How to Manage Tracheitis

You wake up in the middle of the night to hear your child coughing in his bedroom. The cough is so strong and deep that it actually sounds like it hurts. You feel his head--it is hot and he is running a fever. You know you have to take him to the hospital, and when you get there they tell you that he has tracheitis. How do you manage his care with tracheitis?

Instructions

• 1

  Understand what tracheitis is. It is caused by staphylococcus aureus which is a viral upper respiratory infection. The trachea is swollen and there is difficulty in breathing. There is severe coughing, sore throat and a high fever. Your child feels miserable. There is a wheezing sound when the child coughs.

• 2

  Prepare for the doctor to possibly place a tube into your child's airways to help breathing. This is called an endotracheal tube.

• 3

  Know that your child may need an IV. Receiving antibiotics, penicillin or one of the cephalosporins, through an IV may be required to help your child's breathing capabilities. The antibiotics will assist your child in kicking the viral infection. .

• 4

  Prepare for your child to be put on oxygen. Being unable to breathe properly and efficiently, the doctor may prescribe that the child is put on oxygen. Your child's blood gases are monitored to be sure that your child is breathing adequately.

• 5

  Avoid exertion and sudden change in air temperature and humidity. Do not let your child run around and get over tired. He still needs rest. Make sure that you keep the room temperature constant. Avoid taking your child from a warm home out into a really cold night; the difference in temperature could cause an onset of coughing and an irritation of the trachea.

• 6

  Let your child rest, to help relieve some of his pain. Prop him up with a couple of pillows at night to assist him in breathing during the night. Assure that the house is smoke free. The trachea is already swollen so it needs to be relaxed and undisturbed for a few days.

• 7

  Keep giving your child the prescribed antibiotics that were given to him after your child is released from the hospital. When your child is home try exposing him to steam from a hot bath or a humidifier. Your child may be given a nebulizer which is a device used to administer medication directly to the lungs.