Mild to moderate difficulty breathing in a child with respiratory problems

A child who is having mild difficulty breathing may:

• Breathe slightly faster than normal.
• Use the abdominal muscles to assist breathing.
• Have normal skin color on the face, hands, and feet.

A child who is having moderate difficulty breathing may:

• Breathe fast.
• Tire during feeding and stop often to catch his or her breath. The effort needed for breathing and eating leads to a lack of interest in food and decreased food intake.
• Use the abdominal muscles to breathe.
• Have pale to slightly gray or mottled face, hands, and feet while the tongue, gums, and lips remain pink.

Upper respiratory system infections, such as colds and flu, usually cause only mild difficulty breathing, such as a stuffy nose. Small children with stuffy noses learn to breathe through their mouths. Babies have not gained the ability to breathe through their mouths and so have more difficulty breathing when their noses are stuffy. Usually, mild difficulty breathing can be treated at home by humidifying the air and using saline nose drops. Occasionally suctioning the nose using an aspirating bulb to remove excess mucus will help.

A blocked airway, asthma, or a lower respiratory infection may cause difficulty breathing. If your child does not have a history of asthma and is experiencing moderate difficulty breathing, he or she needs to be evaluated by a health professional as soon as possible.

Children with severe difficulty breathing need to be seen by a health professional immediately. Children can become severely ill very quickly, so difficulty breathing needs to be monitored closely for any changes. Call 911 or other emergency services immediately if signs of severe difficulty breathing are present.