Consider the symptoms and treatment of tracheitis in children. What is this pathology, how is it treated?
Children's tracheitis is a respiratory pathology that is characterized by an inflammatory and infectious effect on the trachea, which has a different origin. In a child, tracheitis passes with bouts of dry cough, fever, soreness behind the sternum. Its diagnosis is based on the clinical picture, laryngoscopy, auscultation and tracheobronchoscopy. Treatment of tracheitis in a child includes the use of antibacterial, antiviral or etiotropic drugs, expectorant drugs; physiotherapy (UHF, inhalation, inductothermy, electrophoresis), rubbing the chest, mustard plasters.
Why does tracheitis appear in children?
In a child, acute tracheitis most often has a viral origin: mainly parainfluenza, influenza, respiratory syncytial viruses, adenoviruses, etc. become its causative agents.
Bacterial childhood tracheitis most often develops after a tracheal injury or a viral infection caused by a foreign object, recent intubation and other causes. Among the bacterial agents, the etiological role of staphilo-, pneumo- and streptococcus, moraxella, hemophilic infection, etc., has been determined.
Often there is chlamydial and mycoplasma lesions of the respiratory tract, mixed infection - bacterial-viral, viral-mycoplasma and others.
Fungal tracheitis or tracheomycosis caused by actinomycosis, aspergillosis, candidiasis in children is rare.
In a child, tracheitis is able to develop in the presence of infectious diseases that occur with damage to the upper respiratory tract (scarlet fever, measles, diphtheria, whooping cough, etc.), that is, it can be of a secondary nature. Allergic tracheitis develops with increased sensitization of the child's body to fungal, medicinal and food allergens, as well as house dust.
Tracheitis in children progresses due to inhalation of cold, dusty or dry air, active and passive smoking, hypothermia, nasal breathing problems (with adenoids, curvature of the nasal septum, hypertrophic rhinitis, etc.), chronic infection (multiple caries, sinusitis, tonsillitis).
Chronic or prolonged course of tracheitis is most often observed in patients with rickets, hypovitaminosis, malnutrition, diathesis, and impaired immunity.
We will consider the treatment of tracheitis in a child below.
Varieties of childhood tracheitis
According to the characteristics of the clinical course, acute and chronic tracheitis is distinguished. By origin, a child's tracheitis can be either primary (i.e., an independent pathology), or secondary (i.e., the main infection is manifested). From a combination with disorders of other parts of the respiratory tract, children's tracheitis can take the form of tracheobronchitis, laryngotracheitis, rhinopharyngotracheitis.
By changes in the trachea of a pathomorphological nature that develop with chronic damage, a hypotrophic form is distinguished, when the vessels expand and the mucous membrane swells, the atrophic form (the mucosa becomes thinner). Depending on the cause of the appearance, there is an allergic and infectious (fungal, bacterial, viral, mixed) tracheitis in a child.
Signs of childhood tracheitis
Children's tracheitis most often begins like a simple viral infection: there are pain and sore throat, runny nose, general weakness, reflex cough, fever and headaches. The pathognomonic symptom of tracheitis in a child is a painful, dry and paroxysmal cough, mainly appearing at night or almost immediately after waking up.
Cause of a paroxysmal cough can be crying, taking a deep breath, and a temperature drop (for example, when leaving the room for a street). Coughing fits can last from several minutes up to several hours, often they are accompanied by vomiting.
With and after a coughing fit, a dull, dull pain and burning sensation between the shoulder blades and behind the sternum appear. Children are afraid to cause another attack and therefore limit the depth of their inspiration, in connection with which their breathing becomes superficial and rapid. With a cough, intercostal retractions appear, that is, the muscles move. Treatment of tracheitis in a child of 3 years should be timely. Why is it important?
At the stage of catarrhal dry tracheitis, sputum hardly clears its throat, most often it looks like mucous viscous lumps. After a few days, this secret becomes purulent-mucous and more freely separated, and therefore the cough no longer causes the patient pain.
Signs of sublingual tracheitis are similar to the clinic of pediatric laryngitis. This form of pathology is accompanied by a "barking" obsessive cough, sore throat, hoarse voice, with the transition of the inflammatory process to the larynx, it can be complicated by stenosing laryngotracheitis (false croup).
Chronic form
Chronic tracheitis bothers the child with constant coughing in the daytime and obsessive coughing attacks at night, voice disorders in the form of dysphonia, general weakness, and low-grade fever.
The course of tracheitis in infants is especially dangerous, because due to the underdevelopment of the cough reflex, the baby is not able to cough up sputum productively. Tracheitis in a child in this case can be complicated by bronchopneumonia, tracheobronchitis, bronchiolitis and respiratory failure, even before asphyxiation.
Often associated symptoms and treatment of tracheitis in a child. Komarovsky - a famous pediatrician - confirms this.
Diagnosis of childhood tracheitis
Pediatric tracheitis is diagnosed on the basis of auscultatory, clinical, laboratory and endoscopic indicators. In addition to the pediatrician, a patient with a suspicion of this disease should be examined by a pediatric pulmonologist, immunologist, allergist and otolaryngologist.
Most often, a child with tracheitis listens to wheezing dry wheezing, as well as hard breathing. Through endoscopy (tracheobronchoscopy, laryngoscopy) in patients with acute tracheitis, a bright red tracheal mucosa with edema is detected, often spotted blood outflows and a small amount of viscous secretion. For bakseeva, sputum collection is difficult, therefore, tracheal aspiration with further PCR research, bacteriological, virological analysis of the secretion is carried out for medical and diagnostic purposes.
A chest x-ray is taken to rule out complications in the form of pneumonia and bronchitis. Pathologies of the nasopharynx associated with tracheitis are determined by pharyngoscopy, rhinoscopy, sowing from the throat, radiography of the paranasal sinuses, and allergy tests.
Treatment of tracheitis in a child
Important aspects of the therapeutic regime of tracheitis are wet cleaning every day, maintaining the necessary air humidity, eliminating the baby's contacts with irritating sources (fragrances, smoke, etc.), limiting the load on the voice.
The etiotropic treatment of acute tracheitis in children, if necessary, is carried out with antiviral (Alpha Interferon, Interferon) and antihistamines (Desloratadin, Cetirizine, Mebhydrolin, etc.). If the bacterial origin of the disease is confirmed, then antimicrobial systemic drugs (macrolides, penicillins, cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones) are prescribed, as well as local antibiotics in the form of a spray.
To stop dry, exhausting cough, antitussive drugs are used; so that sputum better departs - expectorant and mucolytic drugs. Ultrasound inhalations and nebulizer treatment are performed to deliver medications directly to the respiratory tract.
The complex treatment of cough for tracheitis in children includes warming compresses, foot baths, rubbing the chest, and mustard plasters. Of the physiotherapeutic methods used in childhood tracheitis, inductothermy, massage for pathologies of the respiratory system, electrophoresis, and UHF are most effective.
At the stage of convalescence, in order to enhance the protective properties of the body, the organization of a balanced daily regimen, proper nutrition, intake of vitamins and immunomodulators, moderate physical activity are required.
According to Komarovsky, the symptoms and treatment of tracheitis in a child are closely related.
Physiotherapy at home
With tracheitis, unlike many pathologies of the respiratory system, the possibility of increasing the humidity of the respiratory throat is significant. Perhaps this is only through inhalation.
Currently, a nebulizer is successfully used to treat tracheitis in a child. The following liquid may be placed in a capsule:
- saline solution (one teaspoon of salt per glass of water);
- alkaline mineral water;
- water without additives;
- infusion or decoction of plant materials used exclusively for steam and warm inhalation;
- medicinal solutions.
Treatment of tracheitis in children with folk remedies is very effective.
Local procedures that show excellent results:
- warming of the lower extremities (badger fat for lubricating the feet, wool socks);
- compresses on the neck and upper chest;
- warming ointments on the sternum.
Treatment of tracheitis in children at home is quite simple, but you need to do this only under the supervision of a doctor.
Badger fat, warming ointments contribute to local expansion of the airways and blood vessels. This allows you to increase the exchange of moisture and air, enhance the peristalsis of the cilia on the tracheal mucosa, and therefore, bring much more pathogenic components out.
It is very important to remember that homeopathic and folk remedies, like other diseases, are used only if there is no allergy and there is the permission of a specialist.
During the treatment of tracheitis in children with folk remedies, it is necessary that the patient consume sufficient fluid. This helps prevent dehydration, which is possible with a large amount of escaping sputum and elevated temperature. The liquid, which is excreted with sweat and kidneys, removes toxic substances from the patient's body that appear in the body with any disease.
Treatment of allergic tracheitis in children
In this case, you need to be observed at the ENT specialist and allergist. First of all, it is necessary to exclude a completely provocative factor. Only then can we talk about the successful outcome of therapy. Most often, antihistamines are prescribed, if bacteria are detected, then antibiotics are also prescribed. Antitussive drugs are also prescribed. They will help to remove phlegm.
Features of the therapy of infants
What does treatment of tracheitis in children up to a year suggest? This pathology usually children up to 1-2 years old rarely get sick. They have a common inflammatory process in all airways. If the child is sick, it is urgent to call a doctor, because in the acute course of the disease the temperature is always very high.
Symptoms of tracheitis in infants are a paroxysmal cough at night, which is accompanied by a delay in breathing, long bouts of coughing with the urge to vomit.
If the pathology does not have a bacterial nature, then antibiotics are not prescribed. Various cough syrups, antiviral agents, immunomodulators are effective.
Forecast for tracheitis and prevention
If the child has acute tracheitis, then the prognosis is most often favorable: with timely and proper treatment, recovery occurs in a period of ten to fourteen days. If a cough persists for a long time, repeated consultation with a pediatrician or ENT doctor is required, additional examination may be necessary.
If following the instructions of a specialist was inaccurate or self-medication methods were used, there is a possibility of relapse and the disease can go into the chronic stage. In this case, the tracheal mucosa will always be a source of significant or small unpleasant manifestations:
- almost constant throat perspiration;
- exacerbations periodically occur, there is a danger of involvement in the inflammatory process of the bronchotracheal tree;
- complications such as pneumonia and bronchitis.
It is especially important to prevent pathology and its transformation into a chronic stage to engage in strengthening the child’s whole body. It is necessary to carry out hardening procedures from birth:
- the child should be in a room with sufficiently moist, cool, fresh air;
- physical activity should be active and preferably in the fresh air;
- every day you need to walk (preferably twice a day) in any weather;
- proper nutrition with the necessary set of fats, carbohydrates and proteins, trace elements and vitamins;
- the daily regime should be streamlined, exclude passive pastime and overwork.
To strengthen the resistance of the respiratory organs in the treatment of laryngitis and tracheitis in children, you need to go to the sea in the summer, take fortifying drugs (for example, badger fat) for prevention in autumn and winter.
Tracheitis rarely occurs as a separate disease. Most often, it becomes a consequence of such a pathology as laryngitis (laryngotracheitis appears) or is enhanced by tracheobronchitis.
If treatment of acute tracheitis in children is not done on time, this can lead to serious complications.
Complications
Most often, children with adequate treatment fully recover. In some situations, tracheitis can develop into a chronic stage or entail such serious complications as:
- pneumonia;
- pharyngeal abscess;
- bronchiolitis;
- sepsis;
- bronchitis;
- inflammation of the fiber behind the throat.
We examined the symptoms and treatment of tracheitis in children.