But medical information is always changing, and some information given here may be out of date. For regularly updated information on a variety of health topics, please visit familydoctor.org , the AAFP patient education Web site. Bronchiolitis is a lung infection caused by a virus. Children younger than two years get this illness in the winter and the early spring.
Most children are sick about a week and then get well.
Your child will probably have a runny nose and a low fever for two to three days. Then your child may begin to cough, breathe fast and wheeze for another two or three days. Use a cool-mist vaporizer in the bedroom while the child is sleeping. Run hot water in the shower or bathtub to steam up the bathroom and sit in there with your child if he or she is coughing hard and having trouble breathing. Your child is breathing very fast, more than 40 breaths in one minute.