What should I do if my baby is breathing rapidly?

Does your baby sometimes breathe fast and grunt? Or does he feel like he's having a hard time breathing? This could be due to respiratory distress. Respiratory distress is when your baby can't get enough oxygen to breathe, so they wheeze, breathe fast, and turn blue. This may require medication.

Why is my baby breathing rapidly?

Babies swallow foreign objects: It is easy for them to swallow objects by mistake and cause choking and suffocation. Babies and young children like to put things in their mouths, so the chance of choking and suffocation is very high.

Your baby has a floppy throat: Babies sometimes develop a floppy throat, where the soft, immature cartilaginous upper larynx collapses inward during inhalation, causing airway obstruction.

Because of laryngeal edema: Sometimes due to allergic reactions or inhalation injuries, laryngeal edema occurs, which hinders breathing, so the baby will have symptoms of difficulty breathing and shortness of breath.

Because of certain infections: Sometimes babies may have respiratory distress due to certain infections, such as croup, epiglottis, throat abscess, etc. These infections can cause the baby's throat to swell and block the airway.

Because of lung disease: If the baby has lung disease, such as bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma, bronchiolitis, etc., it may cause difficulty breathing and respiratory distress.

What to do if your baby is short of breath

Surfactant: Surfactant is a fluid that coats the lining of the lungs and keeps them open. Your doctor may continue to give your baby surfactant until their lungs are able to produce the fluid on their own.

Respiratory support therapy: If your baby is in respiratory distress, he may need respiratory support until his lungs produce enough surfactant. A breathing tube connected to a surfactant production tube is a common treatment.

Using medication: Doctors may also use medication to treat your baby, such as nasal sprays, cold and cough medicines, penicillin, decongestants, corticosteroids, etc.

Avoid allergens: If your baby has symptoms of respiratory distress, keep him away from pets, outdoor pollen, indoor dust mites, mold, and other pollutants, all of which may cause breathing difficulties.

Is it normal for my baby to be breathing rapidly?

You must pay attention to the problem of infants' rapid breathing. Children have vigorous physiological metabolism, and their oxygen demand is close to that of adults calculated based on body surface area. Children can generally only meet the body's needs by increasing the number of breaths. The younger the age, the higher the respiratory rate.

A normal newborn breathes 40 to 44 times per minute; 30 times per minute for children under 1 year old; and about 24 times per minute for children between 1 and 3 years old. To observe the breathing rate, it must be done in a quiet or sleeping state to be accurate. An increase in the breathing rate is a characteristic sign of pneumonia in infants under 3 years old.

Newborns have narrow nasal cavities and rich blood vessels, so they are prone to nasal congestion. Therefore, loud breathing and sneezing are normal. Don’t worry. After one month, the baby’s nasal cavity will gradually develop and expand and the problem will disappear naturally.