What should you know about pan bronchiolitis?

Bronchiolitis is an infection that inflames the small airways in babies and young children. It often begins like a cold, then causes cough, faster breathing, wheezing, chest recession and difficulty feeding. Fever may occur, but some children have no fever. Symptoms can change over hours, so observe the child rather than relying on one temperature reading or one period of quiet breathing.

Offer smaller feeds more often and keep the child upright while awake and supervised. Clear nasal mucus gently if it interferes with feeding. Check wet nappies, breathing effort, skin colour and responsiveness. Keep smoke away from the child and allow rest. Antibiotics do not treat the viral cause. A clinician may consider oxygen or other support when breathing or hydration is unsafe; nebuliser treatment is not automatically needed for every child.

Get emergency help if the child has pauses in breathing, severe chest pulling, grunting, blue or grey lips, extreme sleepiness, or cannot feed because of breathlessness. Seek urgent clinical advice for clearly worsening breathing, much less urine, repeated vomiting or a child who is difficult to wake. Babies born prematurely or with heart, lung or immune conditions may need earlier assessment.

Ask how much feeding and urine output is reassuring, which breathing changes should trigger emergency help, and whether your child needs monitoring or a child health consultation. Clarify whether any inhaled treatment has a specific role for your child.