should be prescribed by a doctor. Of course, parents gain experience over time and already seem to know how to deal with colds and bronchitis (and even grandmothers suggest), but the child's doctor needs to be shown. In addition to the fact that he will make an accurate diagnosis, he will also prescribe the correct complex treatment, advise the most modern medicines. At the same time, you will show the doctor your first aid kit: perhaps something from your first aid kit will be used.

So, you will discuss particulars with your doctor. Here are some general tips...

Treatment of bronchitis is mainly symptomatic; a sick child is given antipyretics, expectorants; distracting procedures are widely used (mustard plasters, warming compresses, foot baths, etc.). Antimicrobial treatment (antibiotics) is prescribed only in cases of prolonged bronchitis and with the threat of complications. Sulfonamides are not currently prescribed.

If the child is ill with bronchitis, bed rest is necessary. Although the child has bed rest, the child should not lie still. He can sit in bed, play; he needs to change position from time to time - this will eliminate the possibility of congestion in the lungs.

An increase in temperature with bronchitis is a protective reaction of the body. Many microbes feel great at a temperature of 36.6 ° C, but already at 36.7 ° C they “resign”. If the child's temperature is below 38 ° C, let it get a little warmer, if it is higher, bring it down.

If a child has bronchitis, and even more so with an asthmatic component, it is important that there is always fresh air in the room ... It's cold outside, and you need to ventilate the room. Cover the child with a blanket (possibly with a head) and ventilate. You can even make a draft for a couple of minutes.

You will not harm a child with bronchitis if you start giving him coltsfoot tea. Drink plenty of warm water. Milk with butter and honey works quite effectively. Do not forget about inhalations, soda inhalations. When the wheezing becomes moist, resort to distraction therapy. Steam your child's legs. With bronchitis, distraction therapy can be very effective: mustard plasters, mustard wraps, warming compresses, foot and general baths, etc. Try these treatments, but only if the child does not currently have a high fever. Learn to alternate them: today you put mustard plasters on your child, tomorrow - a warming compress.

Massage once or twice a day.

Rubbing the feet (soles) with turpentine ointment gives a good effect: this is done at night; put a little ointment on the sole and rub it very, very hard with your palm (you will feel how your palm is baked), then put on woolen socks for the child. And, of course, mustard plasters. You already know that mustard plasters are placed through the diaper for small children, and for older children - with the reverse side. You can not put mustard plasters on the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe heart. Pepper patch is very easy to use. Now in pharmacies there are many warming ointments for children. If a child has acute bronchitis, decoctions and infusions of pine buds (10 grams of dried buds per glass of water), as well as decoctions and infusions of thermopsis grass (0.5-0.8 grams of dried grass per glass of water) have a good healing effect.

At the onset of bronchitis, the child's cough is dry and painful. The doctor will prescribe expectorants for the child. For your part, give your child warm milk with Borjomi, soda and honey.

If the child began to cough up sputum during a cough, it means that things are on the mend. Now it is important to remove this sputum regularly. Explain to your child the importance of a good cough. The lumen of small bronchi is released and breathing becomes much easier.

Now the child's cough occurs shortly after changing the position of the body. The child turned on the other side and - there is a cough. This is good. This helps to clear the bronchi. Phlegm, flowing onto the walls of the bronchi, irritates them and provokes a cough. Let the child change position more often.

You can even ask the child to lean out of the bed so that the legs remain on top, or arrange an inclined plane (legs up, head down). This contributes to the flow of sputum from the bronchi.

The sputum which has departed as a result of expectoration should not be swallowed. Explain to the child that sputum should be spit out.

The air in the room of a child suffering from bronchitis should not be dry. You will do the right thing if you hang wet towels in the room or turn on the humidifier.

Regular inhalations are very conducive to coughing. Especially alkaline (breathe soda vapor if you don't have an inhaler).

In acute bronchitis, the child is recommended the following fees:
Sheet coltsfoot - 1 part
Plantain leaf - 2 parts
Horsetail herb - 3 parts
Primrose grass - 4 parts
Pour 5-6 grams of the mixture with a glass of boiling water, leave for two hours. Depending on age, take 50-100 ml three times a day before meals.

Licorice root - 2 parts
Marshmallow root - 2 parts
Sheet coltsfoot - 2 parts
Fennel fruit - 1 part
Pour 5 grams of the dried mixture with a glass of boiling water, leave for up to three hours. Take 20-30 ml three times a day before meals.

With frequent bronchitis, it is recommended to use the following fees:
Thyme herb - 1 part
Sweet clover grass - 1 part
Fennel fruit - 1 part
Peppermint leaf - 1 part
Plantain leaf - 2 parts
Marshmallow root - 2 parts
Lungwort herb - 4 parts
Sheet coltsfoot - 4 parts
Pour 3 grams (about one teaspoon) of the dried mixture with a glass of cold water, leave for up to two hours, then boil for five minutes, strain. Take a sip during the day (you can 7-8 times).

Ledum herb - 1 part
Oregano herb - 1 part
Alder cones - 1 part
St. John's wort - 2 parts
Sage herb - 2 parts
Rowan fruits - 3 parts
Pour 1-1.5 teaspoons of the dried mixture with a glass of water, boil over low heat for 15-20 minutes, strain. Take 20-40 ml three times a day before meals.

Carrot juice with honey. Prepare a glass of fresh carrot juice, add three teaspoons of honey, mix. Take two to three tablespoons several times a day.

Cabbage juice. Sweetened juice from fresh cabbage, take one tablespoon three to four times a day as an expectorant (you can use honey instead of sugar).

Plantain juice. Mix plantain juice and honey in equal amounts and give the child one teaspoon three times a day as an expectorant and emollient.

Althea root infusion. Grind dried marshmallow root into powder. pour 5 grams of powder a glass of cold water and leave for 6-8 hours. Take two to three tablespoons three times a day.

Infusion of linden flowers. Pour one table spoon of dried raw materials with a glass of whale to insist under the lid (it is possible under the folded sheets several times) for an hour, pour it. Take half a glass three times a day.

Breathing exercises for bronchitis

Toddlers usually perform this set of exercises with pleasure, because it resembles a game!
Crow. The child, sitting on a chair, raises both hands up through the sides while inhaling. As he exhales, he says: “K-a-r-r!” and lowers his hands.

Bug. The kid sits on a chair, and holds his hands on his belt. On inspiration, he turns the body to the right, moving his right hand to the side and slightly back. After that, he exhales, saying "W-w-w-w-w." Then he returns to the starting position, takes a breath and repeats a similar movement to the left side.

Geese. The baby leans forward from a sitting position, hands should be raised to shoulder level. Simultaneously with the exhalation, he says: "Gaaaaa."

Stork. The kid does this exercise while standing. Invite him to portray a stork - arms raised to the sides, raise one leg, bend at the knee, at the same time take a breath. On exhalation, the baby slowly lowers his arm and leg, while saying: "Shhhh."

Crane. During inhalation, the arms of the crumbs rise up, while exhaling with the sound "Uuuuu" they go down along the body.

Flying. At the very end of the complex, the baby should quickly walk around the room, waving his arms like a flying bird. The movement ends with walking with a mandatory slowdown in pace.

All exercises must be repeated 4-5 times (the last time at least an hour before bedtime). The child should pronounce sounds loudly and clearly. The main thing is that hissing sounds must be pronounced on the exhale.

Acute (simple) bronchitis- inflammatory lesions of the bronchial mucosa without clinical signs of bronchial obstruction, predominantly of a viral or viral-bacterial nature. The main symptom of this type of bronchitis is a cough, at the beginning of the disease it is dry, and after 1-2 days it is wet with an increasing amount of sputum. Bronchitis is also accompanied by tracheitis (inflammation of the trachea), in which there is a feeling of pressure or pain behind the sternum. Sputum often has a mucous character, on the 2nd week it may acquire a greenish color, which is not a sign of microbial inflammation. The cough usually lasts up to 2 weeks. A longer cough is observed in infants with RS-viral infection, and in older children with mycoplasma and adenovirus. With tracheitis and tracheobronchitis with fibrinous overlays, coughing can be disturbing for 4-6 weeks in the absence of other symptoms.

With bronchitis, diffuse dry and coarse and medium bubbling, less often fine bubbling rales are heard, changing with coughing. Hematological changes (in the general analysis of blood) are unstable; with mycoplasmal infection, ESR may increase against the background of a normal number of leukocytes.

Bronchitis with SARS usually develops without signs of toxicosis at subfebrile - 37 ° C-37.5 ° C (or febrile in the first 1-2 days) temperature, but with adenovirus infection it can remain high for up to 7-10 days. Shortness of breath, even in children of the first year of life, is moderate (up to 50 breaths per minute).

Mycoplasma bronchitis(caused by M. pneumoniae) is more common at school age. It, as a rule, proceeds with a high temperature, contrasting with a slightly disturbed general condition and the absence of signs of toxicosis. Inflammation covers the small bronchi, which is manifested by crepitus, fine bubbling wheezing, increased small elements of the pulmonary pattern on the radiograph. Unlike viral bronchitis, mycoplasmal bronchitis is characterized by asymmetry of wheezing. These signs, in combination with "dry" conjunctivitis (without effusion), make it possible to suspect bronchitis of this particular etiology.

Chlamydial bronchitis(caused by Chi. trachomatis) in children of the first six months of life often proceeds without obstruction, severe shortness of breath, toxicosis and hematological changes, it is diagnosed when chlamydial antibodies of the IgM class are detected in any titer or IgG class in a titer above 1:64 (the diagnosis is considered reliable if the titer of lgG antibodies in the mother is lower than in the child). Chlamydial bronchitis (caused by Chi. pneumoniae) may be suspected by co-occurring angina and/or cervical lymphadenitis. In adolescents, it often occurs with obstruction, sometimes being the debut of bronchial asthma with a late onset.

Bronchitis is very dangerous for babies, especially if you do not pay attention to it in time.

Acute simple bronchitis

What is acute bronchitis?

Recently, there has been an increase in the incidence of bronchitis among children. At the same time, pathogens are increasingly atypical: chlamydia and mycoplasmas (Chlamidia trachomatis, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, C. Pneumoniae). We note right away that infections of this type can be very dangerous and require specialized diagnosis and treatment.
In other cases, the treatment of acute bronchitis is symptomatic.

Do I need to take antibiotics for acute bronchitis?

The use of antibiotics in acute bronchitis is justified only in the case of a proven bacterial infection. Most often, the addition of a bacterial infection is manifested by the following symptoms: the second wave of fever (on the 5-7th day of illness), the appearance of abundant purulent sputum, and the deterioration of the general condition of the patient.
The problem of whether or not to take antibiotics in the treatment of acute bronchitis should be decided by the attending physician. It should be noted that taking antibiotics unnecessarily can be even more harmful than not taking them when they are actually recommended.
Due to the increase in the incidence of mycoplasmal and chlamydial bronchitis in children and adults, in addition to such classical antibiotics as penicillins and cephalosporins, antibiotics from the macrolide group began to be used: erythromycin, azithromycin. The type of antibiotic, dose and route of administration are determined by the attending physician.

What should be paid attention to in the treatment of acute bronchitis in children?

I would like to draw the attention of parents to the fact that in some cases acute bronchitis can cause some serious complications (pneumonia, bronchiolitis) in such cases, home treatment should be stopped, and the baby should be urgently hospitalized. Here are some signs that indicate an unfavorable course of the disease and the need to see a doctor:

The temperature is above 38 ° C for more than 3-4 days and the baby's general condition is severe.
- Severe shortness of breath in a child: in newborns and children under 2 months, more than 60 breaths per minute, in children aged 3 months to a year, more than 50 breaths per minute, in children from 1 to 3 years, more than 40 breaths per minute.
- Noticeable retraction of the skin at the intercostal spaces when inhaling.

Clinical criteria for the diagnosis of acute simple bronchitis:

The general condition of the child is usually relatively satisfactory, and the symptoms of intoxication are moderate, the subfebrile body temperature usually does not rise above 38 ° C, respiratory failure is not pronounced. The baby has a cough with scanty, and then more abundant sputum discharge. The doctor, when listening to the chest, can detect scattered dry rales (less often, intermittent wet medium and coarse bubbling).

X-ray data consist in strengthening the pulmonary pattern in the basal and basal sections of the lungs. In the blood test, minor inflammatory changes (significant leukocytosis is not typical), moderate acceleration of ESR.

The duration of the disease in uncomplicated cases ranges from 1 to 1.5-2 weeks. Bronchitis caused by adenovirus, mycoplasma and chlamydial infection is more protracted.

Basic principles of treatment of acute simple bronchitis

Treatment is usually carried out on an outpatient basis at home, with the exception of severe concomitant manifestations of SARS. The regime against the background of acute manifestations of ARVI is semi-bed, and then home - the baby can get out of bed, do his usual activities.

Plentiful drinking is recommended, it is possible in the form of herbal teas or infusions, fruit drinks, juices. The volume of fluid is 1.5-2 times higher than the daily age requirement of the child. The diet is mainly lacto-vegetarian with a restriction of extractive spicy dishes, seasonings, and a restriction of highly allergenic foods.

Antiviral therapy: intranasal interferon 5 drops 4-6 times a day or in aerosols using an ultrasonic inhaler. If adenoviral etiology of bronchitis is suspected, RNase, deoxyribonuclease. With influenza etiology, rimantadine, ribavirin, immunoglobulin against the background of acute manifestations of ARVI.

Antibiotics are not indicated in most cases. Indications for prescribing antibiotics are obvious foci of bacterial infection, pronounced inflammatory changes in the hemogram, a tendency to a protracted course of the disease.
Antibacterial therapy is prescribed individually by a doctor. Systemic antibiotic therapy is carried out only for mycoplasmal and chlamydial bronchitis (macrolides are used), it is possible to prescribe local antibiotic therapy, for example, Bioparox, which in this case has an additional anti-inflammatory effect.
Depending on the nature of the cough, antitussives (codelac, codeine), (mucolytics) expectorants (erespal, lazolvan, gedelix, mucoltin) are prescribed. Antitussive drugs of central action suppress painful obsessive dry cough in the initial phase of bronchitis. Peripheral antitussives are indicated for dry cough associated with mucosal irritation, which usually accompanies tracheitis. Expectorants are designed to have an effect that stimulates coughing. The anti-inflammatory agent fenspiride (Erespal) can contribute to the reduction of inflammatory changes in the bronchial mucosa. Fenspiride acts both directly on the inflammatory process in the respiratory tract, and on the processes accompanying infectious and allergic inflammation, which is combined with the prevention of bronchoconstriction.
Aerosol inhalations - soda, soda-salt. With attacks of obstruction, nebulizer therapy. With a long-lasting cough (whooping cough, whooping cough with persistent tracheitis), inhaled steroids (pulmicor, salbutamol) are effective.

Postural drainage with vibration massage for profuse expectoration.

Antihistamines. Antihistamines are used in children with allergic manifestations, their drying effect can be used in patients with abundant secretion. Active motor mode for the drainage function of the lungs after normalization of temperature.
At normal body temperature - chest massage.

Therapy should be complex in combination with immunocorrective treatment.
Criteria for discharge to a children's institution: normalization of body temperature, reduction of catarrhal phenomena from the nasopharynx.

Obstructive bronchitis

In domestic practice, it is customary to distinguish between acute bronchitis and bronchiolitis, but this distinction is to a certain extent conditional and is not recognized by many foreign pediatricians.

The terms "obstructive bronchitis" and "bronchiolitis" refer to almost the same form of bronchitis, with only clinical differences. These terms apply mainly to children of the first 4 years of life, in which most obstructive forms of bronchitis are caused by PC-viral and parainfluenza infections. In older children, mycoplasma infection and Chi also play a role in the development of obstructive bronchitis. pneumoniae.

The peculiarity of the clinical picture in infants, the rarity of the development of pneumonia, allow us to consider bronchial obstruction as a reaction that protects the lungs from bacteria from the upper respiratory tract.

Obstructive bronchitis is manifested by severe shortness of breath due to bronchospasm, prolongation of exhalation, against which wheezing wheezes are heard, heard during auscultation and often at a distance. Fine bubbling wet rales, crepitus are heard in half of the cases.
Obstructive bronchitis is characterized by a dry, rare cough, subfebrile temperature, and the general condition often suffers little. Respiratory rate - 50, less often 60-70 per 1 min. Blood gas levels do not change dramatically. On the radiograph, swelling of the lungs is determined, in the general blood test - indicators characteristic of a viral infection.

Clinical criteria for the diagnosis of obstructive bronchitis:

Elongated whistling exhalation, often heard remotely.
On examination, a swollen chest (horizontal arrangement of the ribs) is revealed.
participation in the act of breathing of the auxiliary muscles with the retraction of the most compliant parts of the chest.
cough dry, paroxysmal, long-lasting.
auscultatory, against the background of an elongated expiration, there is an abundance of dry, whistling, and in later stages of the disease - medium and large bubbling moist, muffled rales.

X-ray: horizontal arrangement of the ribs on the diaphragm, lengthening of the lung fields, strengthening of the roots of the lungs, low standing of the flattened domes of the diaphragm, increased transparency of the lung fields.
Changes in the blood test correspond to a viral infection (leukopenia, lymphocytosis).

An episode of obstructive bronchitis differs from an asthma attack mainly in the gradual development of obstruction. Upon subsequent observation of the child, it may turn out that this was the beginning of bronchial asthma, the attacks of which also often occur against the background of SARS.

Current and forecast.

Although an episode of obstructive bronchitis may resemble an asthmatic attack, in most children, obstruction does not recur or recurs 1-2 times only on the background of SARS. Risk factors for the recurrence of episodes of obstruction and the development of bronchial asthma are:
the presence of allergies in the child or his parents.
IgE level above 100 IU/l.
the development of an episode of obstruction upon contact with a non-infectious allergen.
paroxysmal nature of the development of obstruction.
recurrence of obstruction - 3 or more episodes.

In these cases, it is appropriate to talk not about the "transition of obstructive bronchitis to bronchial asthma", but about its early onset. In this regard, all children with obstructive episodes, especially those with allergies, are recommended to create an allergenic environment and use a hypoallergenic diet, and in case of recurrence of obstruction, treatment with ketotifen for 3-6 months is recommended.

Considering the high risk of recurrence of acute obstructive bronchitis and the formation of bronchial asthma, children who have had acute obstructive bronchitis at least once and have foci of chronic ENT or bronchopulmonary infection are recommended to undergo immunocorrective therapy with a bacterial vaccine.

bronchiolitis

Bronchiolitis is an inflammatory lesion of the terminal sections of the bronchial tree (small bronchi and bronchioles) in acute respiratory diseases, mainly in young children, accompanied by severe and often difficult to treat respiratory failure

Clinical criteria for the diagnosis of bronchiolitis:

A characteristic sign of bronchiolitis is pronounced expiratory (on exhalation) shortness of breath up to 80-90 per minute. Draws attention to the general cyanosis (cyanosis) of the skin. Auscultatory over the lungs mass of scattered fine bubbling rales. Respiratory failure clearly prevails over manifestations of infectious toxicosis. With significant respiratory failure, there is a pronounced tachycardia, a weakening of the heart tones.

Criteria for the diagnosis of bronchiolitis according to Ogerro et al. (1983).
Symptom / Score
Shortness of breath more than 40 per minute. / one
Whistling noise on expiration / 2
Intercostal retraction / 1
Diffuse fine bubbling rales / 1
Dry cough / 1
Increase in body temperature / 1
Increasing the transparency of the lung pattern on the radiograph / 2
Note: To make a diagnosis, the sum must exceed 6 points

Basic principles of treatment of obstructive bronchitis

Although the basic principles of treating children with obstructive bronchitis basically coincide with those for acute simple bronchitis, at the same time, there are the following features of therapeutic tactics associated with the characteristics of the clinical course of the disease (mainly with the degree of severity of obstructive syndrome).

Treatment of children with obstructive bronchitis and bronchiolitis with severe heart failure is carried out in a hospital, if necessary, oxygen therapy is required.

1. Bed rest in a position with a raised head end.
2. Given the significant loss of fluid with perspiration (increased breathing), considerable attention is paid to adequate hydration (if necessary, parenteral).
3. Fractional feeding (liquid food is preferred). The diet is dairy and vegetable.
4. Removal of mucus from the upper respiratory tract with an electric suction.
5. Inhalation therapy, humidified oxygen in severe respiratory failure
6. Bronchodilators intravenously and inhalations (eufillin, b-agonists). With bronchiolitis, the effect of bronchodilator drugs is negligible.
7. Corticosteroid drugs.
8. Antiviral drugs interferon, amantadine, ribaverin.
9. Antibiotics for concomitant acute otitis, pneumonia or other bacterial infection.
10. Mucolytic drugs.
Much attention is paid to the additional use of immunotropic drugs, antiviral agents.
Measures aimed at improving bronchial conduction.
With bronchospasm, mucolytics, bronchodilators, local corticosteroids (beclomet, becotide, etc.) are prescribed.

Recurrent bronchitis

Recurrent bronchitis is bronchitis without pronounced clinical signs of bronchospasm that recurs at least 3-4 times a year for 2 years.
Etiology - viral and viral-bacterial infection. The critical period is 4-7 years.
The clinic of recurrent bronchitis during an exacerbation is almost similar to acute simple bronchitis. However, the course of the disease is protracted, sometimes up to 2-3 months.
Paraclinical data:
Characteristic "areactive hemogram" (no change in the blood).
X-ray changes are nonspecific.

Basic principles of treatment of recurrent bronchitis

In the period of exacerbation, they are treated like acute bronchitis. Much attention is paid to the additional use of immunotropic drugs, anti-oviral drugs, aerosol therapy. With bronchospasm, mucolytics, bronchodilators, local corticosteroids (beclomet, becotide, etc.) are prescribed.

In the remission phase - dispensary observation and rehabilitation in the clinic - local and climatic sanatoriums (stage 2).
Dispensary observation is stopped if there were no exacerbations within 2 years.

Folk remedies for bronchitis

Folk home remedies are used only in the treatment of school-age children and only in parallel with treatment prescribed by a doctor or for prevention.

• Boil two or three leaves of coltsfoot in half a liter of fresh milk. Add a small amount (at the tip of a knife) of fresh pork fat. Take one coffee cup in the evening before bedtime.
• In case of severe wet cough, when sputum comes off with difficulty or does not go away at all, 2-3 drops of almond oil in sugar syrup should be given several times a day.
• If bronchitis progresses and the child begins to choke, a doctor is urgently needed, as this is already very dangerous.
• For pneumonia, bronchitis, tracheitis and persistent cough, Vanga recommended a decoction of oats, prepared as follows: mix 2 tablespoons of oats with the same amount of raisins and pour 1.5 liters of cold boiled water. Cook over very low heat or simmer in the oven covered over low heat until half of the liquid has evaporated. Cool slightly, strain, squeeze, add 1 tablespoon of natural honey to the expressed liquid and mix thoroughly. Give children a teaspoon several times a day.
• Cut the radish into small cubes, put in a saucepan and sprinkle with sugar. Bake in the oven for two hours. Strain, discard the radish pieces, and drain the liquid into a bottle. Give your child two teaspoons 3-4 times a day before meals and at night before bedtime.
• Collect violets, snowdrop early in the morning, while the sun is still sleeping. Store in a dark place, dry in the shade. Brew 1 tablespoon of dried flowers in a glass of boiling water and keep in a water bath for 15 minutes. After it has cooled, strain. Give the child to drink 3 times a day, 1 tablespoon. Small children can add syrup, sugar. This is an excellent anti-inflammatory agent. It can be used for gargling.
• Garlic drink: five medium-sized garlic cloves, cut into small pieces or crushed, boil well in a glass of unpasteurized milk and give to children to drink several times a day.

Herbs and preparations for the treatment of bronchitis

When using any herbs, you must be sure that the child is not allergic to them!

The crushed angelica leaf is poured with boiling water at the rate of 10 g per 1 cup of boiling water, boiled for 5 minutes and infused for 2 hours. Ready infusion is suitable for use within 2-3 days. It can be replaced with powder: 1-3 pinches per day. Angelica infusion eliminates mucus in the lungs, chest and bronchi, relieves heartburn.

Prepare a tincture of yarrow: pour 30 g of grass with 0.5 cups of alcohol or 1 cup of vodka. Drink 3-4 times a day, 30-40 drops before meals for bronchitis.

Nasturtium leaf infusion is effective in chronic bronchitis. 10 g of the leaf is brewed with 1 liter of boiling water, insisted for 10 minutes and filtered. Drink during the day for 0.5 cups.

For bronchitis with viscous sputum, brew 0.5 liters of boiling water 4 tablespoons of crushed plantain leaf and leave for 4 hours. Drink 0.5 cup 4 times a day.

Boil 2-3 leaves of coltsfoot in 0.5 liters of milk and add fresh lard to the broth at the tip of a knife. Drink at bedtime 3 tablespoons for bronchitis. Health portal www.site

Mix in equal proportions grass and lungwort flowers plucked in early spring. Brew 4 tablespoons of the mixture in 0.5 liters of boiling water and leave for 2 hours. Drink 0.5 cup 4 times a day for bronchitis.

Mix in equal proportions leaves and bark or young shoots of ash. Brew 1 cup of boiling water 1 tablespoon of the mixture and heat over low heat for 20 minutes. Take 1 tablespoon 3 times a day for bronchitis.

Pour 1 glass of milk into an enamel bowl and put 1 tablespoon (without top) of finely chopped Icelandic moss. Cover the pan with a saucer or non-metal plate and boil for 30 minutes, then strain. Drink hot decoction before going to bed.

Pour 1 tablespoon of crushed oregano herb with 1 cup of boiling water, insist, wrapped for 1 hour, strain. Take 1 tablespoon 5-6 times a day 30 minutes before meals. Strong oregano tea causes profuse sweating. It is drunk for colds, convulsive cough, acute and chronic bronchitis as a means of increasing the secretion of the bronchial glands.

Powdered marshmallow root diluted with warm boiled water, bringing to the consistency of thick sour cream. The resulting mixture is taken 1 tablespoon 4 times a day before meals for coughs, chronic bronchitis.

Take 3 parts of licorice (roots) and blue cyanosis (roots), 4 parts of chamomile (flowers) and peppermint (herbs), 2 parts of valerian officinalis (roots), common motherwort (herbs), St. John's wort (herbs) ). Pour 1 tablespoon of the collection with 1 cup of boiling water, soak in a closed enamel bowl in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes, cool at room temperature for 45 minutes, strain through 2-3 layers of gauze, squeeze and bring the volume of boiled water to the original. Take 0.25-0.3 cups 4-5 times a day after meals for bronchial spasms.

home remedies for bronchitis

In acute bronchitis, 100 g of ground flax seeds, 20 g of anise fruit powder, 20 g of ginger root powder are thoroughly mixed with 0.5 kg of garlic-honey mixture. Take 1 teaspoon 3 times a day 30 minutes before meals.

Peel 3 heads of garlic and, together with 5 lemons with peel, but without seeds, pass through a meat grinder or rub on a fine grater, pour them with 1 liter of boiled water at room temperature and keep in a closed jar for 5 days, strain, squeeze the rest. Take as a resolving agent for diseases of the lungs and bronchi 3 times a day, 1 tablespoon 20 minutes before meals.

Take 5-6 large cloves of garlic, grind into a pulp, mix with 100 g of butter and a bunch of finely chopped dill. Spread the mixture on bread morning, afternoon and evening. This oil will help with bronchitis, as well as pneumonia.

Boil finely chopped garlic (1 head) in fresh milk until it becomes quite soft. Grind in the same milk, add 1 teaspoon of mint juice and 2 tablespoons of linden honey. Take 1 tablespoon every hour for the whole day, the cough will become softer.

An excellent recipe for treating bronchitis: grind 1 kg of ripe tomatoes and 50 g of garlic in a meat grinder, grate 300 g of horseradish root. Mix, salt to taste. Divide into glass jars and store tightly closed in the refrigerator. To consume: children 1 teaspoon before meals 3 times a day, adults - 1 tablespoon before meals 3 times a day. Warm to room temperature before use.

Mix in the ratio by weight 1:1:2 grated onion, apples, honey. For the treatment of bronchitis in children accompanied by a cough, take at least 6-7 times a day, regardless of food intake.

Carrot juice, boiled hot milk and honey in a ratio of 5:5:1 insist 4-5 hours and drink warm, 0.5 cups 4-6 times a day for bronchitis.

Fresh carrot juice mixed with warm milk in a ratio of 1:1, take 0.5 cup 4-6 times a day for bronchitis.

Mix 1 cup of freshly made carrot juice with 2 teaspoons of honey. Take 1 tablespoon 4-5 times a day for bronchitis.

Mix 300 g of honey and 1 leaf of finely chopped aloe, pour them with 0.5 liters of boiled water, put on fire, bring to a boil and keep on low heat for 2 hours, then cool and mix. Store in a cool place. Take 1 tablespoon 3 times a day for bronchitis.

Several times a day, chew until completely crushed 1 clove of garlic with 1 teaspoon of flower honey for bronchitis.

Take 1.3 kg of linden honey, 1 cup of finely chopped aloe leaves, 200 g of olive oil, 150 g of birch buds and 50 g of linden flowers. Before preparing the medicine, put aloe leaves plucked and washed with boiled water for 10 days in a cold and dark place. Melt honey and put crushed aloe leaves into it. Steam the mixture well. Separately, brew birch buds and lime blossom in 2 glasses of water and boil for 1-2 minutes. Pour the strained and squeezed broth into cooled honey, stir and pour into 2 bottles, adding olive oil equally to each. Store in a cool place. Take with bronchitis 1 tablespoon 3 times a day. Shake before use.

To facilitate the separation of sputum, it is useful to drink lingonberry juice with sugar syrup or honey. The remedy should be taken 1 tablespoon as often as possible. At the same time, it is recommended to drink tea from a strawberry leaf.

Prepare fresh cabbage juice, add sugar (2 teaspoons per 1 cup). Take 2 times a day for 1 glass as an expectorant.

Before using folk remedies, consult a doctor.

Every mother strives to protect her child from all the troubles of this world, and first of all, this applies to those diseases that lie in wait for us at every step. Unfortunately, this is practically impossible, and when faced with the microorganisms surrounding him, from which it is impossible to fully protect himself, the child begins to get sick. Of course, ideally, his immune system and antibodies obtained from his mother should protect against infection, but this is far from always the case, bronchitis in infants, paradoxically as it sounds, is a fairly common disease.

What is a disease

The organ system by which a person breathes can be represented as a tree. Passing through the nose, the larynx (the roots of the tree), the air enters the trachea (which is the trunk), it then divides into two main bronchi. Medium and small bronchi depart from them. With some imagination, they can be mistaken for thinner branches, then there are bronchioles, which, if we follow the analogy, will be very small branches, but alveoli can be considered leaves. Bronchitis is an inflammation of the bronchial mucosa without involvement of the lung tissue in the inflammatory process.

Among the pathomorphological changes in bronchitis, the following stand out: spasm of smooth muscle of varying severity, mucosal edema and exudation (sputum production). Bronchitis in children under one year old is a fairly common phenomenon, this is due to the structural features of the respiratory system of infants, namely, a fairly short respiratory tract, abundant blood supply to the bronchial mucosa and sufficient “looseness” of the submucosal layers. All this contributes to the rapid spread of the pathological process deep into the respiratory tract and the severity of inflammation. The most dangerous age is from 5-6 months to a year.

Classification

Modern medicine classifies bronchitis according to several criteria. According to the etiology (cause that caused the disease), there are:

• viral - they develop as a consequence or as a symptom of ARVI: influenza, parainfluenza, adenovirus, rhinovirus infection. Also, PC viruses are of great importance;
• bacterial - pathogens most often become pneumococcus, chlamydia, mycoplasma, Haemophilus influenzae, moraxella;
• toxic - arise under the influence of chemicals, the concentration of which in the ambient air exceeds the maximum allowable;
• dust - develop under the influence of various dust (including professional);
• allergic, asthmatic - appear as a result of a reaction to aggressive factors (chemistry, animal hair, food allergies).

According to the nature of the course, bronchitis is divided into:

• acute - it lasts from 10 to 20 days;
• chronic - symptoms of the disease are detected for three consecutive months or more (for two years or more, WHO criteria);
• recurrent (exacerbation of the pathology about 1-3 times a year, the duration of the cough is less than in chronic);
• protracted (the duration of the disease increases to 6-8 weeks).

According to the presence of obstruction, they are divided into obstructive and non-obstructive. Separately, it is necessary to highlight bronchiolitis - an inflammatory process in the small terminal bronchi and bronchioles.

Before starting treatment, the doctor must determine the nature of bronchitis. As practice shows, bronchitis in an infant most often has a viral etiology. These can be parainfluenza, influenza, rhinoviruses, adenoviruses, RS viruses. In this case, against the background of the disease, it is often possible to observe the attachment of a bacterial infection.

Among bacteria, mycoplasmas, Haemophilus influenzae, pneumococcus, less often chlamydia and moraxella are of primary importance in infants.

How to recognize the signs of what pathogen was caused by bronchitis? If bronchitis in infants is caused by viruses, then it proceeds relatively easily. This is expressed in a rather small intoxication (although the baby is naughty, but does not refuse food, the condition is quite stable). Another characteristic sign of viral bronchitis is the color of sputum. It is transparent or has a yellowish tint.

In addition, bronchitis with a viral etiology is usually quite mild and treatable. In addition to the symptoms of bronchitis, there are often catarrhal phenomena of the upper respiratory tract: runny nose, redness and graininess of the posterior wall of the oropharynx, nasal congestion.

Bacterial bronchitis is more complex. Intoxication here may be more pronounced. It manifests itself with a high temperature, which persists on the third or fourth day of illness, refusal of the breast or mixture. Sputum in this case is purulent, yellow-green in color.

Quite often, an infant can develop bronchiolitis. In this case, the small terminal bronchi and bronchioles are affected. Bronchiolitis most often develops against the background of acute respiratory viral infections, influenza, rhinovirus infection, followed by the addition of pneumococcal or hemophilic infection. However, it can also become an independent disease resulting from the inhalation of certain chemicals from the air. The danger of this pathology is severe obstruction, which can result in respiratory failure.

Symptoms of bronchiolitis

If a pediatrician diagnosed bronchitis in a one-year-old child, the mother should be alert if the following symptoms appear:

• after some improvement, the state of health suddenly worsened, bouts of dry, tense cough appeared;
• the child developed severe shortness of breath, in which the intercostal spaces are drawn in, the wings of the nose swell, breathing is superficial, wheezing;
• respiratory rate exceeds 60 per minute;
• the baby's skin turns pale, cyanosis (cyanosis) of the nasolabial triangle appears;
• the temperature rises, but slightly;
• voiced, widespread moist rales are clearly heard in the child's chest;
• despite difficulty breathing, the symptoms of intoxication in bronchiolitis are not pronounced.

Acute bronchitis is considered one of the most common diseases of the respiratory system. According to statistics, in 80% of cases it is caused by a viral infection and in 20% by bacteria. Often, a bacterial infection joins bronchitis of viral etiology, in which case they speak of a mixed genesis of the disease.

Symptoms

The first symptoms of the disease are a violation of the general well-being of the child - he becomes restless, naughty, appetite decreases, sleep is disturbed. The baby starts to cough. When listening to the chest, wheezing is clearly audible, which spreads to all parts of the chest. The first three days the temperature can rise to 38-39 degrees. After about a week, a dry cough is replaced by a wet one and sputum begins to separate. Usually at the beginning of the disease, sputum is light, separated in a small amount. This is a good sign, it means that the respiratory system can perform its function.

In the second week, sputum may change its color to light yellow or light green (fibrin threads), but its volume, quantity and consistency should not change. Cough can be moderate or debilitating paroxysmal, it will be right for the mother to calculate the number and duration of attacks before the doctor arrives, the tactics will depend on this when choosing medications and recommendations. If the coughing fit is strong enough, the child may have chest pains.

In infants, bronchitis often occurs with symptoms of bronchial obstruction, which is due initially to a smaller diameter of the bronchi, their collapse at the exit, due to a more elastic wall compared to adults. Symptoms that require the attention of parents and the immediate call for an ambulance include:

1. Shortness of breath in a child, that is, an increase in the frequency of breathing above the age norm, which is usually accompanied by difficulty in exhaling, crying;
2. The presence of wheezing wheezing on exhalation in a child, they are usually audible even without the use of a phonendoscope;
3. Blue around the nasolabial triangle (the triangle between the creases under the nose).

The average duration of uncomplicated bronchitis is from 14 to 20 days, but this will depend on individual characteristics (age, immunity, presence of other diseases).

Complications

With untimely or improper treatment of bronchitis, the following complications may develop:

• obstruction;
• process timing;
• pneumonia;
• bronchial asthma;
• acute respiratory failure;
• acute heart failure.

Diagnostics

Symptoms of acute bronchiolitis may develop in the first weeks of life, but it usually occurs between 6 and 7 months of age. Laboratory tests are characterized by elevated ESR, leukocytosis. On the radiograph, the horizontal standing of the ribs is determined, the increase in the transparency of the lung fields, the diversity of the lung pattern, but no infiltrative changes are observed. It is important to determine the gases of the blood composition, where even with an improvement in the condition, a decrease in the level of oxygen is observed.

In addition to the history and examination data of the child, leukocytosis, elevated ESR, lymphocytosis or neutrophilia are observed in the blood test, depending on the type of pathogen. In addition, you need to do a general sputum analysis, which will show whether the disease is bacterial in nature and help determine the sensitivity of the flora to antibiotics. On radiography, only an increase in the pulmonary pattern is noticeable.

Additional research methods

Blood tests are mandatory (KLA - ESR, leukocyte formula; biochemistry is assessed), general urinalysis, general sputum analysis, sputum culture for sensitivity to antibiotics, sputum examination for VC. From instrumental studies, if necessary, bronchoscopy, bronchography, radiography, computed tomography are used.

Differential Diagnosis Table

Emergency care for acute bronchitis

If the child's condition worsens, cyanosis of the skin and nasolabial triangle increases, and the respiratory rate has sharply increased or decreased, then urgent action is needed. Call an ambulance, but before the doctors arrive and begin treatment, you can alleviate the baby's condition. The main thing - do not panic, the child perfectly feels the state of the mother.

Calm down and take the baby in your arms so that the head is as high as possible. If you have a humidifier, turn it on to the maximum, if not, then go to the bathroom with your child, open hot water so that the air is as humidified as possible. If this is not possible, then hang wet towels on the sides of the crib. Provide an influx of fresh air, it is from the lack of oxygen that the baby suffers with this disease. If the child has previously had acute respiratory viral infections with bronchial obstruction, there should be a nebulizer, Berotek and Ambroxol at home, and the mother should receive clear instructions from the doctor on their use during an attack.

As a rule, it is necessary to treat acute bronchiolitis in a hospital setting. Those children whose age has not reached three months, premature babies who have already been diagnosed with a congenital or chronic disease of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems are hospitalized in the intensive care unit. Also mandatory indications for hospitalization are increased breathing up to 70 breaths per minute, severe cyanosis, exhaustion of the child, significant nutritional problems (the baby refuses to eat).

It is possible to treat acute bronchitis at home, but, as a rule, doctors suggest hospitalizing all children under one year old. And rightly so, since broncho-obstructive syndrome in babies of this age can develop suddenly against the background of apparent well-being. The most important thing is not to miss the onset of the disease, when the signs of the disease are not yet so obvious, and to consult a doctor in time. It should be noted that only a pediatrician should prescribe treatment. Independent actions in this case are fraught with lost time and, as a result, generalization of the inflammatory process and an increased risk of complications.

Paradoxical as it sounds, with uncomplicated bronchitis in infants, bronchitis in a one-year-old child, drug therapy is secondary. In the first place you need to put the right care for the child and his nutrition. The room where it is located must be ventilated and wet cleaning must be carried out there. In general, with bronchitis it is undesirable that the room where the baby is located is hot, but the air must be sufficiently humidified. For this, modern air humidifiers are simply indispensable. The optimal air parameters in patients with bronchitis are as follows: humidity 50-70%, temperature 18-20 degrees.

It is also important to monitor the nutrition of the baby. If he often refuses to breastfeed or the "artist" does not take the mixture, then it is worth trying to give him at least boiled water to drink, as dehydration can increase the risk of complications. Nutrition in the acute period usually includes liquid and quickly digestible food in those volumes that the baby does not refuse. No need to insist.

Another important part of the treatment of acute bronchitis is massage. For an infant, a simple shifting from one side to another or a light tapping of the index and middle fingers on the back can give excellent results, while the child should be in the lap of the parent face down. All this stimulates sputum discharge and reflex cough.

Schemes for the use of drugs

Performance criteria

The main criterion that the treatment is effective will be an improvement in the child's condition - a decrease in shortness of breath, cough intensity, improvement in general condition, normalization of appetite. Please note that coughing and sputum discharge in children under one year old, with general well-being, can persist for a month.

Prevention

The basis of prevention is to limit the contact of the infant with other people. Hardening measures and breastfeeding are of great importance. It has already been proven that maternal antibodies received by a child with breast milk are sufficient protection against the disease for at least the first six months.

Another important component will be the creation of a hypoallergenic life around the baby, since very often bronchitis also has an allergic origin. In addition to hypoallergenic life, it is important to maintain humidity in the range of 40-60% and temperature in the apartment of 19-20 degrees, tempering activities, frequent walks. An additional protective factor can be considered vaccination against pneumococcus and Haemophilus influenzae. In this case, vaccination should be performed only for a healthy child, without signs of SARS.

Bronchitis is a common disease that affects children from 3 to 8 years of age the most. At this age, the respiratory system continues to actively form, so it is very vulnerable to infections. The sooner you detect the symptoms of the disease in a child, the easier and faster you can overcome it. Medicines, traditional methods of treatment and special massage will help you with this.

Bronchitis is an inflammatory process of the bronchial mucosa.

Bronchitis and its causes

Bronchitis is inflammatory process covering the mucous membrane of the bronchial tree. It rarely develops on its own. In 99% of cases, this is a consequence of a viral disease - SARS or influenza. And only 1% is due to bacterial and fungal infections.

Stages of development of bronchitis:

1. Contact with a sick person and infection from him by airborne droplets. It is easy to catch an infection, as the activated microbes scatter within a radius of 10 meters when coughing or sneezing.
2. The development of acute respiratory disease, accompanied by runny nose, sore throat and fever.
3. With improper treatment or its absence the infection passes from the upper respiratory tract to the lower: first, the inflammation is localized in the throat, then in the trachea, and then descends into the bronchi.

With untimely treatment, the disease can descend from the upper respiratory tract to the lower ones.

The mechanism of infection with bacterial or fungal bronchitis is different. Conditionally pathogenic microorganisms always live on the mucous membranes of a person, but in small quantities that do not harm health. And only under certain conditions, they begin to actively multiply, leading to the disease. This could be motivated by:

• stress;
• hypothermia;
• weakening of the immune system.

Important! Bronchitis caused by fungi or bacteria is not contagious to others. Exactly the same microorganisms live on the mucous membranes of other people, but their growth is restrained by the immune system.

But the viral form remains contagious until the symptoms of the disease disappear completely.

The child remains contagious throughout the illness.

Bronchitis symptoms

You can determine that a child has bronchitis by the following signs:

• elevated body temperature (from 37.1 to 39 ° C and above), decreasing in a day (may be normal if the course of the disease is mild);
• strong dry cough, passing over several days into;
• expectoration of clear, yellow or green sputum;
• wheezing and / or whistles during breathing, heard at a distance;

Pay attention to the noise and whistling when breathing.

• pain in the chest (usually manifests itself at the time of the transition of the disease from the trachea to the bronchi);
• heart palpitations (from 100 beats per minute);
• shortness of breath (rapid and shallow breathing);
• general malaise, weakness and lack of appetite.

With a viral disease, medications are often prescribed:

• : , . Give when the temperature rises above 38 degrees.

Ibuprofen has analgesic, anti-inflammatory properties, has a moderate antipyretic effect.

• : Libexin, Tusuprex. It is allowed with severe bouts of dry cough that does not allow you to fall asleep.
• and:, herbal breast fees. They enhance the secretion of mucus, contribute to its liquefaction and excretion.

ACC is a drug for the treatment of wet cough.

• : Viferon, Interferon. They help the body fight the pathogen by accelerating the production of antibodies.

Attention! Antibiotics do not help in 99% of cases, as viruses usually cause the disease. But pediatricians often prescribe antibiotics “just in case,” and this can only be done after a sputum test, which shows the presence of a bacterial infection.

In other cases, the drugs will not bring benefits, but harm, killing the beneficial microflora.

Galina writes in a review:

“My daughter got sick at the age of 2. And a few days later she coughed so much that she began to choke. I called an ambulance and we were hospitalized with obstructive bronchitis. In the hospital, they administered a course of antibiotic therapy and released him, and 3 days later he had to go to the doctors again. They made the same diagnosis. She refused the hospital, but gave antibiotics to the child at home. Two months later, the cough continued. I went to another pediatrician, and he suggested that the disease was not caused by an infection, but by an allergic reaction. The reason was also found out - this is a new washing powder.

Relief of obstructive bronchitis

If blockage of the bronchial lumen could not be avoided, inhalations with the following drugs will help eliminate the obstruction:

• Ventolin;
• Flexotide.

The method is good because the medicine enters immediately into the bronchi, contributing to the expansion of the branches of the bronchial tree and the removal of sputum from them. The effect comes a few minutes after the procedure.

Important! If the child begins to choke, call an ambulance immediately. In the meantime, you are waiting for her, try to help him with inhalations yourself.

Treatment with folk remedies

Before you start treating your baby with folk remedies, listen to Komarovsky's advice:

• Do not use steam inhalation. This procedure increases the risk of the disease becoming obstructive due to blockage of the bronchi with a swollen lump of mucus (this does not apply to medicinal inhalation solutions).
• Thermal procedures should be done only at normal body temperature. Do not put warm compresses on the heart area, so as not to increase the already large load on the organ.
• Honey, propolis and herbs are strong allergens. Make sure your child is not sensitive to them.

Folk remedies will help relieve a painful cough.

• Keep drinks warm. Hot drinks can burn you, and it does not speed up your recovery.

You can watch the entire issue of Dr. Komarovsky's school about bronchitis in children here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdnChZSgfgk

To relieve dry cough will help:

• Boiled milk with the addition of honey, butter or soda.
• Freshly squeezed lingonberry juice with sugar or honey.
• Decoctions of blackcurrant leaves, coltsfoot, viburnum or linden flowers. To prepare them, brew a tablespoon of dry raw materials in a glass of boiling water and let cool.

If body temperature is normal:

• before bedtime. After the procedure, wipe them dry and put on warm socks.
• Wrap the chest with gauze soaked in warm vegetable oil. The dressing is covered with wax paper and fixed with a diaper.
• Put a potato cake on your chest. To do this, boil a few potatoes in their skins and mash them with the addition of honey or iodine with vegetable oil. Form a cake, wrap in gauze and place on the chest. Remove after cooling.

For older children, procedures such as mustard plasters and banks are suitable.

With bronchitis, distraction therapy can be effective: mustard plasters, mustard wraps, warming compresses.

Prevention

Bronchitis can recur again, and if it was poorly cured, then the disease will often recur, gradually turning into a chronic form. To protect the child from a new disease, carry out prevention. It includes:

• hardening. Gradual addiction to cold procedures helps to strengthen the immune system. First, do a contrast shower (dousing), alternating warm water with cool water (4-5 degrees lower). Then gradually lower the degree of cold water.
• Clothes according to the weather. Do not wrap the baby, otherwise he will sweat and start to freeze, which will lead to hypothermia. If you dress too lightly, the result will be the same.
• Preventive and during the period of mass destruction of SARS and influenza.
• A diet rich in vitamins and minerals. Helps to strengthen the body's defenses, normal growth and development of the baby.

A balanced diet has been and remains an effective measure to prevent colds.

Bronchitis is a common disease, usually of a viral nature. Therefore, there is no magic pill that would make a child recover in one day. Until the child's body copes with the disease on its own, you can only help it by preventing the sputum from drying out. So you speed up recovery and minimize the risk of complications.

Alisa Nikitina