Vital signs - Respirations: Nursing skills

Breathing, also known as respiration, is how the air moves into and out of the lungs. It consists of repetitive cycles of inspiration, which is when air full of oxygen flows into the lungs, and expiration, when the air along with carbon dioxide leaves the lungs. In order for this cycle to happen, there are respiratory centers within the brain that control breathing. These centers receive information from a group of receptors, known as chemoreceptors, which detect any changes regarding the oxygen and carbon dioxide concentration in the body. Now, as a nurse, you need to be able to measure your client’s respirations and determine its characteristics, including the respiratory rate, rhythm, and depth of respiration and whether the respirations are quiet or noisy as well as easy or difficult.

Okay, respiratory rate refers to the number of breaths a client takes in one minute. Normal respiratory rate varies among different age groups. So, for adults, it’s typically between 12 and 20. For adolescents between 12 and 20 years old, normal respiratory rate is 15 to 20. For school-aged children between 5 and 12 years old, it’s from 15 to 25. For preschoolers from 3 to 5, it’s 22 to 34, while toddlers from 1 to 3 have a normal respiratory rate of 24 to 40. Finally, infants under 1 year of age normally have the fastest respiratory rate, which ranges from 30 to 60 breaths per minute.

Besides age, the respiratory rate can also be influenced by many factors, including physical activity; body temperature; emotions, like anger, fear, or stress; medications; smoking; certain diseases of the heart or lungs; or even the weather! A client can also voluntarily choose to increase their respiratory rate or hold their breath and, thus, decrease their respiratory rate. So, tachypnea is when the respiratory rate is faster than normal, and this can occur in response to strenuous exercise, fever, pain, anxiety, or specific medications. In contrast, bradypnea means that the respiratory rate is too slow and can be due to respiratory problems or various medications.