Information for Family and Carers

Consult with a Plunket GP or Practice nurse - www.plunket.org.nz

Healthy homes

Warm and dry housing is especially important for childhood bronchiolitis. For information on creating a healthy home, click here.

BRANZ (Building Research Association of New Zealand) has a variety of information bulletins which can be downloaded each at small cost from their website, under ‘publications’, then ‘bulletins’ branz.org.nz.
EECA (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority) has a range of energy conservation information at energywise.govt.nz.

Emergency help

Bronchiolitis can affect your child’s breathing, so dial 111 for urgent help if your child

• has severe difficulty breathing or has periods of stopping breathing
• is becoming less responsive
• looks very pale
• is floppy
• stops breathing, or is breathing quickly, has noisy breathing and is having to use extra effort to breathe
• is going blue in the tongue and lips
• is taking less than half of their normal feeds
• is vomiting
• has not wet a nappy for six hours
• is getting worse

Unsure what to do?

Call HEALTHLINE on 0800 611 116. An experienced registered nurse will be able to advise you on what you should do next.