Illness
My Son’s Journey With Stridor
Stridor in Babies: Our Experience & Journey
My son was diagnosed with stridor when he was 2 days old. The doctors were concerned when they heard his breathing and saw the effort he needed to put into taking each breath.
What Is Stridor?
Stridor or noisy breathing is a high pitch wheezing sound that is characterized by rhythmic loud breathing. Its most common in infants around the age of 6 months with smaller airways and can get louder when the baby is lying in his back, feeding, crying, or excited.
By writing this piece, my aim is to help new mothers who may be going through the same thing as me.
It can definitely be a scary thing to hear the loud noise your baby is making and people ask us all the time if he is okay, but stay strong because hopefully your baby will outgrow it and if not, there are safe treatments options out there.
What Causes Stridor?
Laryngomalacia is the most common cause of stridor, followed by Vocal cord dysfunction and an immature floppy larynx (which is the airways), and in this case, it usually resolves by age of 2 when the airways are more developed.
Other less common and chronic causes include Croup or bacterial infection that follows a viral infection.
How My Son Got Diagnosed?
Yasin started having stridor when a day after we were discharged from the hospital.
During our hospital stay, he showed no signs of stridor, but as soon as we came back from hospital his breathing changed and it became much deeper and louder. Because I had my 2 previous kids with stridor, I knew he had it too, so I wasn’t as alarmed as I was with my first child. However, I’d have to say his stridor was much louder than his sister’s.
When the nurse came in for our 2-week appointment it got much louder, and she referred us to the emergency ward at the Royal Children’s Hospital, where the paediatricians saw him. I advised the paediatrician that my other two kids did have stridor and it got better before they were two. He checked his breathing and oxygen levels and discharged us but said to keep a close eye on his color and to come back straight away if we notice he is struggling to breathe or any color change.
He said he hoped he will outgrow the stridor and he booked us an appointment in 6 months for a follow-up. If the stridor doesn’t go away further tests will be done to pinpoint what is the reason and the best treatment options for him, one of which is surgery.
Wishing for a speedy recovery.