Bronchiolitis Epidemic: The Right Things to Do to Protect Your Child

Bronchiolitis is a viral respiratory infection that affects mainly children under 2 years of age. The disease is usually caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which causes inflammation of the walls of the bronchioles (the smallest bronchi). It is characterized by shortness of breath with signs such as coughing and rapid wheezing. To learn more about symptoms, you can visit the Health Insurance page " Recognizing Bronchiolitis ”.

Because bronchiolitis is a highly contagious disease, simple actions can reduce the risk of transmitting the virus. It is also important to know the right behaviors to adopt in case of bronchiolitis in an infant.

How can we reduce the risk of transmitting the virus?

To reduce transmission of the virus within the family, the following prevention measures should be adopted:

• Wash hands for 30 seconds, with soap and water or alcohol before and after contact with the baby.
• open the windows of the room where the baby sleeps for at least 10 minutes a day;
• avoid, where possible, taking children to confined public places (public transport, shopping malls, etc.) where they might be in contact with people with colds;
• not sharing unwashed bottles, pacifiers or cutlery;
• regularly wash toys and soft toys;
• not smoking next to babies and children;
• for colds: coughing or sneezing into the elbow, avoiding kissing the baby on the face and hands, wearing a mask when caring for your baby.

You can consult the page “ Preventing bronchiolitis, a highly contagious viral disease ”.

What if your baby shows signs of bronchiolitis?

If your child has signs of bronchiolitis, you should promptly contact your doctor who will confirm the diagnosis and then follow the care and treatment prescribed by the doctor.

To relieve your child’s breathing difficulties, the child should be helped to breathe better:

• clean your nose 6 times a day with saline and systematically before meals and bedtime;
• keep his back straight when he's awake;
• lying flat on your back;
• don't cover it too much.

Your child should be given drinking water regularly to avoid dehydration and to make sure they eat enough, you can give small amounts more often.

Monitor the course of the disease, especially the first 3 days.

Cough is essential to evacuate secretions: anti-cough drugs (syrups, thinners...) are contraindicated in small children. Likewise, antibiotics are useless because bronchiolitis is caused by a virus, not bacteria.

What are the signs that need to be called for emergency help?

You must contact the Emergency Medical Assistance Service (Samu) immediately by calling 15 or 112 in case of alarming signs in your baby:

• they drink less than half of their bottles during 3 consecutive meals or fail to suckle if breastfeeding
• they vomit systematically;
• his behavior is worrying: he sleeps all the time and lacks tone or, on the contrary, he cries unusually, he is agitated and cannot fall asleep;
• he's having more and more trouble breathing.

And also if your child has, in addition to these symptoms, the following severity criteria:

• is less than 3 months old and born prematurely;
• is less than 6 weeks old;
• he suffers from heart disease, respiratory disease or immunodeficiency.