Due to the severity of the course of obstructive bronchitis in infants is the second disease, second only to pneumonia. It can be attributed to the most common and rather serious diseases of the upper respiratory tract. The peculiarity of this pathology in children of the first year of life is that because of frequent relapses of the disease there is a risk of developing bronchial asthma, which is a consequence of obstructive bronchitis in infants. However, timely treatment can avoid such complications.
Obstructive bronchitis - what is it?
Obstructive bronchitis is a disease of the bronchial mucosa of an inflammatory nature. With this disease there is a violation of patency of the bronchi - obstructive syndrome, which is accompanied by the accumulation of mucus in the bronchial lumen, resulting in swelling of the mucosa. As a rule, children can develop in 2 forms: chronic and severe. Due to the constant irritation of receptors localized in bronchial mucosa, the child develops a reflex bronchial spasm, which leads to a violation of ventilation, and choking occurs.
Causes of the disease
As a rule, this disease develops against the background of recently transferred infections of a viral origin: tonsillitis, influenza, tonsillitis. The first disease affects the larger bronchi, and then small.
In addition to the above, the causes of the development of obstructive bronchitis in infants can be attributed to the presence of bacterial infections, the causative agents of which are streptococci, morocelles, hemophilic rod .
Often, this pathology is a consequence of the foreign, small object entering the respiratory tract of the crumb. These can be small pieces of food or parts from a toy. Along with them, an infection can enter the body, which remains after the extraction of a foreign body from the respiratory tract. It leads to the development of obstructive bronchitis.
Also, doctors distinguish so-called mixed causes, when pathology is caused immediately by bacteria and viruses. For example, if a baby has a predisposition to allergic reactions, then they can lead to the development of bronchial obstruction.
Signs of obstructive bronchitis in children
Often, the disease begins with difficulty breathing. For children of early age is characterized by acute and rapid development of the disease. The first symptoms of obstructive bronchitis in a baby can be noisy, prolonged breathing and shortness of breath. In such cases, the exhalation is considerably lengthened, while the chest is retracted, and the child can neither breathe nor exhale. Cough is dry and has a paroxysmal character, in rare cases, sputum is observed.
With auscultation, breathing is hard, the wheezing is heard, and in severe forms of the disease they can be heard even from a distance. With time, body temperature increases to subfebrile digits.
Treatment of the disease
Treatment of obstructive bronchitis in infants is a rather complex and lengthy process. At the first signs, urgent hospitalization is necessary. Treatment of this pathology is carried out exclusively in the hospital. At the same therapeutic measures have the following features:
- Hypoallergenic diet. During the treatment of the disease, it is necessary to exclude all products that cause allergies.
- Use of bronchodilators. These drugs relieve spasm of small bronchi. Dosage is prescribed exclusively by a doctor.
- Spasmolytics. Introduced in the form of injections, lead to a reduction in spasm.
- Antibiotic therapy. In the event that the cause of the disease is a bacterial infection, antibiotics are prescribed.
- Expectorants. Used to remove from the bronchi accumulated sputum, which causes their swelling.