Acute respiratory pathologies can lead to dangerous complications and disruptions in the respiratory system. Croup is one of the most common consequences of infectious diseases. He is exposed mainly to children in the age of 3 months to 3 years.
What is a false cereal in children?
An alternative name for the disease under consideration is stenosing laryngitis. It is an acute inflammation of the larynx, in which there is a sharp and sudden narrowing of its walls and obstruction of the upper respiratory tract. This can trigger choking, especially if the baby is small. From true groats false differs pathogens causative agent. In the first case, the cause of the problem is diphtheria, and in the second - other infectious agents.
The mechanism of development of stenosing laryngitis
False groats in children are due to the following processes:
- Severe inflammation of the larynx leads to marked puffiness or swelling of the soft tissues in the space under the vocal cords.
- Acute stenosing laryngitis provokes spasms of the muscles-constrictors. They contract, so the laryngeal lumen narrows sharply.
- Inflammatory processes are accompanied by the release of a large amount of viscous sputum. Slime accumulates in the narrow lumen of the larynx and can completely cover it.
False groats in children - causes
The causative agent of the described disease are infections. In most cases, viruses cause false cerebral cramps in children - the reasons for its development include such pathologies:
- influenza ;
- herpes simplex;
- measles;
- paragripp ;
- adenovirus;
- chickenpox;
- whooping cough.
Less common is stenosing laryngitis of bacterial origin. In this situation, its causes are:
- streptococci;
- haemophilus influenzae;
- pneumococci;
- staphylococci.
False groats in children can begin on a background of tonsillitis, rhinitis, adenoiditis and other diseases as a complication. The following factors contribute to its development:
- rickets;
- avitaminosis;
- birth trauma;
- transferred hypoxia;
- diathesis;
- artificial feeding;
- low immunity.
The main reason for the occurrence of false cereal exclusively in children and the absence of this condition in adults is the size of the larynx. At the child it initially small, therefore even easy narrowing of its lumen leads to attacks of a dyspnea. As you grow up, the larynx increases, and the child simply "overgrows" stenosing laryngitis.
Is false cereal contagious in children?
The pathology itself is not transmitted from one child to another even with close direct contact, but it is better to isolate a sick child immediately. Stenosing laryngitis in children always progresses against a background of acute respiratory infection. Viral or bacterial diseases are very contagious, so in the team often there are several cases of inflammation and narrowing of the larynx lumen at the same time.
How to identify a false cereal in a child?
The presented state has specific signs allowing it to be diagnosed unerringly. False groats in children - symptoms:
- sonorous "barking" cough;
- noisy breathing, sniffing;
- hoarseness of voice;
- anxiety;
- dyspnea;
- enlarged lymph nodes in the neck;
- increase in body temperature (from 37.2 degrees depending on the cause of the disease);
- sleep disorders.
Degrees of false cereal in children
The clinical picture of stenosing laryngitis corresponds to the severity of its course. How is false cereal manifested in children with different degrees of narrowing of the larynx lumen:
- Compensated. Dyspnea and difficulty breathing are observed only against the background of physical or emotional stress. At inhalations, wheezing can be heard.
- Subcompensated. The symptomatology of false croup is present in children and at rest. The child is nervous, does not eat well and sleeps. On inhalation, the intercostal spaces and the jugular fossa are retracted, dry rales are audible. The nasolabial triangle acquires a light cyanotic color.
- Decompensated. Anxiety of the baby gives way to sleepiness, inhibition and apathy, confusion. The child suffers from severe shortness of breath and a "barking" cough, the voice disappears. The whole face and part of the neck has a bluish tinge. On inhalations dry and wet wheezing is clearly audible, the heart is unstable (tachycardia), the pulse is threadlike.
- Asphyxia. The heaviest variant of a false groats. The child's breathing is superficial and arrhythmic, there is no coughing. There is a sharp decrease in blood pressure, bradycardia, convulsions. Consciousness is confused and turns into a hypoxic coma. Without emergency care, this condition can result in a fatal outcome.
What to do with a false croup in a child?
If the parents notice the obvious signs of stenosing laryngitis with difficulty breathing and blueing of the nasolabial triangle, the patient should immediately call for medical help. Especially dangerous is the false cereal in infants, because the size of their larynx is very small and asphyxia can occur quickly. Before the arrival of a team of specialists it is important to maximally reassure the child and provide him with comfortable conditions for normal breathing.
When an attack of false cereal in a child is not accompanied by shortness of breath or suffocation, and there is only a "barking cough", you can cope with the problem yourself:
- Give abundant alkaline drink (bicarbonate water without gas, low-fat milk with a pinch of soda).
- Provide voice peace.
- At high temperature (more than 38 degrees) use antipyretic.
- Do inhalation nebulizer with mineral water, Lazolvanom or saline.
- Cool indoor air to 18 degrees or less.
Stenosing laryngitis in children - emergency care
Before the arrival of qualified medical personnel, it is important to prevent further narrowing of the larynx and asphyxia. Effective will be the first aid for false croup in the child, described in the previous section, and additional measures:
- To induce a vomitive reflex, pressing a finger or a spoon on the root of the tongue.
- Moisten the air in the room. If there is no special apparatus, you can hang cool wet towels in the room, move the baby to the bathroom, where cold water flows from the faucets.
- Make inhalation. If the previously proposed drugs are ineffective, use Pulmicort for false croup in children.
- Place the baby in the bed half-sitting so that less mucus accumulates in the larynx.
False groats in children - treatment
Therapy of stenosing laryngitis is prescribed only by the doctor individually. The options for treating false croup in children depend on the frequency and severity of the seizures, the age of the baby, the causative agent of the infection. In the fight against this disease the following groups of medicines are used:
- glucocorticosteroid hormones (Prednisolone, Methylprednisolone);
- antispasmodics (Papaverin, No-Shpa);
- antitussives (Codeine, Bromhexine);
- antihistamines (Eden, Zodak);
- bronchodilators (Lazolvan, Geksoral);
- sedative (extract of valerian, motherwort);
- antiviral (Tamiflu, Remantadine);
- atibiotics (Erythromycin, Amoxicillin) and others.
In addition, inhalations are prescribed for false croup in a child. In the hospital, moistened oxygen is used, it is desirable to get a good nebulizer home, especially if the baby is often subjected to a stenosing laryngitis. The procedures are performed using any hypoallergenic alkaline solutions, Lazolvan, Pulmicorta.
How to avoid false cereal in children?
The only way to prevent pathology is to prevent its causes - ARVI and ARI. False groats in children always begin against the background of infections, so parents need to strengthen the baby's immune system, monitor the temperature and humidity in his bedroom. The answer to the question of how to prevent false cereal in a child after infection with a flu or other disease is similar. A crumb should be in a cool and humid room, nebulizer inhalations are carried out 2-3 times a day, one of them must be before bedtime.