What to do if your child is breathing frequently. Measures for heavy breathing

The stability of the functioning of the respiratory system in children is determined by counting the frequency of respiratory movements. Periodic monitoring of respiratory rate allows you to monitor the child’s health status, as well as determine the presence of developmental abnormalities. Often, parents can diagnose rapid breathing in a child along with signs of high temperature. What does this phenomenon indicate, and also how dangerous it is.

Features of breathing frequency

Frequent breathing in a child indicates the occurrence of malfunctions and deviations in the functioning of the body. Rapid breathing in a child is called tachypnea, in which the depth of breaths should be constant, and only their number should increase. If a child breathes frequently, this indicates the development of signs of oxygen deficiency. The body strives to restore the standard process of gas exchange in the body.

Parents can detect temporary signs of tachypnea in a child, which appear mainly before the development of attacks of bronchial asthma. If a child breathes frequently, this does not indicate an independent disease, but rather a symptom of another illness. The following factors influence rapid breathing in children:

1. Age. A baby under the age of 1 year has more rapid breathing than older children. This is due to physiological characteristics.
2. Weight. The greater the baby's weight, the harder it is for him to breathe, which is why obese children experience symptoms of tachypnea.
3. Physical activity. After playing sports, children and adults experience increased breathing, which is absolutely normal and does not indicate serious illness.
4. Well-being. Most illnesses, like colds and nasal congestion, cause increased breathing. A child with nasal congestion breathes heavily, so his breathing quickens to make up for the lack of oxygen in the body.
5. Injuries and individual characteristics of the body. A deviated septum causes the baby to breathe frequently.

Important to know! If parents cannot independently determine the causes of tachypnea in their baby, it is necessary to show him to a doctor for a diagnosis.

Features of determining tachypnea in children

When a child has a high temperature, it is not difficult to determine. It is enough to touch the forehead to understand that the baby has a fever. How can you determine respiratory dysfunction in a baby? In order to count the number of inhalations and exhalations, it is necessary to monitor the movement of the chest. With each rise of the chest, an inhalation is carried out, and with its lowering, carbon dioxide is exhaled.

Doctors recommend counting breaths while the child is sleeping. Sleep is best way when it is necessary to measure temperature and also calculate tachypnea. In a dream, the calculation results are as plausible as possible and appropriate conclusions should be drawn on their basis. Doctors measure breathing using a phonendoscope. In this case, the baby should be in a state of rest, for which parents should distract him, have a conversation or tell a fairy tale. If the baby is afraid, then the results of the calculations will be unreliable and inflated; it is impossible to draw conclusions on them.

In a child’s sleep, the normal values ​​of the “inhale-exhale” indicators are the following values:

• for newborns this figure is 50-60 inhalations and exhalations per minute;
• for babies from 1 to 6 months, the value is 40-50 inhalations/exhalations per minute;
• in children from 6 months to 1 year – 35-45;
• aged 1 to 4 years – 25-35;
• for older children – 20-30.

It won’t be too difficult for parents to calculate tachypnea in their little one on their own. If a child over 10 years of age breathes rapidly at 60 breaths per minute, then this is a direct reason to show the child to a doctor.

Causes of rapid breathing and elevated temperature

Why do infants experience rapid breathing? This is primarily due to the imperfection of the respiratory system. The baby's body adapts to the environment, so if the baby is breathing heavily, there is no reason to worry. The respiratory system of children who were born prematurely will take much longer to mature, which is also a completely normal factor. If, in combination with tachypnea, a child exhibits an increase in temperature, this indicates various diseases. Let us consider these diseases in detail.

Respiratory diseases

Rapid breathing during sleep childhood may be preceded by the development of the following diseases:

1. Colds. These diseases include: influenza, ARVI and colds. Tachypnea is accompanied by fever, cough, runny nose and weakness of the body.
2. Allergic processes. It is difficult for a child to breathe if he is exposed to an irritant. With the development of allergic processes in children, swelling of the larynx is observed, which leads to increased breathing. If help is not provided in a timely manner, the baby may die from lack of oxygen.
3. Bronchial asthma. Increased breathing is observed during an exacerbation of an asthma attack.
4. Pneumonia and pleurisy. With pneumonia, complications arise in children, as a result of which the temperature rises sharply to 39 degrees, and the baby also complains of difficulty breathing. When coughing, mucus may be produced.
5. Tuberculosis. With tuberculosis, the temperature rises to 38 degrees, and symptoms such as coughing and general weakness of the body develop.
6. Chronic form of bronchitis. The main sign of chronic illness is that the cough continues for a long time. When coughing, sputum is expelled along with pus.

Diseases of the cardiovascular system

Tachypnea in a child may indicate the development of pathologies of the heart and blood vessels. The main signs of pathologies of the cardiovascular system are hidden in frequent shortness of breath, weight loss, as well as the occurrence of swelling and weakness. In this case, the child often sighs, and also periodically complains of a strong constant heartbeat and shortness of breath.

Frequent breathing may be accompanied by the development of thromboembolism, which is a blockage of the main blood flow. The disease is extremely rare, but if present, surgical intervention is required.

Important to know! Parents can try to independently determine the causes of tachypnea in their baby, but the diagnosis and treatment must be prescribed by a doctor.

Nervous system disorders

Another reason for the development of tachypnea is nervous overstrain. Children, just like adults, are susceptible to the negative effects of stress. Stressful situations arise for a variety of reasons. Main reasons:

• refusal to attend kindergarten;
• lack of desire to eat semolina porridge;
• building relationships with peers.

With nervous overstrain in children, the development of tachypnea is also observed, complicated by headaches, increased excitability, and lack of appetite. The temperature often does not increase due to the development of stress unless complications arise.

Newborn breathing is of great importance as an indicator of health. The oxygen supply system is a vital function. Especially in children in the first days of life. The structure of the respiratory tract of babies is special: they are still short, so deep inhalations and exhalations are not yet possible. A narrow nasopharynx aggravates the process, so it is extremely important to ensure the most comfortable sleeping conditions. It would be useful to know why a newborn breathes often in his sleep, when is this normal, and what signs indicate abnormalities.

A newborn baby develops very quickly. Human systems and organs grow at an accelerated rate. Therefore, pulse, respiration and blood pressure are always higher than those of an adult. In particular, the child's pulse can be up to 140 beats per minute. The baby's breathing is still shallow, frequent, and uneven. But this should not frighten parents if there are no additional signs of disease.

By the age of 6-7 years, life support systems return to normal, immunity increases, and all diseases are not so difficult to tolerate.

Rapid breathing movements of a baby: normal or pathological

The frequency of inhalations and exhalations on the first day is very high, up to 60 movements. This is called transient hyperventilation and helps the baby adapt to life outside the womb.

Important to know! Fast movements are necessary to remove harmful carbon dioxide. After a short time (several hours), the frequency is up to 40 inhalations and exhalations. This is the norm and does not require correction. Also, intermittency: frequent, rare, weak or with pauses of up to 10 seconds breathing is not considered a deviation.

Jumps and changes are associated with insufficient development of the respiratory nerves, so parents should not worry.

Different types of breathing

So that mom and dad don’t worry about the frequency of movements of the child’s oxygen supply system, you should know about certain types of breathing. There are three of them in total. Let's look at each of them in detail:

1. Breast. With such movements, the upper section actively works. In this case, the baby may suffer from poor ventilation of the lower lungs.
2. Abdominal. This is evidenced by movements of the abdominal wall and diaphragm. And with prolonged breathing of this type the upper parts of the lungs are affected.
3. Mixed. The most optimal type, in which both the abdomen (diaphragm) and chest rise rhythmically.

Standard Frequency and Deviation Parameters

If the little one does not have a stuffy nose, all systems work normally, he should inhale briefly 2-3 times, and then take one long breath. They are all superficial, but this is the norm. As the weeks pass, the breathing system is restored and becomes rhythmic and deep.

The number of movements can be determined by the rise/fall of the baby’s chest at rest:

• up to 21 days of life takes 40-60 inhalations/exhalations;
• in days 22-90 of life – already 40-45 movements per minute;
• from 3 to 6 months their number decreases to 35-40.

Important to know! By the age of one year, the body's oxygen supply systems are formed, and the number of respiratory movements should not exceed 36 units per minute.

Frequent breathing: causes

It is normal for a baby to inhale frequently. But if a newborn baby breathes heavily in his sleep, and the process is accompanied by strange sounds and movements, he may be developing a disease. If the baby twitches, breathing is extremely difficult, with wheezing and additional symptoms, this is a reason to immediately consult a doctor. You should call an ambulance.

The causes of difficulty breathing can be anything: a cold, a stuffy nose, a foreign object or mucus in the nasopharynx, allergic reaction and much more.

Dangerous pathologies and their consequences

Apnea (holding your breath) in an infant is often a natural process. However, there are pathologies that require immediate specialist intervention:

Attention! An ambulance should be called in the following cases:

• groans, whistling, heavy wheezing;
• cough and runny nose accompanied by wheezing chest;
• gurgling in the throat and nose that does not go away for a long time.

And, of course, you should not delay contacting specialists if the child simply does not breathe for more than 20 seconds. Such a stop could result in death.

When not to panic

Understanding the signs serious pathologies, you should know that apnea and other factors are not always caused by diseases. In what cases is it better for parents to calm down and independently help the baby breathe normally? Let's consider all the options for a child's frequent breathing without a threat to health and life:

If the baby's sleep is interrupted by stopping breathing for a few seconds, you can take the baby in your arms, cradle him and gently pat him on the back and bottom - everything will go away.

Breathing problems in premature babies

Babies born before 37 weeks of gestation are called premature. Due to the inferiority of all life support systems, such babies have various problems. The earlier the baby is born, the more attentive the mother should be.

Causes of respiratory disorders:

1. Underdevelopment of the lungs. Organ disorders threaten incomplete opening of tissues, and the baby puts much more effort into breathing. For such children it is necessary to constantly support the system artificial ventilation.
2. Apnea. The main factor here is an insufficiently formed respiratory brain center. But if in an adult such limitation is compensated deep breaths, then the child is still physically unable to breathe deeply, so there is no compensation. This is the main reason why long-term apnea occurs, which also requires vigilant monitoring.

As the baby grows up, all problems are solved naturally, the baby begins to breathe calmly and evenly.

Conditions that help a child breathe normally during sleep

To ensure normal breathing for the newborn and healthy sleep, Dr. Komarovsky advises not to forget about the standard preparation rules:

Sleeping position is also important for normal breathing. Sometimes a child begins to wheeze if he lies on his stomach for a long time. He may bury his nose in the folds of a blanket or a soft pillow and suffocate, since he still does not know how to lift and turn his head.

Advice! You need to turn the baby on his back, lay him on his side, the wheezing sound will disappear, there will be no danger of suffocation. To fix the desired position, you can place a rolled up diaper on the baby’s body.

Conclusion

Knowing what the signs of illness are and when not to worry, any parent should also understand what to do if the child is not breathing. If the apnea is prolonged, the baby needs to be woken up very carefully. This should be done very carefully so that the child does not get scared. If after seconds the baby does not begin to inhale, you should immediately call an ambulance!

A normal, healthy baby should sleep peacefully, waking only to feed. There are few causes of wheezing and breath-holding during sleep without pathologies; everything else leads to significant deviations in the growth and development of the child, and can also threaten his life.

Just recently, the child was actively running around the apartment, frolicking, and suddenly became capricious, became apathetic, and burned like he was on fire. It is enough just to touch the forehead to understand that the child has a fever. How to help your baby?

An increase in temperature (in medical terms, hyperthermic syndrome) is the most common symptom of the disease in children. If a child has a fever, then, first of all, parents should not panic. Temperature is a protective reaction of the body, due to which the body’s immune response to the disease is enhanced, since:

• The activity of leukocytes increases;
• The production of internal interferon increases;
• The bactericidal capacity (bacteria are killed) of the blood increases;
• Metabolism increases, which ensures an accelerated supply of nutrients to the tissues of the body.

No matter how worried you are about your child, you should not lower the temperature if it has not reached 38.5 degrees. Many viruses and bacteria stop reproducing at temperatures above 37 degrees. And such a protective substance as interferon is produced in the body at a temperature of at least 38 degrees. In the past, some infections were even treated by artificially inducing fever. Therefore, it makes sense to endure a fever until certain numbers so that the body develops immunity to the causative agent of the disease.

In addition, an elevated temperature in a child indicates the presence of a pathological process in the body. It is worth remembering that fever plays its protective role only to certain limits. With a progressive rise in temperature, the load on blood circulation and breathing increases significantly, the amount of oxygen in the blood increases and the tissue need for it develops. As a result, hypoxia (lack of oxygen) develops, in which the central nervous system begins to suffer, leading to convulsions. Most often they occur when the child has a high temperature (39-40 degrees).

With a majority bacterial infections(for example, otitis media, pneumonia) the temperature can last for 5 days, and with viral infections it does not subside for 2-3 days. When a child has a fever for 4-5 days, this is a signal that the time has come to see a doctor to prescribe antibiotics.

The most difficult thing to tolerate is the temperature

• Infants (especially 2 months old);
• Children with a history of seizures. Such children need to reduce their temperature starting from 38 degrees;
• Children who have "white" fever due to vasospasm. In this case, you need not only to lower the temperature, but also to rub the child with a dry towel until the skin turns red, the blood vessels will dilate and give off excess heat. Fortunately, this condition is rarely observed.

Diagnostics

• In a child, a temperature of 39 is manifested by subjective symptoms: headache, tinnitus, weakness, palpitations, sometimes along with the temperature the child experiences diarrhea, and there may be convulsions;
• From objective signs hyperthermic syndrome is characterized by severe pallor (“white” hyperthermia) or, on the contrary, redness of the skin (“red” hyperthermia), decreased blood pressure, increased sweating, frequent weak pulse, shortness of breath;
• An increase in a child's temperature to 41-42 is life-threatening, since this condition causes serious cerebral, respiratory, metabolic and cardiovascular disorders. There are also children who do not tolerate temperatures of 38-40;
• The cause of fever in a child is often due to viral respiratory infections. Fever is not always accompanied by a cough or runny nose, but redness of the throat almost always occurs, so the diagnosis is not difficult to make. A new rise in the child’s body temperature against the background of an infection often indicates its complications: pneumonia, urinary tract infections, otitis media, secondary meningitis;
• The child’s temperature that does not decrease, the acute onset of the disease, anxiety (older children complain of severe headaches), repeated vomiting, and bulging fontanel in infants require special attention - these signs may hide a meningococcal infection;
• If there are no symptoms that could cause a fever in the child, it is necessary to examine the urine, since very often this condition is caused by an inflammatory process in the urinary tract;
• Inflammatory diseases of the digestive system occur with a temperature reaction. In this case, the main symptom will be diarrhea (in infants, diarrhea may be a reaction to other diseases);
• In children, fever can also be accompanied by diseases such as scarlet fever, infectious mononucleosis, yersiniosis, chickenpox, viral hepatitis and other infections. To clarify the diagnosis, it is necessary to take into account the course of temperature (wavy, recurrent, etc.) and the conduction additional research and identifying other symptoms (enlarged lymph nodes, liver, spleen, changes in blood tests, the presence of a rash);
• Fever in a child is not always a symptom of some disease. In newborns, fever is often caused by overheating;
• In children with an excited nervous system elevated temperature can be observed quite often in a healthy state.

Types of hyperthermia

• Red hyperthermia (heat production is equal to heat transfer) - the skin is warm to the touch, moist, hyperemic (red);
• White hyperemia (heat production exceeds heat transfer) - pronounced pallor of the skin, a feeling of coldness, a bluish tint to the lips, nail beds, coldness of the extremities.

Types of hyperthermia:

• Subfebrile – 37-38 degrees;
• Moderate - 38-39 degrees;
• High – 39-41 degrees;
• Hyperpyretic – more than 41 degrees.

How to reduce a child's temperature:

• Diaphoretics: tea with linden blossom, tea with honey and raspberries. Give your child fluids as much as possible. A sick child sweats a lot and breathes more often than usual, therefore he loses a lot of moisture, which must be replenished. Drink often, but little by little, so as not to provoke vomiting in the child;
• Wipe the child's body with a damp towel moistened with warm water (heat the water in a water bath). Water, evaporating, increases heat transfer. It is strongly not recommended to use vodka and vinegar for wiping (although in the ambulance, in the old fashioned way, wiping with vinegar and vodka is still recommended), because the child will begin to tremble and the temperature will reflexively rise. In addition, the skin is capable of absorbing substances such as alcohol and vinegar and can cause an allergic reaction;
• Put cold on the area large vessels(in the armpit, groin area, neck area, under the knees and in the elbow area);
• For white hyperemia (vasospasm), take no-shpa;
• At a temperature of 39, a sick child can be wrapped in a damp sheet for 1-5 minutes. But do not expect that the physical cooling method will immediately reduce the child’s temperature; it will drop by 1-1.5 degrees. This is done more in order to improve heat transfer and avoid overheating of vital organs;
• Of the medications, it is best to give the child paracetamol (best in the form of suppositories. In the intestine, due to the well-developed lymphatic and circulatory system, the medicine is quickly absorbed and acts for a long time, bypassing the stomach. This is especially true if the child has vomiting). Compared to analgin, this drug has a minimum side effects. Aspirin is strictly contraindicated for children under 18 years of age to avoid the development of Reye's syndrome - severe damage to the brain and liver. Read product labels carefully, as aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) is contained in approximately 40 cold and flu medications. Analgin, as well as other analgesics, can cause shock (the temperature can drop to 34 degrees) and an allergic state. The medicine can be taken again after 4 hours.

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A newborn breathes frequently in his sleep: why does a child breathe frequently in his sleep?

The mother of a newborn child is constantly overcome by fears. One of them is “why does a newborn breathe often in his sleep? Is this normal? Don't panic. To understand, you need to understand what the physiological characteristics of babies are.

Frequent breathing of a child during sleep: normal or abnormal?

When a newborn appears in the house, parents and relatives closely and closely observe its behavior, sometimes trying to find symptoms of dangerous diseases. They have a lot of questions, in particular, is rapid breathing normal for a baby. Most often, it is the mother who notices that the child is breathing rapidly during sleep.

An adult never monitors how often he breathes: for us, breathing is such a natural process that we do not pay attention to it. Things are different for children, because their breathing rate is radically different from ours.

The breathing of a newborn baby begins to gradually adapt to the environment. Difficulty breathing and disruption of its rhythm can cause colds, improper speech development, and lead to serious health problems.

Norms of respiratory rate in newborns and children

During sleep, the baby breathes unevenly and frequently. Inhales abruptly - it seems that in one breath he cannot satisfy his need for oxygen; Due to the large number of breaths, snoring is observed and the nasal mucosa dries out. Sometimes many short breaths, varying in duration, follow each other in a row, and then a long one (10-15 seconds). Sometimes it seems to parents that the child has stopped breathing altogether, but the rhythm resumes again. If a baby breathes frequently during sleep, then this is considered normal and can be observed during the first month of life, but in weakened and premature babies, breathing can remain frequent and intermittent for a very long time. The fact that the child takes frequent breaths is easy to explain: his breathing is shallow, he is not yet able to fully supply the blood with oxygen in one breath.

If you want to know how many breaths your baby takes during sleep, carefully monitor his chest and count the number of movements. It is considered normal for a newborn to take from 40 to 60 breaths per minute, so it seems that the child is breathing very quickly in his sleep. The neonatal period lasts up to 28 days. Then gradually the breathing rate begins to decrease: a two-month-old baby takes from 35 to 48 breaths per minute, from 6 months to a year - from 30 to 40 breaths, from 2 years to 4 - 20-30 breaths, from 8 to 12 years – 23-31 breaths, after 12 years – only 18-20 breaths.

The main causes of rapid breathing

Rapid breathing (tachypnea) of a newborn is due to the imperfection of the respiratory system, because it continues to develop. Over the next two to three months, the lungs open, and as a result, the number of inhalations and exhalations begins to decrease.

Tachypnea of ​​the newborn is normal phenomenon both for infants born at term and for premature babies.

Rapid breathing is also observed with increased physical activity. In all other cases, it indicates deviations in the child’s health.

Diseases that cause rapid breathing

1. Apnea. First, the child begins to wheeze, then he holds his breath for a long time. It returns to normal on its own, but sometimes the baby’s legs, arms, and lips begin to acquire a bluish tint, and he loses consciousness, which indicates oxygen starvation. If you notice such a condition in a child in a dream, you must quickly call an ambulance, because oxygen starvation is very dangerous for a newborn: it can lead to big problems with health and developmental disabilities.
2. Diseases of the respiratory system. These include colds, which are characterized by a runny nose, fever, cough, hoarse voice, and general weakness. In this case, due to swelling of the nasal mucosa, the child sniffles in his sleep and his breathing frequency is disrupted.
3. Bronchial asthma. Rapid breathing during sleep appears before an attack.
4. Allergy. Not considered a direct disease respiratory organs, but can manifest itself through them. An increase in the number of breaths appears when the mucous membrane swells, the baby begins to sigh frequently, which indicates a lack of oxygen.
5. Chronic bronchitis. The main signs of the disease are a cough that lasts up to two months (wet in the morning, with the discharge of purulent sputum), and heavy breathing.
6. Pneumonia. Difficulty breathing, slight fever and cough are observed. Older children may complain that they have trouble breathing.
7. Tuberculosis. Main symptoms: loss of appetite, weakness, slight increase in temperature, constant coughing, noisy breathing in the child.
8. Cardiovascular diseases. Tachypnea sometimes indicates heart disease, with the child breathing frequently during sleep, experiencing weight loss and shortness of breath even after minor physical exertion.
9. Nervous tension. With severe stress and hysteria, the breathing process is disrupted. It becomes noisy, the child sighs heavily, his appetite increases or, conversely, his appetite disappears, headaches begin to bother him, irritability, tearfulness appear, and sleep is disturbed.

Make it a rule that if you suspect a dangerous disease in an infant or discover an illness, immediately contact your local pediatrician.

How to help your child breathe properly.

Correct and uniform breathing promotes stable gas exchange in the lungs and has a calming effect. Many adults in a stressful situation use this breathing technique: inhale deeply and exhale slowly. In this case, active oxygen saturation occurs and the person gradually calms down. This technique also applies to children. If your child is having a tantrum, ask him to take a deep breath and exhale slowly. The baby will be distracted, and as a result his breathing will normalize.

Rapid and shallow breathing infant at night indicates a lack of oxygen. The child sniffles in his sleep, it seems that he does not have enough air. The first month of a baby’s life is very difficult, because he experiences active development lungs, and therefore the respiratory rate is constantly changing. This is completely normal: the newborn is trying to take in more oxygen to saturate the blood in order to prevent oxygen deficiency in the body.

Respiration rate is affected not only physiological processes, but also external factors. When dressing your child in pajamas, pay attention to whether it is comfortable enough for the baby, whether it restricts his movements, whether the collar is free, and what material it is made of. Choose only natural fabrics. It is advisable for the child to sleep in it once during the day, and you watch him. After making sure that everything is fine, you can put it on at night.

It is necessary to monitor temperature conditions and humidity in the room. Snorting while sleeping at night indicates dry air in the room. A comfortable temperature for both a newborn and older children should vary from 18 to 22 degrees, air humidity - from 50 to 60%. With optimal humidity, the nasal mucosa will not dry out and the child will breathe freely. When the air is dry, the child begins to sniffle, and viruses accumulate in the nose. The result is a runny nose, difficulty breathing, lack of oxygen and poor sleep at night.

In the cold season, you need to ventilate the room twice a day, and in warm times, leave the window open around the clock for good air circulation. Pay special attention to your baby's crib: the mattress should be hard; a pillow is not needed at all in the first year of life.

In the first month of life, a newborn should sleep only on his side. If he turns over on his stomach, he must be returned to his original position, since he cannot yet consciously turn his head during sleep so as not to suffocate.

The child rests his nose on the mattress, begins to snore, and the frequency and rhythm of breathing are disrupted due to lack of oxygen.

Does your child breathe frequently in his sleep? No need to panic ahead of time! It is worth observing his behavior and state of health, and if any doubts arise, it is better to consult a pediatrician for advice.

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Respiratory rate in children

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We never think about how many inhalations and exhalations we take in a certain period of time, since for us this is a natural and familiar process. However, we often worry about how well our children are breathing and what their breathing rate is. Mothers of infants are the most worried about this, because respiratory system A very tiny baby is just beginning to adapt to the world around him. Disruption of the respiratory rhythm can cause frequent colds, improper speech development and a host of other health problems for the child. This is why it is so important to monitor your baby's breathing rate.

Norms of respiratory rate in children

There are certain norms for the respiratory rate in children, by which you can track how correctly the child’s respiratory system is working. Of course, a pediatrician can best calculate a child’s breathing rate, but you can determine it yourself by carefully observing the movements of the baby’s chest. Thus, a newborn baby takes on average 40 to 60 breaths per minute. Gradually, their frequency decreases and by the age of two months the baby is already taking from 35 to 50 breaths per minute. By the age of one year, the number of breaths per minute can be reduced to 28; the respiratory rate of an adult is from 12 to 20 breaths per minute. Below is a table that describes the average respiratory rate in children.

If the child has rapid breathing, rapid breathing in the child

If the cause of rapid breathing in a child is any infectious disease that disrupts the functioning of the baby’s respiratory system, then, as a rule, the child’s rapid breathing is accompanied by other symptoms, such as wheezing or whistling with each exhalation and inhalation. Often the cause of rapid breathing in a child can be an increase in body temperature. In this case, you should immediately seek help from a doctor to rule out dangerous diseases such as pneumonia and croup.

Frequent breathing in a child is also observed during physical fatigue. In this case, you should not worry; such a reaction is considered normal for both your baby and an adult.

If a child holds his breath while sleeping

Parents often encounter a situation where a child holds his breath while sleeping, i.e. sleep apnea in an infant. It is characterized by the fact that the child holds his breath for a long time during sleep. In most cases, the child’s breathing recovers on its own, but it also happens that it is accompanied by loss of consciousness, the baby’s lips and limbs begin to turn blue, which indicates a lack of oxygen in the body. We wrote about how to help your baby during an attack of sleep apnea in one of our articles. If you notice that your child has long delay breathing, you should immediately call an ambulance, as this condition can lead to irreversible consequences.

Features of respiratory rate in children under one year old

The breathing rate of a newborn baby deserves a separate discussion, since its rhythm is very different from how an adult breathes. Often, watching a sleeping baby, parents begin to worry because the child’s breathing is intermittent and uneven: he takes several frequent breaths, then one deep one. In fact, this phenomenon is quite normal, it does not indicate the development of any pathology in the baby, since the child’s respiratory system is still at the maturation stage, he is still learning to breathe correctly. By about two months, infants have established the desired rhythm and their breathing becomes even.

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Everything about rapid breathing in humans - causes, treatment and types

Rapid breathing is a symptom that develops in humans with a variety of diseases. In this case, the frequency of respiratory movements increases to 60 or more per minute. This phenomenon is also called tachypnea. In adults, rapid breathing is not accompanied by a disturbance in its rhythm or the appearance of other clinical signs. With this symptom, the frequency of inhalation only increases and the depth of inspiration decreases. Newborns can also experience a similar condition – transient tachypnea.

Human breathing depends on:

• age;
• body weight;
• individual anatomical features;
• conditions (rest, sleep, high physical activity, pregnancy, fever, etc.);
• the presence of chronic diseases and severe pathologies.

Normally, the frequency of respiratory movements during wakefulness for an adult is 16–20 per minute, while for a child it is up to 40.

• 1 Reasons
• 2 Types and symptoms
• 3 Transient tachypnea
• 4 Treatment

Reasons

Tachypnea develops if the oxygen content in the blood decreases and the amount of carbon dioxide increases. The respiratory center is stimulated in medulla oblongata. At the same time, the number increases nerve impulses to the muscles of the chest. The resulting high respiratory rate may also be due to the presence of a number of diseases or psycho-emotional conditions.

Diseases that cause rapid breathing:

• bronchial asthma;
• chronic bronchial obstruction;
• pneumonia;
• exudative pleurisy;
• pneumothorax (closed or open);
• myocardial infarction;
• coronary heart disease;
• increased thyroid function (hyperthyroidism);
• brain tumors;
• Tietze syndrome and rib pathology.

Other reasons:

• pulmonary embolism;
• fever;
• acute pain;
• heart defects;
• chest injury;
• hysteria, panic attack, stress, shock;
• altitude sickness;
• medicines;
• drug overdose;
• acidosis due to metabolic disorders, including ketoacidosis due to diabetes;
• anemia;
• central lesion nervous system.

Types and symptoms

Tachypnea is divided into physiological and pathological. Increased breathing during sports and physical activity is considered normal. A high frequency of respiratory movements during illness is already a sign of pathology. Tachypnea often progresses to shortness of breath. At the same time, breathing ceases to be shallow, the inhalation deepens.

If tachypnea develops into shortness of breath that occurs only when lying on the side, heart disease can be suspected. Increased breathing at rest may indicate pulmonary artery thrombosis. When lying on your back, shortness of breath occurs due to airway obstruction.

Pathological increased breathing in the absence of treatment often leads to hyperventilation, that is, the oxygen content in a person’s blood begins to exceed the norm. The following symptoms appear:

• dizziness;
• weakness;
• darkening of the eyes;
• muscle spasms of the limbs;
• tingling sensation in the fingertips and area around the mouth.

Very often, tachypnea occurs with acute respiratory viral infections, acute respiratory infections, and influenza. In this case, increased breathing is accompanied by the following symptoms: increased body temperature, chills, cough, runny nose and others.

Also, one of the most common variants of tachypnea is nervous excitement during stress or panic. It is difficult for a person to breathe, speak, and there is a feeling of chills.

Sometimes tachypnea can be a sign of developing dangerous condition or complications of a serious illness. If a person regularly has rapid breathing, along with the appearance of weakness, chills, chest pain, dry mouth, high fever and other symptoms, you should definitely consult a doctor.

Transient tachypnea

Transient tachypnea is an increase in breathing that develops in newborns in the first hours of life. The child breathes heavily and frequently, with wheezing. The skin turns blue due to lack of oxygen in the blood.

Transient tachypnea occurs more often in children born at term by caesarean section. Fluid in the lungs is absorbed slowly at birth, causing rapid breathing. Tachypnea in newborns does not require treatment. The child recovers within 1 to 3 days due to the natural disappearance of the cause. To maintain the normal condition of the child, additional oxygen supply is needed.

Read also: rapid breathing in a child.

Treatment

To treat tachypnea in psychoemotional disorders, the following drugs are used:

• "Alprazolam";
• "Doxepin";
• "Paroxetine."

To reduce the breathing rate that occurs during stress, use a paper bag. Don't forget to make a small hole at the bottom to allow small quantity fresh air. It is enough to breathe into the bag for 3 – 5 minutes, and the speed of breathing movements will level out.

If tachypnea is caused by illness or emergency condition, you need to eliminate the cause and carry out symptomatic treatment diseases. It is very important to detect the development of heart failure early. In this case, increased breathing occurs when lying down.

Treatment for emergency conditions, diseases of the heart, respiratory, endocrine and other systems should only be carried out by a doctor.

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Rapid breathing

Rapid breathing is an increased rate of respiratory movements, which normally should be no more than fifteen times per minute. It is considered rapid if such fluctuations exceed sixty times per minute.

Such a sign, regardless of physiological or pathological origin, is caused by excitation of the respiratory center. In addition, breathing rate depends on several factors.

The basis clinical picture, in addition to the main manifestation, will constitute the most characteristic symptoms the illness that acted as the main cause. It is most dangerous if such a symptom occurs at night during sleep. To establish the correct diagnosis, several laboratory tests and instrumental examinations of the patient will be required. In addition, physical examination plays an important role.

Treatment in the vast majority of cases is limited conservative methods, but sometimes surgery may be necessary.

Etiology

The mechanism for the occurrence of such a symptom is the excitation of the respiratory center, which can occur against the background of any illness or wear reflexive character.

It often occurs against the background of hyperventilation - this is a condition characterized by frequent and short shallow breaths. They form in the upper part of the sternum and lead to a decrease in carbon dioxide in the blood.

The causes of tachypnea can be caused by diseases and pathological conditions, among which are:

The second category of predisposing factors for the appearance of frequent respiratory movements are those sources that are in no way related to the presence of a particular illness in a person. These include:

• abuse of certain drugs;
• prolonged exposure to stressful situations or nervous strain - this is the most common reason for the appearance of such a symptom in a child;
• excessive physical activity.

Separately, it is worth highlighting transient rapid breathing in a newborn. A similar condition develops in infants in the first few hours after birth. At the same time, they breathe heavily and frequently, and this condition is often accompanied by wheezing when inhaling or exhaling. Due to oxygen deficiency, the skin acquires a bluish tint.

This disorder in the vast majority of cases develops in children born by cesarean section. Main reason rapid breathing the child has slow absorption of fluid in the lungs.

Normal breathing rate in children

Tachypnea in an infant does not require specific treatment. The baby recovers on his own in about three days. This occurs against the background of the natural disappearance of the predisposing factor. However, in order to maintain the normal condition of the infant, additional oxygen supply will be required.

The frequency of respiratory movements depends on several factors, which include:

• individual anatomical features adult or child;
• general condition of the body;
• age category of the person;
• body mass index;
• presence of chronic diseases in the medical history;
• the course of severe pathologies.

Normally, the respiratory rate in adults can reach twenty times per minute, while for children a value of forty times per minute is completely normal.

Classification

Depending on the etiological factor, rapid breathing is divided into:

• pathological;
• physiological.

Their main difference is the presence of shortness of breath at rest or in a horizontal position, which indicates the development of a serious illness.

Symptoms

Rapid breathing often acts as the first clinical manifestation, but it will almost never be the only one. Thus, as additional symptoms may act:

• severe headaches and dizziness;
• increase in body temperature - at fever, profuse cold sweat is often observed;
• joint and muscle weakness;
• general malaise and decreased performance;
• darkening of the eyes;
• tingling in the fingertips or area around the mouth;
• cough and runny nose - when coughing, expectoration of sputum may be observed. It can be either cloudy or transparent. In addition, it may have a greenish-yellow tint, as well as admixtures of blood or pus;
• chills and dry mouth;
• pale skin;
• shortness of breath - appears not only during physical activity, but also in a horizontal position, in particular after sleep;
• speech impairment;
• pain and discomfort in the chest;
• numbness of the upper or lower extremities;
• attacks of loss of consciousness;
• heart rate disturbance;
• causeless anxiety and panic;
• decreased or complete lack of appetite;
• the appearance of sounds uncharacteristic of breathing, for example, wheezing, whistling or other noises.

Such symptoms can be attributed to both adults and children, but it must be borne in mind that some of the above signs may be completely absent or fade into the background.

To alleviate the patient’s condition, you can use a regular paper bag, which will help slightly normalize gas exchange in the lungs. To do this, make a small hole in it, after which you breathe slowly, evenly and calmly into it for five minutes. After this time, the normal breathing rhythm is restored. However, this technique should not become an alternative to medical care every time you experience rapid breathing.

Diagnostics

If rapid breathing occurs in an adult or child, especially during sleep, it is necessary to seek qualified help as soon as possible. Due to the fact that a large number of different factors can cause such a manifestation, the following is competent in the matter of diagnosis and prescribing appropriate treatment:

Establishing a correct diagnosis requires integrated approach, which includes:

Fiberoptic bronchoscopy

• studying the patient's medical history and life history;
• thorough physical examination and listening using special instruments;
• a detailed survey of the patient - to identify the first time of appearance and intensity of the main symptom, the presence of concomitant symptoms;
• general and biochemical blood test;
• laboratory examination of sputum, if available;
• radiography and ultrasound;
• fibrobronchoscopy;
• CT and MRI.

Depending on what disease or pathological condition will be identified during primary diagnosis, an adult patient or a child may be prescribed consultations with doctors from specialized fields of medicine and additional specific laboratory and instrumental examinations.

Treatment

To get rid of the fact that respiratory movements become more frequent, it is necessary to eliminate the provoking disease. Most often patients are shown:

• physiotherapy;
• oxygen therapy;
• pulmonary rehabilitation;
• respiratory support;
• ensuring physical and emotional peace;
• use of anxiolytic drugs.

The treatment regimen, as well as the question of surgical intervention, will be decided individually for each patient. When planning treatment, several factors are taken into account - the severity of the disease that caused rapid breathing, the general condition of the patient and his age category.

Prevention

The following will help prevent the occurrence of such a rather specific clinical manifestation: preventive measures:

• maintaining a healthy and moderately active lifestyle;
• avoiding stress and emotional stress;
• taking medications only as prescribed by the clinician, with strict adherence to the dosage and duration of treatment;
• timely identification and elimination of those diseases that can lead to rapid breathing;
• Regularly undergoing a full medical examination several times a year - this must be done for both adults and children.

Given the fact that tachypnea often develops due to the severe course of a particular disease, there is no clear answer to the question about favorable prognosis does not exist. Anyway early diagnosis and comprehensive treatment increase the chances of a positive outcome. However, patients should not forget that ignoring the symptoms of any disease can lead to the development of life-threatening complications.

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The rhythm and depth of inhalation and exhalation is one of the indicators of health, and any deviations from the norm indicate a violation of external respiration. Tachypnea is one of these pathological disorders that occurs due to oxygen starvation. During an attack of tachypnea, a person breathes faster than usual. Tachypnea does not apply true diseases, usually manifests itself as a symptom of another disease or is physiological in nature. What causes cases of rapid breathing in children?

You should immediately take into account that children of different ages They breathe differently, only by the age of 13-14 the number of inhalations and exhalations over a certain period of time becomes the same as adults. The following children's norms have been established for one minute (breaths need to be counted):

• for newborns – 50-60;
• up to 6 months – 40-50;
• up to a year – 35-45;
• up to 4 years – 25-35;
• up to 10 years – 20-30;
• further – 18-20.

It is better to count the number of inhalations and exhalations when the child is sleeping. In addition to reasons related to age, rapid breathing in children may be associated with an individual structural feature of organs or be signs of illness. In obese children, the respiratory rate is higher thanamong peersWith normal weight bodies.

Why do children experience rapid breathing?

In newborns, rapid breathing is considered normal, and this applies to children born at or before their due date. Immediately after birth, absolutely all babies have narrowed airways, and because of this feature, the body needs to make more breathing movements. During the first months of life, the pathways gradually widen, after which the frequency begins to decrease. For babies born prematurely, this takes longer. If irregular breathing rhythm is not associated with age or physical activity, it is a sign of health problems.

Respiratory system diseases

Often the cause of tachypnea is diseases of the respiratory system itself, since malfunctions of the organs directly affect the breathing rate. To determine which disease is causing tachypnea, pay attention to the presence of the following symptoms:

1. Runny nose, fever, weakness, cough. In children who are often sick colds, breathing problems are more likely.
2. Dry cough, complaints of lack of air. In combination with rapid breathing, such symptoms indicate allergic attack. During an attack, the laryngeal mucosa swells, making it difficult to breathe.
3. Cough, wheezing, shortness of breath. These are signs of an asthma attack.
4. Fever, weakness, periodic cough. The described symptoms in combination with tachypnea are characteristic of tuberculosis.
5. Difficulty breathing, cough, fever. With such complaints, it is possible bronchial pneumonia or pleurisy.
6. Protracted cough with copious expectoration, wheezing. Similar symptoms are characteristic of chronic bronchitis.

Cardiovascular diseases

When tachypnea occurs due to heart problems, it can be easily understood. Children with heart and vascular diseases tend to experience general weakness and may complain of a jumping heart. As a rule, they have difficulty gaining weight. After some physical activity or talking, breathing becomes faster.

Pulmonary embolism is one of the serious pathologies requiring urgent hospitalization. When the disease occurs, oxygen stops flowing into the lungs, completely or partially. Among children similar pathology occurs infrequently. Development is promoted by tumor formations, obesity, intake hormonal drugs adolescents, prolonged bed rest after surgery or injury.

Nervous system

The children's nervous system is more susceptible; a stressful state can even provoke a morning rise to kindergarten. Tachypnea in a state of nervous overexcitation is explained as follows: the amount of cortisol (stress hormone) in the body increases, after which the walls of blood vessels narrow and pressure increases. As a result, the pulse and breathing increase. A child in this state may breathe rapidly, sweat profusely, cry, and also complain of headaches, fatigue, or lack of appetite.

Treatment in such situations is not provided, as this is a normal reaction of the body. Too frequent stress is a direct path to neurosis; such conditions should be avoided as often as possible.

How to treat tachypnea

To get rid of rapid breathing, you need to treat the diseases that provoke it. To do this, it is recommended to visit a pediatrician for an initial consultation, after which he can send you to an allergist, pulmonologist, cardiologist or neurologist to confirm the diagnosis.

Reasons for visiting the clinic include chest pain, breathing problems, dry mouth or abnormal behavioral reactions. Even in the absence of any other symptoms, it is advisable to visit a doctor to rule out hidden pathologies.

Disease prevention

To prevent the occurrence of tachypnea in children, diseases that contribute to its occurrence should be prevented. Children with low immunity are more likely to suffer from respiratory diseases, in which breathing is impaired due to swelling of the respiratory passages and nasal congestion. Strengthen children's immunity to exclude them. Do special exercises that will strengthen your lungs and protect you from attacks of tachypnea in the future.

Infants have difficulty breathing due to their age, and in addition, they are not able to independently clear the nasal passages of excess mucus. Keep an eye on your baby's nose to keep it clean.

A daily routine and proper balanced nutrition are the basis of prevention for older children. In addition, you need to ensure sufficient physical activity and limit communication with the computer to the permitted limits.

How to quickly help a child with tachypnea

An attack of tachypnea can be stopped independently. To do this, you will need a regular paper bag, in the bottom of which you make a hole with your finger. After this, the child must breathe through the bag for some time. After about 5 minutes, breathing stabilizes.

The procedure is quite simple, but it can only be used if the baby is old enough for it. Infants with an attack of tachypnea, it is best to call an ambulance. Frequent breathing may be a consequence of serious health problems. Young children are not able to voice their complaints, so if you suspect tachypnea, it is better to take them to the doctor.

We will talk about why this can happen and what to do in each specific situation in this article.

Peculiarities

Children breathe completely differently than adults. Firstly, babies breathe more superficially and shallowly. The volume of air inhaled will increase as the child grows; in babies it is very small. Secondly, it is more frequent, because the volume of air is still small.

The airways in children are narrower and have a certain deficiency of elastic tissue.

This often leads to disruption of the excretory function of the bronchi. When you have a cold or a viral infection, active immune processes begin in the nasopharynx, larynx, and bronchi aimed at fighting the invading virus. Mucus is produced, the task of which is to help the body cope with the disease, “bind” and immobilize foreign “guests”, and stop their progress.

Due to the narrowness and inelasticity of the airways, the outflow of mucus can be difficult. Children born prematurely most often experience respiratory problems in childhood. Due to the weakness of the entire nervous system in general and the respiratory system in particular, they have a much higher risk of developing serious pathologies - bronchitis, pneumonia.

Babies breathe mainly through their “belly”, that is, at an early age, due to the high position of the diaphragm, abdominal breathing predominates.

At 4 years old, chest breathing begins to develop. By age 10, most girls are breathing from the chest, and most boys are breathing diaphragmatically (belly). A child’s oxygen needs are much higher than the needs of an adult, because babies actively grow, move, and significantly more transformations and changes occur in their bodies. To provide all organs and systems with oxygen, the baby needs to breathe more often and more actively; for this, there should be no pathological changes in his bronchi, trachea and lungs.

Any reason, even a seemingly insignificant one (stuffy nose, sore throat, sore throat), can complicate a child’s breathing. During illness, it is not so much the abundance of bronchial mucus that is dangerous, but its ability to quickly thicken. If, with a stuffy nose, the baby breathes through his mouth at night, then with a high degree of probability, the next day the mucus will begin to thicken and dry out.

Violate external breathing A child can suffer not only from illness, but also from the quality of the air he breathes. If the climate in the apartment is too hot and dry, if parents turn on the heater in the children's bedroom, then there will be many times more problems with breathing. Too humid air will also not benefit the baby.

Oxygen deficiency in children develops faster than in adults, and this does not necessarily require the presence of some serious illness.

Sometimes a little swelling or slight stenosis is enough, and now the little one develops hypoxia. Absolutely all parts of the children's respiratory system have significant differences from the adult one. This explains why children under 10 years of age most often suffer from respiratory illnesses. After 10 years, the incidence declines, with the exception of chronic pathologies.

Major breathing problems in children are accompanied by several symptoms that are understandable to every parent:

• the child’s breathing has become harsh and noisy;
• the baby is breathing heavily - inhalations or exhalations are given with visible difficulty;
• the breathing frequency changed - the child began to breathe less often or more often;
• wheezing appeared.

The reasons for such changes may vary. And only a doctor in tandem with a specialist can establish the true laboratory diagnostics. We will try to tell you in general terms what reasons most often underlie changes in breathing in a child.

Varieties

Depending on the nature, experts identify several types of difficulty breathing.

Hard breathing

Hard breathing in the medical understanding of this phenomenon is such respiratory movements in which the inhalation is clearly audible, but the exhalation is not. It should be noted that hard breathing - physiological norm for small children. Therefore, if the child does not have a cough, runny nose or other symptoms of illness, then there is no need to worry. The baby is breathing within the age norm.

Rigidity depends on age - the younger the toddler, the harsher his breathing. This is due to insufficient development of the alveoli and muscle weakness. The baby usually breathes noisily, and this is quite normal. In most children, breathing softens by the age of 4, in some it may remain quite harsh. However, after this age, the breathing of a healthy child always softens.

If a child’s exhalation noise is accompanied by a cough and other symptoms of illness, then we can talk about a large list of possible ailments.

Most often, such breathing accompanies bronchitis and bronchopneumonia. If the exhalation is heard as clearly as the inhalation, then you should definitely consult a doctor. Such harsh breathing will not be the norm.

Hard breathing with a wet cough is typical during the recovery period after an acute respiratory viral infection. As a residual phenomenon, such breathing indicates that not all excess phlegm has yet left the bronchi. If there is no fever, runny nose or other symptoms, and hard breathing is accompanied by a dry and unproductive cough, this may be an allergic reaction to some antigen. With influenza and ARVI at the very initial stage, breathing can also become hard, but the obligatory accompanying symptoms will be sharp increase fever, liquid clear discharge from the nose, possibly redness of the throat and tonsils.

Heavy breathing

Heavy breathing usually makes it difficult to inhale. Such difficulty breathing causes the greatest concern among parents, and this is not at all in vain, because normally, in a healthy child, inhalation should be audible, but light, it should be given to the child without difficulty. In 90% of all cases of difficulty breathing when inhaling, the cause lies in a viral infection. These are familiar influenza viruses and various ARVIs. Sometimes heavy breathing accompanies serious diseases such as scarlet fever, diphtheria, measles and rubella. But in this case, changes in inhalation will not be the first sign of the disease.

Usually, heavy breathing does not develop immediately, but as the infectious disease develops.

With influenza it may appear on the second or third day, with diphtheria - on the second, with scarlet fever - by the end of the first day. Separately, it is worth mentioning such a cause of difficulty in breathing as croup. It can be true (for diphtheria) and false (for all other infections). Intermittent breathing in this case is explained by the presence of laryngeal stenosis in the area of ​​the vocal folds and in nearby tissues. The larynx narrows, and depending on the degree of croup (how narrowed the larynx is) depends on how difficult it will be to inhale.

Heavy, intermittent breathing is usually accompanied by shortness of breath. It can be observed both during exercise and at rest. The voice becomes hoarse and sometimes disappears completely. If the child breathes convulsively, jerkily, while inhalation is clearly difficult, clearly audible, when trying to inhale, the skin above the collarbone slightly sinks, you should immediately call an ambulance.

Croup is extremely dangerous; it can lead to immediate respiratory failure and suffocation.

You can help a child only within the limits of pre-medical first aid - open all the windows, ensure a flow of fresh air (and don’t be afraid that it’s winter outside!), lay the child on his back, try to calm him down, since excess excitement makes breathing even more difficult and makes the situation worse. All this is done while the ambulance team is on its way to the baby.

Of course, it is useful to be able to intubate the trachea yourself at home using improvised means; in the event of a child suffocating, this will help save his life. But not every father or mother will be able to overcome fear and use a kitchen knife to make an incision in the trachea area and insert the spout of a porcelain teapot into it. This is how intubation is done for life-saving reasons.

Heavy breathing along with a cough in the absence of fever and signs of a viral disease may indicate asthma.

General lethargy, lack of appetite, shallow and small breaths, pain when trying to breathe deeper may indicate the onset of a disease such as bronchiolitis.

Rapid breathing

A change in breathing rate is usually in favor of faster breathing. Rapid breathing is always a clear symptom of a lack of oxygen in the child’s body. In medical terminology, rapid breathing is called “tachypnea.” A disruption in respiratory function can occur at any time; sometimes parents may notice that a baby or newborn is breathing frequently in their sleep, while the breathing itself is shallow, similar to what happens to a dog that is “out of breath.”

Any mother can detect the problem without much difficulty. However, you should not try to look for the cause of tachypnea on your own; this is the task of specialists.

The breathing rate norms for children of different ages are as follows:

• from 0 to 1 month - from 30 to 70 breaths per minute;
• from 1 to 6 months - from 30 to 60 breaths per minute;
• from six months - from 25 to 40 breaths per minute;
• from 1 year - from 20 to 40 breaths per minute;
• from 3 years - from 20 to 30 breaths per minute;
• from 6 years - from 12 to 25 breaths per minute;
• from 10 years and older - from 12 to 20 breaths per minute.

The technique for counting breathing rate is quite simple.

It is enough for the mother to arm herself with a stopwatch and put her hand on the child’s chest or tummy (this depends on the age, since at an early age abdominal breathing predominates, and at an older age it can be replaced by chest breathing. You need to count how many times the child will inhale (and the chest or stomach will rise - will fall) in 1 minute. Then you should check the age standards presented above and draw a conclusion. If there is an excess, this is an alarming symptom of tachypnea, and you should consult a doctor.

Quite often, parents complain about their baby’s frequent intermittent breathing, not being able to distinguish tachypnea from simple shortness of breath. Doing this in the meantime is quite simple. You should carefully observe whether the baby’s inhalations and exhalations are always rhythmic. If rapid breathing is rhythmic, then we are talking about tachypnea. If it slows down and then accelerates, the child breathes unevenly, then we should talk about the presence of shortness of breath.

The causes of increased breathing in children are often neurological or psychological in nature.

Severe stress, which the baby cannot express in words due to age and insufficient vocabulary and imaginative thinking, still needs a way out. In most cases, children begin to breathe more often. This is considered physiological tachypnea; the disorder does not pose any particular danger. The neurological nature of tachypnea should be considered first of all, remembering what events preceded the change in the nature of inhalations and exhalations, where the baby was, who he met, whether he had severe fear, resentment, or hysteria.

The second most common cause of rapid breathing lies in diseases of the respiratory system, primarily bronchial asthma. Such periods of increased inhalation are sometimes harbingers of periods of difficulty breathing, episodes of respiratory failure characteristic of asthma. Frequent fractional breaths quite often accompany chronic respiratory ailments, for example, chronic bronchitis. However, the increase does not occur during remission, but during exacerbations. And along with this symptom, the baby has other symptoms - cough, elevated body temperature (not always!), decreased appetite and general activity, weakness, fatigue.

The most serious reason frequent inhalation and exhalation lies in diseases of the cardiovascular system. It happens that it is possible to detect pathologies of the heart only after the parents bring the baby to an appointment regarding increased breathing. That is why, if the frequency of breathing is disturbed, it is important to have the child examined in a medical institution, and not to self-medicate.

Hoarseness

Poor breathing with wheezing always indicates that there is an obstacle in the respiratory tract to the passage of air. A foreign body that the child inadvertently inhaled, dried bronchial mucus if the child was treated for cough incorrectly, and narrowing of any part of the respiratory tract, so-called stenosis, can get in the way of the air.

The wheezing is so varied that you have to try hard to give correct description what parents hear performed by their own child.

Wheezing is described by duration, tone, coincidence with inhalation or exhalation, and the number of tones. The task is not easy, but if you successfully cope with it, you can understand what exactly the child is sick with.

The fact is that wheezing for different diseases is quite unique and peculiar. And they actually have a lot to say. Thus, wheezing (dry wheezing) may indicate a narrowing of the airway, and moist wheezing (noisy gurgling accompaniment of the breathing process) may indicate the presence of fluid in the respiratory tract.

If the obstruction occurs in a bronchus with a wide diameter, the wheezing tone is lower, bassier, and muffled. If the thin bronchi are clogged, then the tone will be high, with a whistle when exhaling or inhaling. With pneumonia and other pathological conditions leading to changes in tissues, wheezing is noisier and louder. If there is no severe inflammation, then the child’s wheezing is quieter, more muffled, sometimes barely audible. If a child wheezes, as if sobbing, this always indicates the presence of excess moisture in the respiratory tract. Experienced doctors can diagnose the nature of wheezing by ear using a phonendoscope and tapping.

It happens that wheezing is not pathological. Sometimes they can be noticed in an infant up to one year old, both in a state of activity and at rest. The baby breathes with a bubbling “accompaniment”, and also noticeably “grunts” at night. This occurs due to the congenital individual narrowness of the airways. Such wheezing should not alarm parents unless there are accompanying painful symptoms. As the child grows, the airways will grow and expand, and the problem will disappear on its own.

In all other situations, wheezing is always warning sign, which necessarily requires examination by a doctor.

Moist, gurgling wheezes of varying severity may accompany:

• bronchial asthma;
• problems of the cardiovascular system, heart defects;
• lung diseases, including edema and tumors;
• acute renal failure;
• chronic respiratory diseases - bronchitis, obstructive bronchitis;
• ARVI and influenza;
• tuberculosis.

Dry whistling or barking rales are more often characteristic of bronchiolitis, pneumonia, laryngitis, pharyngitis and may even indicate the presence of a foreign body in the bronchi. The method of listening to wheezing - auscultation - helps in making the correct diagnosis. Every pediatrician knows this method, and therefore a child with wheezing should definitely be shown pediatrician in order to identify possible pathology in time and begin treatment.

Treatment

After diagnosis, the doctor prescribes appropriate treatment.

Hard Breathing Therapy

If there is no temperature and there are no other complaints except for hardness of breathing, then there is no need to treat the child. It is enough to provide him with a normal motor mode; this is very important so that excess bronchial mucus comes out as quickly as possible. It is useful to walk outside, play outdoor games and active games. Breathing usually returns to normal within a few days.

If hard breathing is accompanied by a cough or fever, it is necessary to show the child to a pediatrician to rule out respiratory diseases.

If the disease is detected, treatment will be aimed at stimulating the discharge of bronchial secretions. For this, the baby is prescribed mucolytic drugs, plenty of fluids, and vibration massage.

To learn how vibration massage is done, see the following video.

Hard breathing with cough, but without respiratory symptoms and temperature requires mandatory consultation with an allergist. Perhaps the cause of the allergy can be eliminated by simple home actions - wet cleaning, ventilation, eliminating all chlorine-based household chemicals, using hypoallergenic baby laundry detergent when washing clothes and linen. If this does not work, the doctor will prescribe antihistamines with a calcium supplement.

Measures for heavy breathing

Heavy breathing due to a viral infection does not require special treatment, since the underlying disease needs to be treated. In some cases, antihistamines are added to standard prescriptions for influenza and ARVI, as they help relieve internal swelling and make it easier for the child to breathe. With diphtheria croup, the child is hospitalized in mandatory, since he needs prompt administration of anti-diphtheria serum. This can only be done in a hospital setting, where, if necessary, the baby will be provided with surgical care, connection to a ventilator, and administration of antitoxic solutions.

False croup, if it is not complicated and the child is not an infant, may be allowed to be treated at home.

For this purpose, courses of inhalations are usually prescribed with medicines. Moderate and severe forms of croup require hospital treatment with the use of glucocorticosteroid hormones (Prednisolone or Dexamethasone). Treatment of asthma and bronchiolitis is also carried out under medical supervision. In severe form - in the hospital, in mild form - at home, subject to all the recommendations and prescriptions of the doctor.

Increased rhythm - what to do?

Treatment in case of transient tachypnea, which is caused by stress, fear or excessive impressionability of the child, is not required. It is enough to teach a child to cope with his emotions, and over time, when the nervous system gets stronger, the attacks of rapid breathing will disappear.

You can stop another attack with a paper bag. It is enough to invite the child to breathe into it, inhaling and exhaling. In this case, you cannot take air from the outside; you only need to inhale what is in the bag. Usually, a few such breaths are enough for the attack to subside. The main thing is to calm down yourself and calm the child.

If the increased rhythm of inhalation and exhalation has pathological causes, the underlying disease should be treated. A pulmonologist and a cardiologist deal with the child’s cardiovascular problems. A pediatrician and an ENT doctor, and sometimes an allergist, can help you cope with asthma.

Treatment of wheezing

None of the doctors treat wheezing, since there is no need to treat it. The disease that caused their appearance should be treated, and not the consequence of this disease. If wheezing is accompanied by a dry cough, to relieve the symptoms, along with the main treatment, the doctor may prescribe expectorants that will facilitate the rapid transition of a dry cough into a productive cough with sputum production.

If wheezing is the cause of stenosis, narrowing of the respiratory tract, the child may be prescribed medications that relieve swelling - antihistamines, diuretics. As swelling decreases, wheezing usually becomes quieter or disappears completely.

Wheezing wheezes that accompany short and labored breathing are always a sign that the child needs emergency medical care.

Any combination of the nature and tone of wheezing against a background of high temperature is also a reason to hospitalize the child as soon as possible and entrust his treatment to professionals.

What should parents not do?

• You cannot try to cure a child with a changed breathing pattern using folk remedies on your own. This is dangerous for the very reason that herbs and substances of natural origin used in alternative medicine can cause severe allergies in a child. And with an allergic change in breathing, with croup, with stenosis of any part of the respiratory tract, this can be fatal.

• Even if you have an inhaler and nebulizer at home, you should not do inhalations yourself, without a doctor’s prescription. Steam inhalations do not always benefit a child; sometimes they are harmful. In general, a nebulizer should be used only on the recommendation of a specialist, since this device is designed to create a fine suspension of medications, and not for spraying chamomile infusion or essential oil. Children suffer more from inappropriate and incorrect inhalations than from bronchitis or pharyngitis.

• You cannot ignore the symptoms of breathing problems and the development of respiratory failure, even if there are no other obvious signs of the disease. In many cases, even a child with severe pathologies can be helped if a doctor is called in a timely manner.

Child mortality as a result of the development of respiratory failure, according to statistics, occurs mainly due to delayed access to a medical facility.

• Pathological reasons for the appearance of difficult or hoarse breathing in nature there are much more than natural and harmless causes, and therefore you should not hope that everything will “resolve” by itself. While waiting for a doctor or an ambulance, you should not leave your child unattended for a minute. The more difficult and heavy the breathing, the more vigilant the control must be.

• You should not use any medications without consulting your doctor. This is especially true for widely advertised sprays and aerosols, which, according to television advertising, “instantly make breathing easier.” Such drugs can cause instant laryngeal spasm in children under 3 years of age.
• Another common parental mistake that costs children dearly is to give “something for a cough” when a cough appears. As a result, when a child has a wet cough, they are given antitussives that suppress the functioning of the cough center in the brain, and this leads to stagnation of sputum, inflammation of the lungs and the development of respiratory failure.

To avoid a total mistake, it is better not to give any medications for breathing problems until the doctor arrives.

If a child has problems with respiratory function, a certain algorithm of actions should be followed:

• calm down and calm the child;
• listen carefully to the nature of the disturbances, measure the breathing rate, pay attention to the color of the skin - cyanosis, pallor indicate the onset of oxygen starvation, redness of the skin and the appearance of rashes indicate the development of an infection;
• pay attention to the presence and nature of the cough;
• measure your heart rate and blood pressure child;
• take the child's temperature;

• call a doctor or an ambulance, reporting by phone about the fact of respiratory failure and your observations;
• put the baby in a horizontal position, do breathing exercises with him, if possible (smooth inhalation - smooth exhalation);
• open all the windows and vents in the house, if possible, take the child outside or onto the balcony so that he has unlimited access to fresh air;

• if the condition worsens, give the child artificial respiration and chest compressions;
• do not refuse hospitalization if the arriving doctors insist on it, even if the ambulance doctors managed to stop the attack. The relief may be temporary (as with croup or heart failure), and with a high degree of probability, the attack will repeat in the coming hours, only it will be stronger and longer lasting, and the doctors may not have time to get to the little patient again.

What should be the first aid for difficulty breathing? Dr. Komarovsky will answer this question in our next video.

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Why does a child breathe frequently and how to treat it?

Rapid breathing is called tachypnea. In this condition, the depth of breaths remains constant, and only their number increases. This is what distinguishes shortness of breath from tachypnea. Breathing at an increased frequency is a sign of oxygen deficiency. This is how the body tries to restore normal gas exchange.

Tachypnea sometimes occurs temporarily, for example, before an attack of bronchial asthma, and sometimes occurs permanently. It depends on the reasons that caused it. Rapid breathing is not an independent disease, but may be a symptom of another disease, a physiological feature, or a consequence of physical activity. The following factors influence the respiratory rate in children:

1. Age – an infant breathes 3 times more often than a teenager.
2. Physical activity – after playing sports or exercising, children inhale and exhale more.
3. Body weight - a fat child breathes more often.
4. Well-being – many illnesses are accompanied by rapid breathing.
5. Individual features of the structure of the respiratory system.

How to understand that a child is breathing quickly

We can talk about accelerated children's breathing only in comparison with age norms. It is better to count the number of inhalations and exhalations during sleep, because there are more of them during wakefulness. That is why below we will show not single values, but their range. The movements of the diaphragm per minute are counted. You need to count all 60 seconds, since the respiratory rhythm may change over time.

For children of different age categories, the following standards for the “inhale-exhale” indicator in 60 seconds have been established:

• newborn (up to 1 month of age) – 50-60;
• 1–6 months – 40-50;
• 6–12 months – 35-45;
• 1–4 years – 25-35;
• 5–10 years – 20-30;
• from 10 years – 18-20.

With age, the number of breathing movements in children decreases. A teenager breathes the same way as an adult. Therefore, if for a newborn baby 60 breaths per minute is the norm, then for the parents of a ten-year-old child this will be the reason for going to the doctor.

Why does a child experience rapid breathing?

Frequent breathing in an infant is explained by imperfections in the structure of the respiratory system. It is still developing. Within a few months after birth, the baby's airways expand and the number of inhalations and exhalations begins to decrease. Tachypnea in newborns is a normal phenomenon that is also observed in children born in due date, and in premature babies. However, the respiratory system of weakened children takes longer to mature.

In other cases, with the exception of physical activity, rapid breathing in the presence of other specific signs- This is an indicator that the child is unhealthy.

Respiratory system diseases

In combination with other signs, rapid breathing in childhood is a symptom of the following diseases:

1. Colds are accompanied by frequent breathing with fever, runny nose, cough, and general weakness.
2. Allergy is not a direct disease of the respiratory system, but manifests itself through them. Frequent breathing occurs when there is a lack of air due to swelling of the mucous membrane.
3. Bronchial asthma - breathing may accelerate during an impending attack.
4. Chronic bronchitis - a sign will be a wet cough in the morning that lasts up to two months, sometimes with the discharge of purulent sputum in combination with rapid breathing.
5. Pneumonia or pleurisy - the child’s diaphragm moves intensely, he complains of difficulty breathing, coughs, and has a slight fever.
6. Tuberculosis – characterized by low fever, weakness, loss of appetite, and coughing.

Cardiovascular diseases

If tachypnea is a sign of heart or vascular disease, then at the same time there will be weight loss, the appearance of evening swelling in the legs, and persistent weakness. Breathing changes after a short exercise or even during a conversation. Children may complain of their heart racing in their chest.

Pulmonary embolism - blockage of the main channel or branches with blood clots - is also accompanied by rapid breathing. However, among children under 15 years of age, this disease occurs only in 5 cases per 100 thousand people.

Nervous system

Tachypnea may be a symptom of nervous tension in a child. Stress occurs at any age for completely different reasons. Some people don’t want to go to kindergarten, some have just started first grade and are establishing relationships with their peers, and some have not been able to pass the next level in computer game. Accelerated breathing in these cases is accompanied by headache, weakness, loss or increased appetite, tearfulness or increased excitability.

Frequent breathing during hysteria - one of the types of neurosis - occurs against the background of a sharp change in behavior, even to the point of rage.

How to treat tachypnea

Since tachypnea is not a disease, but a symptom, the underlying disease is treated. If parents suspect that their child is breathing too quickly, they should first visit a pediatrician. The doctor will conduct an examination and, if necessary, refer you to specialized specialists. It could be:

It is necessary to consult a doctor if a child has chest pain, dry mouth, difficulty breathing, or unstable behavior due to rapid breathing. If the child only has tachypnea, then you still need to go to the doctor. A pediatric specialist can notice hidden symptoms of diseases that the parent’s eye cannot see.

Disease prevention

Preventive measures for the appearance of rapid breathing come down to the prevention of possible diseases that provoke it. Acute infectious diseases of the nasopharynx, chronic bronchitis, laryngitis, rhinitis, and allergies cause narrowing of the respiratory passages. This is especially true for infants who, due to their age, cannot breathe fully. Their nose should always be clear of mucus.

The child should play sports, and parents are obliged to provide him with adequate nutrition to prevent excess weight gain. An important point will be the prevention of stress. Daily routine, development of communication skills with other children, correct attitude towards studies and grades, reduction of time spent at the computer are the main assistants for parents.

How to quickly help a child with tachypnea

Since frequent breathing is a sign of impaired gas exchange in the respiratory system, you can try to restore it. If an attack occurs, you should take a paper bag and poke a hole in the bottom with your finger. The bag is brought to the child's mouth, who begins to exhale air into the bag and inhale it back. It is important to breathe only through your mouth. After 5 minutes of this procedure, breathing can become normal. If this does not happen, you need to consult a doctor.

It is necessary to immediately call an ambulance if your infant is breathing too quickly to prevent suffocation.

Tachypnea can be a normal condition for a newborn baby, a consequence of sports, a sign of diseases of the nervous system, respiratory system, heart, blood vessels, and also a reaction to stress. Small children cannot talk about their feelings, so the parents’ task is to notice changes in the child’s breathing in time and consult a pediatrician.

Whenever nervous attacks or their periodic repetition, parents and children need to learn special breathing exercises.

The simplest exercise is measured inhalations and exhalations, which are performed in 4 counts with a break of 2 counts between them. Charging is done within 5 minutes. With a baby, such exercises are carried out in a playful way - the child breathes, and mom or dad counts.

A full set of exercises can be obtained from a neurologist or pulmonologist at the clinic - a doctor who deals with problems of the respiratory system. The same gymnastics, along with treatment, will help get rid of lingering colds.

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  Rapid breathing (Tachypnea) in a child of any age - causes and treatment

  Doctors are dumbfounded! Protection against FLU and COLDS!

  Just need it before bed.

  Most parents monitor the health of their little child as carefully as possible, and even the smallest symptoms of illness raise many questions in them. Often parents notice a violation of the respiratory rhythm of their baby, namely, rapid breathing, in which the inhalation does not deepen, but only becomes more frequent. This condition is called tachypnea. What can cause it, is it dangerous for the baby’s health, and how can it be effectively treated? In this article you will get answers to all your questions.

  What is transient tachypnea?

  When the amount of carbon dioxide in the baby’s blood decreases, hyperventilation may develop, which often becomes the main reason for the appearance of a rapid respiratory rhythm in the child. Subsequently, symptoms of hypoxia appear, that is, there is a natural decrease in the amplitude of inhalations. At the same time, there is a significant reduction in the arteries that transport blood throughout the body, which leads to a gradual lack of oxygen in the blood.

  Tachypnea can manifest itself with various symptoms, even during sleep, and is accompanied by a variety of diseases. However, the first and most important indicator of this particular disease is just such specific breathing. When conducting self-diagnosis it unambiguously determines tachypnea in a child.

  Diagnostics

  Every attentive parent can diagnose rapid breathing in their own child, but only a doctor can determine its cause. Despite this, it is not superfluous for everyone to know what symptoms this specific disease has and how to determine the presence of tachypnea in their baby.

  The respiratory rate during the development of tachypnea in newborns is more than 40 breaths per minute. In a child one year and older - more than 25 per minute. For precise definition Refer to the table of respiratory rate norms for children.

  Respiratory frequency table for children

  Rapid breathing or shortness of breath?

  Quite often, parents confuse rapid breathing in a child with shortness of breath. The difference between tachypnea and shortness of breath can be determined quite simply, you just need to check whether the rhythm and depth of the child’s breaths are changing. With shortness of breath, the rhythm and depth may change, but with tachypnea, the child’s breathing is shallow, not deep and rhythmic.

  Rapid breathing can be caused by specific neuropathological diseases. In such cases, it is definitely worth taking into account the individual characteristics of the child, namely:

  • age;
  • activity;
  • well-being;
  • character traits.

  Reasons

  Malaise in a child in the form of rapid breathing can be caused by:

  • stressful situations;
  • colds;
  • consequences of cardiovascular diseases.

  Children generally cannot explain various ailments and often do not even understand how to express their concerns. That is why parents should be as attentive as possible in this situation.

  Stress is the primary reason why a child may experience rapid breathing. After a stressful attack, the baby, both in sleep and while awake, may feel general malaise, loss of sensitivity in the limbs and much more, which leads to the development of the disease.

  Rapid breathing can also be caused by a common cold or, for example, bronchial asthma. The active course of this disease can be expressed as an attack of tachypnea before the appearance of symptoms of asthma itself. Thus, if your child feels seriously unwell and you notice the presence of a rapid respiratory rhythm during sleep, it is worth paying attention close attention this symptom.

  Tachypnea may also be present as a symptom in chronic bronchitis. In addition to rapid breathing itself, in this case the following symptoms are observed:

  If you find at least one of the listed signs in your child, you should consult a therapist.

  How to stop

  Tachypnea is rarely an independent disease and, generally, precedes the manifestation of the underlying disease or is its immediate symptom.

  Therefore, if you see an unhealthy breathing rhythm in your child, you should note the presence of such general symptoms as:

  • general state of weakness;
  • temperature;
  • dry mouth;
  • pressure and discomfort in the chest;
  • panic, fear, fear.

  Today, in order to determine exactly why the so-called transient tachypnea of ​​newborns and older children occurred, it is worth contacting doctors such as:

  Attack

  If your child has an attack of tachypnea (rapid breathing), there is a cough, but it is not a fever, that is, not viral or infectious disease, then special measures should be taken to eliminate the attack. Take a paper bag or roll up a newspaper so that your baby can hold it in his hand and press it to his mouth. Ask him not to worry, to calm down and slowly begin to inhale and exhale air from the bag without inhaling air from outside. Advice: don’t panic yourself, try to show that what’s happening is nothing scary or dangerous, and that your son or daughter just needs to breathe into a paper bag. The calmer and more confident you are as a parent, the calmer the child will perceive the situation.

  Conclusion

  As we have found out, there are quite a lot of reasons for tachypnea, and with any manifestation of a rapid respiratory rhythm, you should not hesitate and contact a specialist, especially if this attack occurs in a child with a fever. However, if your child’s tachypnea manifests itself as the body’s reaction to stressful situations, any changes in its environment, etc., teach your child to breathe correctly, use special breathing exercises and not be afraid. Be careful about own health and the health of your children.

  A specialist in the field of functional diagnostics, rehabilitation therapy for patients with respiratory diseases, develops and conducts training programs for patients with bronchial asthma and COPD. Author of 17 scientific papers on the treatment of the respiratory system.