1 Month old has trouble breathing?

Question

A good friend of mine has a 1 month old baby that has trouble breathing at night. She's been to the doctor but hes basically no help. I've looked online and haven't been able to find anything helpful. Anything she should be looking at? I need some info, thanks.

He stays up at night and can't sleep.

Answer 1

Try some soothing cream or even some Vick's cream,it is like a vapor type of cream. My mother used to put that on my sister chest and up under her nose to help her breathe. She may want to make sure the baby is just not congested-nose wise with a bad cold,etc.Humidifiers do work good as well.Get other professional advice as well because I was born with a heart murmur and haven't had trouble since I was a baby but I kept having trouble breathing these past few years-I had EKGs, heart monitor, everything done but my chest would get really tight sometimes-it could have been anxiety attacks but I went through emergency so many times. Out of all the professionals and doctor, and specialists I went to-only 1 noticed that I had a heart murmur. Sometimes, you just have to find that right doctor. But tell her to try the VICKs or something close because it may really help. She may also want to take her baby to the hospital anyway to make sure that her child does not have RSV-respiratory syncytival virus-a virus that causes infections of the lungs and respiratory tract. It usually takes place between November and April. Early symptoms are the same as a cold or flu.

Answer 2

Babies breathe much faster than older children and adults. A newborn's normal breathing rate is about 40 times each minute. This may slow to 20 to 40 times per minute when the baby is sleeping. The pattern of breathing in a baby may also be different. A baby may breathe fast several times, then have a brief rest for less than 10 seconds, than breathe again. This is often called periodic breathing and is a normal occurrence. Babies normally use their diaphragm (the large muscle below the lungs) for breathing.

Changes in a baby's breathing rate or pattern, using other muscles and parts of the chest to breathe, or changes in color may mean the baby is having respiratory distress and needs immediate medical attention.

Signs of respiratory problems may include, but are not limited to, the following:

* rapid or irregular breathing
Rapid breathing is more than 60 breaths each minute. A baby who is overheated or upset and crying may breathe rapidly, but the rate should slow when the baby is no longer too hot or crying. Continuously rapid breathing is a sign of a problem. Breathing that stops longer than 10 seconds, called apnea, can be a serious problem.

* flaring nostrils
A baby who is having trouble taking in enough air will have nostrils that widen with each inhaled breath.

* retracting
Another sign of difficulty taking in air is retracting, when the baby is pulling the chest in at the ribs, below the breastbone, or above the collarbones.

* grunting
This is a sound made by a baby who is having difficulty breathing. The baby grunts to try to keep air in the lungs to help build up the oxygen level. Another sound may be a moan or sigh when exhaling.

* blue color
Cyanosis, a generalized blue coloring, can be a sign the baby is not getting enough oxygen. This is often seen in babies with heart defects, as well as respiratory problems.

* coughing
Occasionally, coughing or choking may occur when a baby takes in milk too quickly with feedings. Persistent coughing or choking may indicate a breathing problem, or a problem with digestion that should be examined by your baby's physician.

For any sign of respiratory problems, you should consult your baby's physician immediately.

Answer 3

Never, EVER delay medical treatment with a baby that has trouble breathing, ESPECIALLY at night. There's something she may be allergic to. My son had a problem and we called 911 and he received oxygen treatments and some 2 week lasting steriod.

She needs to take the baby to a different doctor at the very least, and the hospital ER optimally.

Answer 4

I would try a humidifier... putting plants in his room for extra oxygen. Also i would look at where he is sleeping, he could be allergic to dust (the vents in furnace filters and in the house vents contain ALOT of germs that some people are allergic too). Maybe a pet, even a mouse lives in the walls...

I would not sleep if my baby wasn't breathing right.. I would look into everything, including allergy tests and a different doctor

Answer 5

tell your friend they should try a humidifier and make sure they dust regularly. Change the air filters and possibly get the air ducts cleaned. try the humidifier 1st, w/out any vapor medication, just a regular moist air humidifier. I would also ask the babies doctor to have a chest xray done. It could be asthma. My daughter was having the same problem she needed a nebulizer, she has allergies which trigger her asthma, to control her breathing at night.. Some things to try hope it all works out!!

Answer 6

My son had the same problem. The doctor kept saying it was just a cold but I got a second opinion. It turned out that he has allergic asthma. Also they took an x-ray and found he had bronchitis. Get a second opinion...
Especially if he is wheezing. My son uses a nebulizer when he has problems breathing now.
Just get a second opinion. Doctors are so afraid that if they have the wrong prognosis that they delay everything

Answer 7

My son went through the same thing for the first year. We tried every kind of doctor there is. He used a neubulizer. He was in the hospital for a week right before his first birthday. It was HELL. The dr's couldn't figure it out, so I DID. It was his baby wash!! Tell her to stop using things like that one at a time and see if there is a difference. Can't hurt! Good luck to you and your friend!

Answer 8

Take the baby to the Hospital Immediately. When my aunt had her baby he had trouble eating and it took him a few days until her baby was able to go home. So if its been a month and the baby is still breathing incorrectly then you should seek medical attention immediately.

Answer 9

I don't really know because I cant hear him but my daughter has a condition called laryngeal malaysia forgive the spelling it is very common in babies especially when they sleep and they grow out of it by one year. It is because the flap on the top of their windpipes aren't as hard as ours and it is floppy so when they breath is sounds kind of like a raspy noise. This could be it and its sounds like that's what her doctor thinks too. But if she is still worried she should take him to the ER. If he goes at all blue around the mouth take him in immediatly

Answer 10

Agree with all the others, tell her to go over the Dr.'s head and get to the ER. If he has troubel breathing, especially while laying down, then he could have a weak air passage that could collapse and cause him to suffocate and die. We're not being alarmists here, this is a very serious problem. Get to a Dr. and get him checked out.