Bronchiolitis is a common lung infection in children and infants. It is almost always caused by a virus and peaks during the winter months. It is the most common cause of hospitalization among infants under the age of 1.

Symptoms include troubled breathing which can be very scary for parents. Other symptoms include :

• runny nose
• stuffy nose
• cough
• slight fever

Most infants will get an ear infection. After a couple of days , the cough gets worse and the child begins to breathe faster.

How to treat Bronchiolitis

There is no specific treatment for viral infections.  Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infection. However you can try to ease your child’s symptoms.

Relieving fever : Give your baby acetaminophen . It is important to follow the dosage recommendation for your child’s age. You should not give your child aspirin because it has been associated with Reye’s  syndrome, a disease that effects the liver and brain. Check with your doctor before giving other cold medications.

Relieving stuffy nose : You can thin the mucous by using saline nose drops recommended by your child’s doctor. Clear your child’s nose with a suction bulb. The suction draws out clogged mucus in the nose and works best when your baby is younger than 6 months.

Preventing dehydration : It is important to make sure that your baby drink lots of fluids. You have to know that the child may feed slowly or not eat at all because he may have trouble breathing.

You can also do the following :

• Keep your child upright to make breathing easier.
• Keep the air in your child’s room is dry, a cool-mist humidifier or vaporizer can moisten the air and help ease congestion and coughing.
• Maintain a smoke free environment to prevent aggravating symptoms of respiratory infections.