Bronchitis In Children, How Can We Help Them?

Bronchitis occurs when there is significant inflammation in the lining of the bronchi. One of the most obvious symptoms is the cough present throughout the day accompanied by respiratory distress and sometimes fever and malaise.

As a result of the cough, the child may gag and vomit. Vomiting is another symptom caused by this inflammation.

Many mothers wonder what they should do to improve their child’s health when they have bronchitis. Next, we tell you the steps you must follow if you want bronchitis to disappear as quickly as possible:

Suspected bronchitis? Visit to the pediatrician

If we believe that our child may suffer from bronchitis, the first thing we should do is go to the doctor to determine the causes for which it has been caused. The doctor will give us the diagnosis and the guidelines that we must follow.

Bronchitis can be due to many factors; a virus, a bacteria, an allergy, a birth defect. In each case the doctor will tell you if he needs to administer antibiotics or not.

It is very important not to administer cough syrups without a prescription, since in many cases coughing helps to expel mucus that could accumulate in the lungs, making it even more difficult for the child to breathe.

On the contrary, if we see that our child does not expel mucus and has a dry cough, we can create a natural inhaler by putting water to boil and letting our child breathe the steam that it secretes. This will help soften the mucus and make it easier to pass. We can repeat this technique up to 4 times a day.

It is important that if the doctor has told us that bronchitis is caused by some type of allergy to mites, we never carry out any humification technique like the one we have just explained, since it will produce the opposite effect to the desired one since the mites reproduce with very easily in humid environments.

The importance of giving them rest

Rest well is a guarantee of health. If our son has this disease, we must provide him with the greatest possible rest. It is important that we let him sleep as long as is necessary for his recovery. Ideally, keep your head slightly higher than normal to ease your breathing.

If the child is already of school age, it is advisable for him not to attend classes and to rest in his bed during the days when he is worse. As he improves, we should not force him to do very severe physical activities. If you have Physical Education classes you can rest during that hour.

Extras that help improve symptoms

Keep the child hydrated

Liquids and especially water will help us in various ways to improve the child;

• If the child gags and vomits due to coughing, the water will prevent dehydration.
• If, on the other hand, the child has a lot of cough but is not able to expel the mucus, the water and liquids that he consumes will help him soften them and therefore expel them.
• If the child loses his appetite due to his bad condition, we must offer him to drink water throughout the day as he may lose the sense of thirst.

Lower the fever

If the child has a high fever, it is important that we try to lower his body temperature through techniques such as bathing in warm water or removing clothes so that his health does not worsen.

Fever is often the cause of the general discomfort that the child feels and can be the cause of his loss of appetite. If we manage to lower it a few tenths, the child will begin to feel better quickly and perhaps his appetite will regain.

Help your immune system

If, on the other hand, the child does not lose appetite, we must offer him a diet that is as balanced and healthy as possible so that his immune system will be strengthened thanks to the vitamins and minerals that we provide in his body.

We can also go to the local herbalist and buy vitamins that help fight your immune system. Some product options are; Kinesia diluted in water, drops of Propolis diluted in water etc. Despite being natural products, remember to ask the recommended dose for children based on their age and weight.

Do not be afraid

If the child begins to improve, do not lock him up at home for fear that he may relapse. The body is wise and if the child is feeling better and wants to play, we must let him have fun. In any case, going outside to play will help strengthen your defenses.

No smoking!

It is very important (and obvious) to  keep the child away from tobacco smoke since it could worsen his symptoms and cause short-term complications. Remember that when we are sick, we are vulnerable to everything around us.

The best thing we can do for our children, as much as if they have bronchitis or any other pathology, is to give them immediate attention. As the experts say “curing in time avoids greater evils”.

Going to the pediatrician, being rigorous with the treatment prescribed, and taking measures to help our children at home, in the end they will get our little ones to improve in less time. The important thing is to help them reestablish their health to avoid relapses and / or complications.