Bronchitis is the most common acute respiratory illness. Bronchitis can occur at any age. However, it is more common in children, especially young children, and is more severe than in adults. In children, bronchitis is often caused by infection, but there are also non-infectious causes of bronchitis.
The bronchi are one of the most important parts of the human respiratory system. When a person breathes, air passes through the larynx and trachea, then into the bronchi, and oxygen reaches the lungs. When a person exhales, gases that are exchanged in the lungs (carbon dioxide) are released through the bronchi, then through the trachea, and back into the environment. The surface of the bronchi is covered with mucous and sensitive eyelashes. These structures are involved in the elimination of any substance that enters the bronchi.
Thus, if the permeability of the bronchi is disturbed by some negative factor, this will adversely affect the respiratory process, which will lead to a decrease in the supply of oxygen to the body.
Bronchitis is an inflammation of the bronchial mucosa.
The disease is more common in children because their immune systems are weak and their respiratory organs are not fully developed. According to statistics, every year 200 out of 1000 children suffer from bronchitis. Children under 5 years of age get sick more often. In winter, bronchitis increases.
Bronchitis is an inflammation of the bronchial mucosa. The disease is more common in children because their immune systems are weak and their respiratory organs are not fully developed. According to statistics, every year 200 out of 1000 children suffer from bronchitis. Children under 5 years of age get sick more often. In winter, bronchitis increases.
Types of bronchitis
There are several types of bronchitis – simple obstructive bronchitis.
Acute and chronic. Chronic bronchitis in children is a disease that lasts 3-4 months. Inflammation of the bronchioles – bronchiolitis – is also common in children.
Obstructive bronchitis is the narrowing (closing) of the bronchi in children due to the accumulation of mucus in the bronchi or spasm.
In children, bronchitis can be unilateral or bilateral, there can be inflammation of one or more bronchi. If inflammation affects not only the bronchi, but also the trachea, it is called tracheobronchitis, and if the inflammation of the lungs and bronchi is called bronchopneumonia.
Bacterial bronchitis is most common in children. Chlamydia-related bronchitis is also common in school-aged children.
Primary bronchitis is also rare. This is usually due to the ingestion of small objects in the bronchi or aspiration of food in infants. After the child coughs, the foreign body enters the environment, but the bacteria that enter with them multiply on the bronchial mucosa and become pathogenic.
In rare cases, fungi cause bronchitis. Another form of bronchitis is allergic bronchitis. Its manifestations are attributed to exposure to external irritants such as drugs, chemicals, dust, animal hair, plant dust, and others.
Factors that increase the risk of developing bronchitis in children include the following
- Weak immunity;
- Cold freeze;
- A sharp change in temperature;
- breathe very dry air, especially from a room where heaters are in operation;
- Dryness of the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract;
- avitaminosis;
- Passive “smoking” (being near a smoker);
- Comorbidities such as cystic fibrosis.
Bronchitis is rare in children under one year old because at this age babies do not come into contact with relatives or strangers. Factors that can lead to the development of bronchitis at this age may be premature birth, congenital pathologies of the respiratory tract.
Symptoms of acute bronchitis in children
The symptoms of bronchitis in children are different from those of other respiratory conditions. In children, the first sign of bronchitis is coughing. However, coughing occurs in other respiratory conditions as well. So what’s the difference between cough and bronchitis?
In children, the first symptoms of bronchitis begin with a dry cough, which is a cough with phlegm. The movement of sputum and the appearance of a wet cough indicates that the disease is passing. The sputum can be colorless, yellowish, or green.
Causes of bronchitis
In children, the respiratory system is not as well developed as in adults. It is this feature that makes bronchitis more common in children. Respiratory defects in children include:
- Shortness of breath – contributes to the penetration of infection;
- Small lung volume;
- Weakness of the respiratory muscles – slow cough with sputum discharge;
- Lack of immunoglobulins in the mucous membranes;
- High susceptibility to tonsillitis and adenoids.
Bronchitis is often a secondary condition. This pathology is a complication of diseases of the upper respiratory tract – pharyngitis, laryngitis, tonsillitis. Bacteria or viruses from the upper respiratory tract can spread to the lower parts of the body. According to medical experts, primary bronchitis, in which the infection has a direct effect on the bronchi, is rare. Influenza, parainfluenza, rhinovirus, and adenoviruses play an important role in the development of bronchitis.
Symptoms of bronchiolitis and obstructive bronchitis in children
Symptoms of bronchiolitis and obstructive bronchitis in children differ from those of normal (catarrhal) bronchitis. By the way, most experts do not distinguish between bronchiolitis and obstructive bronchiolitis. The disease is also accompanied by a cough and fever. However, with bronchiolitis and obstructive bronchitis, symptoms are accompanied by symptoms of respiratory failure – rapid breathing, bruising in the mouth-lip triangle, noisy breathing, and extra-abdominal muscles.
In children with obstructive bronchitis, wheezing is heard in the chest area. Sputum and whistling are common. Sometimes such sounds can be heard from a distance without a phonendoscope. Exhale for a long time.
As a sign of suffocation in obstructive bronchitis in breastfed children, the number of breaths per minute is up to 60 times per minute, in children under 2 years of age – up to 50 times, in children over 2 years of age – up to 40 times. …
For bronchiolitis, shortness of breath is characteristic – 80-90 breaths per minute, which can lead to tachycardia from the heart, as well as the suffocation of heart sounds.
