If your child develops a respiratory infection, you should contact your doctor. This infection is called bronchiolitis . Other viruses than can cause similar infections include Parainfluenza Virus and Adenovirus. Because infections can be so serious in BPD, it's important to try to prevent infections as much as possible. Particularly during periods of respiratory distress, the breathing muscles work harder to pull air into the lungs.
Inflammation also makes it easier for fluid to travel from the blood vessels into the lung tissue.
This water tends to accumulate in the walls of the airsacs, making it more difficult for oxygen to travel from inside the airsacs to the blood vessels around the airsacs. Fluid in the air sacs also makes the air sacs, and therefore the lungs, more stiff. Fluid can also accumulate in the walls of the bronchial tubes , making the bronchial tubes narrower. The increased lung stiffness and narrowing of the bronchial tubes makes breathing even more difficult , perpetuating the problem. Narrowing of the bronchial tubes can also cause wheezing .