Symptoms of Chest Infections in Babies Coughs caused by chest infections in child patients often sound wet and chesty. Children may also cough up some mucus, which is usually green or yellow in colour. Other symptoms may include a fever, wheezing, and coughing up phlegm or mucus.
runny nose or mucus blocking the air passages in the nose. congestion. cough and hoarseness. mild fever, usually less than 100°F.
fast and/or difficult breathing – your child's breathing will become hard work, and you may see the ribs or skin under the neck 'sucking in' or nostrils flaring when they are breathing; younger babies may bob their heads when breathing. cough. irritability or more tired than usual.
Symptoms of Bronchiolitis
Wheezing is the main symptom that helps with diagnosis. Wheezing is a high-pitched purring or whistling sound. You can hear it best when your child is breathing out. Rapid breathing at a rate of over 40 breaths per minute.
When your pediatrician listens to your baby's lungs, if they have RSV and bronchiolitis, it actually sounds like Rice Krispies in the lungs; it's just all crackly.
Initial signs of RSV are similar to mild cold symptoms, including congestion, runny nose, fever, cough and sore throat. Very young infants may be irritable, fatigued and have breathing difficulties. Normally these symptoms will clear up on their own in a few days.
Pediatricians diagnose children with a cold or bronchiolitis by asking about their symptoms and by doing a physical exam. Your pediatrician may do a nasal swab test to determine if your child has RSV or another virus. A chest x-ray and/or oxygen saturation test may also be done to check for lung congestion.
Your doctor will listen to your lungs with a stethoscope. If you have pneumonia, your lungs may make crackling, bubbling, and rumbling sounds when you inhale.
This type of difficulty breathing results in a high-pitched creaking or whistling sound when a child inhales (known as stridor) and a harsh cough that sounds like a seal's bark. This is different than the wheezing that occurs when a child has difficulty breathing air out of the lungs.
These four stages of pneumonia are congestion, red hepatization, gray hepatization, and resolution, respectively.
Children with RSV typically have two to four days of upper respiratory tract symptoms, such as fever and runny nose/congestion. These are then followed by lower respiratory tract symptoms, like increasing wheezing cough that sounds wet and forceful with increased work breathing.
Signs that a chest infection is very serious and requires immediate medical attention include a very high fever, difficulty breathing, blueness around the lips, and confusion or disorientation. A high fever is a temperature of more than 38.9 degrees Celsius in a child or more than 38 degrees Celsius in a baby.
Causes of bronchiolitis
Bronchiolitis is caused by a viral infection, usually the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). RSV is very common and spreads easily in coughs and sneezes. Almost all children have had it by the time they're 2.
What is a chest infection? infections can be mild and will resolve on their own. However in more serious cases children may need to be treated in hospital.
What Is a Bronchitis Cough Like? A bronchitis cough sounds like a rattle with a wheezing or whistling sound. As your condition progresses, you will first have a dry cough that can then progress towards coughing up white mucus.
Seek medical care if your child has any of the following symptoms of RSV: Difficulty breathing or fast breathing with tugging of the chest muscles. Gray or blue-tinged skin color (this typically shows up on the lips and fingernails) Wheezing–a high-pitched noise usually heard when a child exhales.
A ruttle is a coarse, crackling sound which some babies make even when they are well. It is caused by secretions ( snot, saliva, gunk etc) being allowed to pool in the back of the throat.
Call Your Doctor If:
Trouble breathing occurs. Wheezing occurs. Cough lasts more than 3 weeks. You think your child needs to be seen.