Bronchiolitis — advice for parents and carers
How to look after your baby at home, and the warning signs to watch for.
Your baby has bronchiolitis — a common viral chest infection in babies and young children. Most are mild and get better within about 2 weeks, though the cough can linger. It is often worst around days 3–5, so keep a close eye on them.
Your care details
To be completed by the team before you leave.
These need an ambulance.
- Pauses in their breathing, or going blue, pale or grey
- Working very hard to breathe — ribs and tummy sucking in with every breath
- Grunting with each breath, or nostrils flaring
- Too breathless to feed at all
- Very drowsy, floppy, or hard to wake
- A rash that does not fade when you press a glass against it
Bring them to the ED or the service named above the same day.
- Taking less than half their usual feeds over the last two or three feeds
- Noticeably fewer wet nappies — fewer than half the usual number, or a dry nappy for 12 hours
- Breathing faster than usual, with mild pulling-in at the ribs, but feeding reasonably
- A fever they are not settling with
- You are worried they are getting worse rather than better
Bronchiolitis usually gets worse for the first 3 to 5 days, then slowly improves. The cough can last 3 weeks or more. Feed little and often, keep your baby upright after feeds, and keep them away from cigarette smoke and vaping aerosols. Your baby is at higher risk of getting worse and should be reviewed earlier if they were born prematurely, are under 3 months old, or have a heart, lung or neuromuscular condition, or a weakened immune system.
Caring for your baby
- Offer smaller feeds more often, and keep them upright while feeding.
- Clear a blocked nose with saline drops before feeds.
- You can give paracetamol if they are distressed or feverish — use the right one for their age.
- Keep them away from cigarette smoke.
- Antibiotics do not help — bronchiolitis is caused by a virus.
- Watch their feeding, wet nappies and breathing.
What is normal
These are common with bronchiolitis and usually nothing to worry about:
The cough can last up to 3 weeks as they get better.