Always kee1 babies away from smoke’s

IT seems odd that no one used to bat an eyelid when it came to puffing a cigarette around children.

How things change. Smoking in cars with children present is now so unacceptable that it has just been banned in England and Wales. Let’s hope Scotland follows suit.

I advised a couple of young parents to keep their baby away from smoking adults recently.

Their child had developed symptoms of a cold, which had steadily got worse.

His breathing was a little more rapid than usual and he had a nasty cough. Mum and Dad said he’d gone off his food — quite unlike him.

I could see the baby’s nostrils flaring slightly as he worked harder to take a breath. When I listened to his chest, I could hear some faint wheezing.

It looked to me like something called bronchiolitis, which is relatively common at this time of year in babies — around one in three are affected by it in their first year.

Bronchiolitis is caused by a virus that usually results in a cold if caught by an older child or grown-up.

In babies, the small airways in the lungs have not yet fully developed. In bronchiolitis the smallest airways, or bronchioles, become swollen and full of mucus. This can make breathing more difficult.

Since it’s caused by a virus, there’s no medicine to cure it, so the symptoms are treated until it gets better.

If the baby isn’t eating, then mum should try to make sure the wee one is getting enough fluids to avoid dehydration. To help breathing, you can elevate the head of the cot.

Try to keep newborn babies away from people with colds, but it’s often not possible to prevent bronchiolitis. However, there are measures which may reduce the severity of the condition.

Breast-feeding helps baby retain mum’s immunity so that’s definitely recommended.

And, of course, staying away from cigarette smoke.

Other than that, keep a close eye on the infant — speak to a doctor if you’re concerned, as although most cases are mild, some babies will need a short stay in hospital.