What is respiratory distress?

Respiratory distress is a general term that refers to difficulty breathing.

There are many possible causes of respiratory distress. The most common include infections such as pneumonia, bronchiolitis, or croup, an inflammatory process like asthma, or choking on a small object such as a peanut, coin, etc.

What are the symptoms of respiratory distress?

• Your child may use extra muscles to breathe. Look at your child’s  bare chest to see if he is having difficulty breathing to the extent  that his skin seems to be sucked in between the ribs or the throat, retractions, when he inhales.

• Your child may breath faster than normal. Check your child’s breathing by counting how many breaths he takes in 60 seconds.

• Choking, gagging, spitting or coughing while drinking

• Trouble sleeping

• Difficulty completing sentences

Normal breathing rates for children above

Home care

If your child has asthma,  please use your inhalers or nebulizers and call us to discuss the  situation or consult our asthma page for warning signs which require  immediate attention.

Take your child’s temperature with a thermometer, and consult the fever page for further information.

If your child is breathing faster than normal, please Call Our Office Now.  Think about what your child has been exposed to recently (cats, dust,  skunk, etc.) and what he might have eaten recently (peanuts, sea food,  strawberries, etc.).

Warning signs – Call our office for advice if:

Your child is breathing hard, Call Our Office Now.

Your child is breathing faster than the normal rate, Call Our Office Now.

Your child’s skin appears blue around the nose or mouth, Call Our Office Now.

Your child grunts at the end of each breath, Call Our Office Now.

Your child has any signs of dehydration such as no tears while crying, dry lips and mouth, fewer wet diapers (around 6 per day is normal), or sunken eyes, Call Our Office Now.

Your child has difficulty breathing to the extent that his skin seems to be sucked in between the ribs or the throat, retractions, Call Our Office Now.

Your child may have swallowed or inhaled anything and is breathing hard, Call Our Office Now.

Your child is less than 6 months old and has a temperature greater than 100.4 degrees F, Call Our Office Now.

Your child is older than 6 months and has a temperature greater than 102.5 degrees F, Call Our Office Now.

When you call, you may want to put your child on the phone so we can listen to your child’s breathing.

You have any questions or concerns, or if you have any doubts about the severity of your child’s symptoms, Call Our Office Now.