The birth of a child is a blessing for all parents who have been expected for nine months. During pregnancy, a woman periodically goes to the gynecologist for an examination, submits additional tests. All this is necessary in order to be sure of the full development of the fetus inside the womb. Unfortunately, some pathologies begin to appear almost immediately after childbirth. These include stridor breathing. What it is?
General information
Newborn babies sleep so quietly that some mothers feel as if they are not breathing at all. Justified anxiety of parents causes noisy breathing. This condition is most often a sign of congenital stridor. This is a pathology in which there is a narrowing of the airways. In some cases, it poses a serious danger to the life of the child.
Stridor, or stridor breathing, is a pathological noisy breathing caused by congenital disorders in the structure of the larynx or trachea. It usually worsens with coughing or crying. Treatment for congenital stridor due to functional causes is usually not required. As the cartilage of the larynx grows, the pathology disappears. If it is associated with organic factors, serious surgical intervention may be required.
Note that this problem is diagnosed mainly in newborn children. Stridorous breathing in adults is extremely rare.
Causes of occurrence
In newborns, cartilage is very soft. With this pathology, they are so elastic that they look like plasticine. During the next inhalation, the cartilage is connected, vibration occurs. This is due to the fact that negative pressure occurs in the bronchi. Such phenomena usually pass. The pharynx gradually expands, the cartilage becomes firmer, and the noisy breathing disappears.
For a baby who has just recently been born, absolutely all processes are new. In this matter, breathing is no exception. Since the body has not yet had time to adapt to life outside the womb, the central nerves lead to a slight tension during each breath. When the glottis closes, air breaks through it with a whistle. This picture is usually observed in children with increased neuro-reflex excitability.
Stridorous breathing occurs with congenital muscle weakness in the glottis. Such an anomaly cannot be prevented. You just need to be patient and wait out this period. Breathing is normalized by the time the child reaches the age of one and a half years.
In some cases, the cause of the development of the pathology is a laryngeal cyst. Stridor occurs with the growth of education in the lumen of the respiratory tract. Cysts can be single or multiple. If formations appear only on the vocal folds, the pathology is manifested hoarseness.
If a newborn needs intubation, there is always a certain risk that it will not go away without consequences. Stridor respiration after extubation is diagnosed very often. In this case, it is necessary to strictly follow all the doctor’s prescriptions during the rehabilitation to reduce the manifestation of the characteristic symptoms of the problem.
Signs of congenital stridor
Stridorous breathing in the baby manifests itself shortly after birth and is noticeably enhanced in the first weeks of his life. Parents pay attention to a loud sound heard at a distance, arising each time when a jet of air breaks through a narrowed larynx. The noise can be hissing or whistling, ringing and deaf, resembling the cooing of pigeons. During sleep or when the child is at rest, its intensity usually decreases, and when coughing or crying, it increases.
With effective treatment and following the doctor’s prescriptions, as a rule, children with such a pathology normally grow and live a full life.
Stages of the development of pathology
Depending on the degree of disturbances, stridor respiration in children is divided into four main stages.
- Compensated . Usually does not require serious treatment, the body independently normalizes its work.
- Border-compensated. Constant monitoring by a specialist is required.
- Decompensated . Mandatory treatment is required.
- The fourth stage is almost incompatible with life. In this case, the child needs instant resuscitation and the help of surgeons.
Diagnosis: how to determine stridor breathing?
The reasons for the development of this pathology can be identified only after examining the child by a pediatrician, pulmonologist and neurologist. During diagnostic measures, doctors evaluate the general condition of the newborn, heart rate, color of the skin, the participation of muscles directly in the act of breathing.
Microlaryngoscopy is mandatory. Additionally, chest x-ray, CT, ultrasound of the larynx, bronchography can be prescribed.
If a congenital goiter is suspected, an examination by the endocrinologist is necessary. In this case, ultrasound of the thyroid gland is usually prescribed , as well as a number of tests for the hormones TSH, T4 and T3.
An acute attack of stridor. What should parents do?
As already noted above, in most cases, the pathology proceeds without serious complications, which allows the child to fully grow and develop. However, acute stridor attacks sometimes occur. They can be caused by diseases of an infectious nature or inflammatory processes. Usually stridorous breathing in an infant is accompanied only by a characteristic sound. During pneumonia or bronchitis, the clinical picture deteriorates sharply. The child has shortness of breath, the condition is aggravated by constant crying. What should parents do?
First of all, you should try to calm the baby. It is necessary to call a team of medical workers. At this time, you can ventilate the child’s room, because the cold air somewhat relieves swelling of the airways.
Stridorous breathing: treatment and prevention
Pathology in a compensated and border-compensated stage of development usually does not require serious treatment. In most cases, the symptoms of the pathology decrease by six months of life, and by two years pass completely. Specialists recommend only regular monitoring by an otolaryngologist.
In some cases, surgical intervention is required. There are several possible solutions to this problem: laser application of incisions on the epiglottis, dissection of the scapular-nasal folds or removal of part of the arytenoid cartilage. During acute attacks, immediate hospitalization is recommended. In a hospital, newborns with a diagnosis of stridor breathing are prescribed treatment with hormonal drugs and bronchodilators. With the development of a critical condition, tracheotomy is recommended.
Prognosis and prevention of complications
As the child grows, the cartilages in the larynx become harder and the lumen wider, so the stridor can regress without medical help by 2-3 years. At this time, parents should take care of the prevention of various diseases, provide the baby with good nutrition, and create the most favorable psychological environment. It is very important that the child breathes well moistened air, long walks on the street are useful.
If stridor respiration appeared due to organic causes, their timely elimination is required. When joining the pathology of a respiratory infection and the development of respiratory failure in most cases, the prognosis is not the most favorable.
Useful Tips for Parents
- First of all, parents are advised to remember all the symptoms accompanying the pathology. This will help the future doctor see the full clinical picture and take the necessary measures for treatment.
- Do not postpone a visit to a specialist. The sooner you find out the reason that caused stridor breathing in a newborn, the faster you calm down and proceed with the necessary actions.
- As a rule, doctors advise in this situation to wait a while until the child grows up. The thing is that serious treatment is not always required.
- After confirming the final diagnosis, parents must ensure that the child does not catch a cold, fully eats. These simple methods can enhance immunity.
- The most important thing is that you do not need to panic, because the anxiety of the parents is transmitted to the child.
Stridorous breathing is characteristic of many pathological conditions. This problem should not be ignored, it is better to find out the cause of its occurrence in a timely manner, and then undergo a course of treatment.
We hope that the information presented in this article will be really useful for you. Be healthy!