The symptoms of bronchitis in children are similar to those in an adult. Constant coughing, generally with mucus, fever/chills, runny nose, sore throat and shortness of breath are all symptoms of bronchitis in children. Doctors may request your child have a chest x-ray or blood tests to confirm the bronchitis.
As with adults, bronchitis in children is often caused by another illness, like flu or a cold. A bacterial or viral infection may cause bronchitis, as well as polluted air and cigarette smoke. Other medical conditions such as asthma may increase the chances of your child contracting bronchitis. Allergies also increase the risk of a child contracting bronchitis.
As with adults, children too can suffer from chronic bronchitis. Some doctors use a slightly different definition for chronic bronchitis in children, stating a child may be suffering from chronic bronchitis when a mucus-producing cough lasts for more than two weeks having received medical treatment for those two weeks. The time period for adult chronic bronchitis is at least three months in two consecutive years. The main causes of chronic bronchitis in children are asthma, cystic fibrosis or an airway irritant.
Generally antibiotics are not prescribed for bronchitis in children as the main cause is a viral infection. Most treatments revolve around relief of the symptoms in the child. These treatments can include cough medicine, humidifiers or analgesics for any fever. Normally if a child has acute bronchitis then it will last for less than two weeks and clear up without treatment. If the child is diagnosed with chronic bronchitis then treatment will include avoidance of the cause of the illness, for example parents giving up smoking.