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General Info

Childhood Interstitial Lung Disease (chILD) is not just one disease, but a larger group of many different rare lung conditions – more than 200 total – impacting the tissue & space around the air sacs (interstitium) and sometimes throughout the lungs (diffuse). These problems are found in babies, children, and teenagers. The symptoms can vary quite drastically from mild to serious & life altering. All types of chILD make it difficult for oxygen to be used in the lungs and for it to get to the rest of the body.

It is unknown exactly how many patients have a chILD diagnosis, as there is no complete and up to date registry for this rare diagnosis. There is current work being done to create this needed registry and bring together more data about these patients.

Symptoms

Symptoms & their severity can be different for every kiddo diagnosed with a form of chILD. Commonly seen symptoms associated with these diagnose include: rapid breathing, increased effort to breath and use of extra muscles, noisy breathing or “grunting,” difficulty gaining weight, reflux, cough, frequent infections, and/or low oxygen levels.

This is not an all inclusive list & not all patients will have all of the symptoms listed above. This information is not to be utilized in place of an expert medical opinion. If you have concerns about your loved one, please speak to your primary medical provider directly.