This article will discuss how to determine laryngitis in a child. Symptoms, treatment of this disease are sometimes unknown to parents, so they are at a loss, not knowing how to help their child. In fact, inflammation is quite easily treated.
What you need to know about the disease?
Laryngitis is an inflammation of the larynx. There is such a course of the disease in which the larynx swells, its lumen narrows, making it difficult for air to pass into the lungs. Then the doctor diagnoses "stenotic laryngitis" in the child. Symptoms, treatment of this form of the disease require medical intervention. The cause of this complication may be an allergy, an infectious disease, a burn of the larynx (for example, by inhalation of hot steam). Stenosing laryngitis in a child, caused precisely by an infection, has a specific name - croup.
For example, it arose earlier with diphtheria, but today, due to vaccinations, diphtheria is extremely rare. A serious condition can also develop after respiratory viral infections, which children are most often exposed to. And of course, having noticed symptoms of laryngitis in the child, parents need to show him to the pediatrician.
Symptomatology
Recognizing inflammation of the larynx is quite simple. For example, Dr. Komarovsky calls the symptoms of laryngitis the following: fever, barking cough, voice changes and shortness of breath. As a rule, they accompany the course of acute respiratory viral infections or may occur after the virus has been expelled from the body. Also rarely the first croup occurs at the age of 3 years or more. It is most often caused by the parainfluenza virus, and small children are more prone to it (from six months to 2.5-3 years). A child may complain that it is difficult to breathe. This is a specific symptom of this disease. With lung damage (that is, with asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia), as a rule, it will be difficult to exhale, and with inflammation of the larynx, it is inhalation that is difficult. Croup is accompanied by the classic symptoms of an infectious disease - an acute course of the disease, runny nose, sore throat. It should immediately be said that it is not worthwhile to treat the stenotic laryngitis in the child: symptoms, treatment should be monitored by the doctor. Croup - the situation is dangerous, and there can be no talk of any self-medication!
Treatment
What is the difference between laryngitis and croup? This unpleasant childhood illness is accompanied by inflammation of the larynx, but most often there is no shortness of breath . Parents can notice a jerky loud cough with laryngitis in children, and a hoarse voice (or the voice disappears altogether). In severe cases, the mild form may eventually develop into croup. An attack of laryngitis in a child most often occurs at night or in the evening. Then you should urgently call your doctor a doctor. It is a mistake to assume that if inflammation of the larynx occurs, it means that the baby has weakened immunity. This is not connected in any way, so taking immunostimulants and vitamins will not help. How then to alleviate the course of the disease?
If the baby has difficulty breathing, try not to scare him or worry. If you notice that the child has a “voice”, provide him with voice peace - do not provoke him into conversation, screaming or singing, and if your talker doesn’t get silent, just try to speak as quietly as possible. Maintaining cleanliness in the room and regular airing have a beneficial effect on the course of the disease. Ideally, the temperature in the room where the patient is located should not be higher than 18 ° C, and humidity - 50-70%. Do not forget to drink the baby and bring down the body temperature (from 38 ° C) with paracetamol or ibuprofen. If the baby cannot breathe freely through the nose, then use vasoconstrictive drops for children. It is strictly forbidden to inhale with laryngitis with hot steam and give strong expectorant!
Now you know how laryngitis occurs in a child, symptoms, treatment of this disease and you can help your baby in a timely manner!