Difficulty breathing can occur when a child's lungs or heart are
not working well.
Symptoms of mild difficulty breathing
The child:
- Breathes slightly faster than normal. Most
healthy children breathe less than 40 times each minute.
- Uses his
or her stomach muscles more than normal to help with breathing.
- Has normal skin color in his or her face, hands, and
feet.
Symptoms of moderate difficulty breathing
The child:
- Breathes fast.
- Tires during
feeding and may stop often to catch his or her breath. This may cause the child
to lose interest in food and eat less.
- Needs to use his or her
stomach muscles to help with breathing.
- Has pale, slightly gray, or blotchy skin, particularly the
face, hands, and feet. The tongue, gums, and lips still look pink.
Symptoms of severe difficulty breathing
The child:
- Breathes very fast or grunts with each
breath.
- Looks anxious or exhausted during feeding or is unable to
nurse or take a bottle.
- Uses his or her neck, chest, and abdominal
muscles to breathe, causing a "sucking in" between or under the ribs
(retractions).
- May flare his or her nostrils when breathing
in.
- May need to sit up and lean forward or tilt the nose up as if
sniffing the air.
- May fight any attempt to change his or her
position.
- Has pale, gray, or bluish skin (especially the tongue,
lips, earlobes, and nail beds), or the skin is mottled (patchy pale and blue
pattern).
