What Infant Asthma Symptoms Are Warning Signs?
Updated December 29, 2014.
Written or reviewed by a board-certified physician. See About.com's Medical Review Board.
Question: What Infant Asthma Symptoms Are Warning Signs?
Answer:
Infant asthma symptoms can be very scary and many times parents aren't sure whether they should call their doctor. In general, if you are worried about whether or not to call your doctor, it's probably a good idea to go ahead and give a call.
If your child experiences any of the following infant asthma symptoms, consider calling your doctor or bringing your infant in to be seen immediately.
All of the following are warning signs that your infant is having trouble breathing. These could be infant asthma symptoms or could be due to another condition that causes wheezing.
Sources:
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Accessed: February 22, 2009. Expert Panel Report 3 (EPR3): Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma
Asthma. In Chest Medicine: Essentials Of Pulmonary And Critical Care Medicine. Editors: Ronald B. George, Richard W. Light, Richard A. Matthay, Michael A. Matthay. May 2005, 5th edition.
Written or reviewed by a board-certified physician. See About.com's Medical Review Board.
Question: What Infant Asthma Symptoms Are Warning Signs?
Answer:
Infant asthma symptoms can be very scary and many times parents aren't sure whether they should call their doctor. In general, if you are worried about whether or not to call your doctor, it's probably a good idea to go ahead and give a call.
If your child experiences any of the following infant asthma symptoms, consider calling your doctor or bringing your infant in to be seen immediately.
All of the following are warning signs that your infant is having trouble breathing. These could be infant asthma symptoms or could be due to another condition that causes wheezing.
Infant Asthma Symptoms- Warning Signs
- Your baby's wheezing occurs while breathing both in and out.
- The skin on your baby's chest gets pulled in as they take breathes in. Your doctor refers to this as a retraction. You can watch this video of a baby having retractions.
- Nasal flaring- Movements of the nose as your infant breathes. This video demonstrates flaring in adult, but it is essentially the same in your child.
- Coughing that has become continuous.
- Very fast breathing- More than 50 breaths a minute while your infant is sleeping.
- Your baby will no longer take the breast or the bottle or appears to be having significant problems feeding.
- Your baby develops grunting (short soft pushing sounds at the end of each breath) while feeding.
- Becoming pale.
- Blue lips or fingernails (called cyanosis).
Sources:
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Accessed: February 22, 2009. Expert Panel Report 3 (EPR3): Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma
Asthma. In Chest Medicine: Essentials Of Pulmonary And Critical Care Medicine. Editors: Ronald B. George, Richard W. Light, Richard A. Matthay, Michael A. Matthay. May 2005, 5th edition.
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