Pediatric stridor

What is a pediatric stridor?

Stridor is a condition that may happen when something is blocking your child’s upper airway. The high-pitched sound is usually heard when your child takes a breath in, but it may also be heard when your child breathes out.

When a child has stridor, it signals that something else is wrong, such as:

• A blockage in the windpipe 
• Congenital (from birth) deformity
• Respiratory infection

What are the causes of a pediatric stridor?

Stridor occurs due to any condition that causes severe narrowing of your child’s airway.

The most common congenital (from birth) causes of stridor include:

• Laryngomalacia 
• Subglottic hematoma 
• Subglottic stenosis 
• Vocal cord paralysis

Other causes of stridor include:

• Bronchitis, croup and other respiratory infections
• Epiglottitis (bacterial infection that causes severe swelling of a flap of tissue at the base of the tongue)
• Swallowed object that gets stuck
• Swallowed substance that causes severe swelling inside the throat
• Tonsillitis (inflammation of the tonsils)
• Trauma to the windpipe, including neck fracture