Croup

[Iheartdis]

My DD2 had a bad cold about a month ago. I took her into the doctor and they determined she had an ear infection among other things. They prescribed amoxicicillin. She got better for a little while and then a few days ago she woke up with a terrible cough. Her older sis is sick with a cold so I just assumed she caught another cold. WRONG! Last night at 2am she woke up having a coughing fit and she couldn't catch her breath. I was terrified because I have never had this kind of situation happen before. I have never even heard of croup up until today. I don't know if I was over reacting but if you would have heard this cough it would have scared anyone. I wanted to take her to the er but I got her to calm down and go back to sleep. Needless to say I didn't sleep well last night and had the monitor turned up to max volume. I took her back to the doctor today (which she absolutely hates and cries as soon as we walk through the door, and cries the entire time we are there) The doc determined she has croup and prescribed her a steroid. In all the hoopla, I forgot to ask the doctor exactly what causes this virus. So if any of y'all are in the know, please enlighten me. Thanks!

 

[drag n' fly]

Croup is very common and easily passed in fact ds8 has it right now. He only gets prescribed steroids when the puffers dont do the job. It is just a virus. One of the best ways to calm a croup cough is with cold air. It is quite common to get it here in the winter. Taking the kid outside really does help. Lol yes my Dr told me that. We also use a cool mist humidifier when it flares up. It can be quite scary because it does sound like whooping cough though.

 

[Dee77]

My DD4 gets croup at the change of season, into fall and spring. From what I understand it will (and has) happened each year and most kids outgrow it by 8 or 9 years old. Taking her outside if it is very chilly does help the symptoms subside but my pediatrician generally gives us an extra dose of the steroid medicine to use at the on-set of the next case.

 

[Iheartdis]

I have the humidifier running in her room as we speak and the doc also said I could try taking her out into the cold air as well as running the shower for steam. I don't know if you have ever seen the commercial about pertussis where the baby is coughing, but when she had her coughing fit I immediately thought it could be that, which was really scary. Does anyone know the difference between croup and pertussis (whooping cough)?

 

[drag n' fly]

Here is a link that explains it. It is very rare for a child to get whooping cough if their vaccinations are up to date but it can and does happen. Apparently the cough is very different. HTH

http://croup-cough.info/difference-between-croup-and-whooping-cough/

 

[Carina]

FYI....

The same virus that causes croup in a baby causes laryngitis in adults

 

[PollyannaMom]

DS had it at 2 as well. The first time, the on-call doc listened to him on the phone, and sent us to the ER for a steroid treatment. We were in the hospital two days.

The second time, different doc, said take him out in the cold for a few minutes, then the steamy bathroom, then the cold... and to give him a little children's Benadryl. Worked like a charm, no hospitalization, no scared toddler (panic makes it worse).

Apparently DS was prone to "spasmodic croup". Between the cold germs and something in the air during the change of season, his throat would get really irratated. Once we knew the signs (like if DS had a "cough-y" cold at certain times of the year) we would give him Benadryl before bed and prevent it turning into croup all together.

 

[aprilgail2]

DS had it at 2 as well. The first time, the on-call doc listened to him on the phone, and sent us to the ER for a steroid treatment. We were in the hospital two days.

The second time, different doc, said take him out in the cold for a few minutes, then the steamy bathroom, then the cold... and to give him a little children's Benadryl. Worked like a charm, no hospitalization, no scared toddler (panic makes it worse).

Apparently DS was prone to "spasmodic croup". Between the cold germs and something in the air during the change of season, his throat would get really irratated. Once we knew the signs (like if DS had a "cough-y" cold at certain times of the year) we would give him Benadryl before bed and prevent it turning into croup all together.

My daughter had croup every year from 2 months old - 9 years old. At 2 months we went right to the ER- after that it would be steamy showers then out into the cold then a breathing treatment. That normally worked. A few times we did have to go the ER when it was spasmodic croup because she would been a steroid shot and to be on oxygen for awhile. Dr said they normally outgrow croup by the age of 5 but mine did not-she was the SIZE of a 5 year old at 8 but didn't outgrow it until 9!

 

[MichelleVW]

My daughter had croup every year from 2 months old - 9 years old. At 2 months we went right to the ER- after that it would be steamy showers then out into the cold then a breathing treatment. That normally worked. A few times we did have to go the ER when it was spasmodic croup because she would been a steroid shot and to be on oxygen for awhile. Dr said they normally outgrow croup by the age of 5 but mine did not-she was the SIZE of a 5 year old at 8 but didn't outgrow it until 9!

Same thing happened with my youngest DD. She got croup all the time when she was little and it took forever for her to outgrow it since she was so tiny.

OP, hopefully your DD feels better soon, croup is common, but scary!

 

[DVCLiz]

Ah, this brings back many memories of sitting on our front steps in the middle of the night with a toddler sitting on my lap barking like a seal.

We just took a big blanket and wrapped up in that - it's only the cold air the baby is breathing that helps, not full-body exposure to cold air. I didn't know that the first time I read that advice - lol.

 

[golfgal]

I had croup as a child, ended up in the hospital once when I was in 3rd grade. It is scary.

Our kids all had this too. DD15 only had one attack, DS18 had several, DS15 also had several and ended up in the hospital once when he was 9. Cold air works a lot better than steamy air in a shower.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Keep an eye on kids like this, it might be just Croup but it could be more and its important to get it right. Asthma cough sounds exactly like Croup.
My son used to get diagnosed with Croup every year, this time of year. Finally when he was about 5 I told the Dr that statistically it doesn't make sense they he get the same thing year after year when the weather warms, almost to the week and the fact he never had fevers with the cough. So the Dr looked and realized I was right and my son was diagnosed with Asthma that is triggered by the molds & pollen that flourish when the first hint of warm weather hits. Even to this day he gets a major flare-up now but its much more manageable with Allegra and inhalers.

I hope your daughter recovers quickly. Sometimes a very bad cough can make it heard to breathe. A few hints to calm the airway, try to keep her calm, panic makes it worse. Run the shower on hot so she can breathe the steam for about 10 minutes, I used to read to my son in there to keep him calm and distracted. Then have the child put her head out a window or in the freezer (had to do this in WDW one year) to take some deep cold breaths and go back & forth calmly. Oh, and make sure you don't have any home fragrance plug ins or sprays, potpourri, cleansers, perfumes ect anywhere near her while she is healing because any inhaled irritant can trigger a coughing spasm. Same goes for airborne dust so don't clean and don't open the windows to let pollen in, even if she isn't allergic the little pollen particles she breathes in can cause a stir.

Good luck

 

[lovetoscrap]

Just FYI, while usually they outgrow it my 11 year old had croup 2 weeks ago, her second time this school year. And the steamy shower and cold air don't help at that age (I had no idea!). So if you hear that seal bark cough, no matter what age they are, get to the dr for treatment. I put off going in Nov because I thought there was no way she would have croup and it was just a cough and would go away.

 

[golfgal]

Keep an eye on kids like this, it might be just Croup but it could be more and its important to get it right. Asthma cough sounds exactly like Croup.
My son used to get diagnosed with Croup every year, this time of year. Finally when he was about 5 I told the Dr that statistically it doesn't make sense they he get the same thing year after year when the weather warms, almost to the week and the fact he never had fevers with the cough. So the Dr looked and realized I was right and my son was diagnosed with Asthma that is triggered by the molds & pollen that flourish when the first hint of warm weather hits. Even to this day he gets a major flare-up now but its much more manageable with Allegra and inhalers.

I hope your daughter recovers quickly. Sometimes a very bad cough can make it heard to breathe. A few hints to calm the airway, try to keep her calm, panic makes it worse. Run the shower on hot so she can breathe the steam for about 10 minutes, I used to read to my son in there to keep him calm and distracted. Then have the child put her head out a window or in the freezer (had to do this in WDW one year) to take some deep cold breaths and go back & forth calmly. Oh, and make sure you don't have any home fragrance plug ins or sprays, potpourri, cleansers, perfumes ect anywhere near her while she is healing because any inhaled irritant can trigger a coughing spasm. Same goes for airborne dust so don't clean and don't open the windows to let pollen in, even if she isn't allergic the little pollen particles she breathes in can cause a stir.

Good luck

I agree that it is common to have asthma and croup but with our kids, that do have both, the cough is no where near the same. The cough isn't really the issue with croup, it is the not being able to breath and the strider that goes along with croup. Our kids' asthma cough sounded nothing like croup either.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I agree that it is common to have asthma and croup but with our kids, that do have both, the cough is no where near the same. The cough isn't really the issue with croup, it is the not being able to breath and the strider that goes along with croup. Our kids' asthma cough sounded nothing like croup either.

Did your kids get fevers with the Coup? Mine never did which was a huge red flag. We also live near one of the areas with the highest Asthma rate areas in the US, the list cites Allentown but the whole Lehigh Valley is bad, I don't know if that has something to do with the severity of the cough of not but my son's cough is indistinguishable from Croup, he would even vomit from it poor kid I was told by numerous Dr's that Asthma often presents as a cough in children, not as the traditional wheezing thing adults do. Again this could just be about the particular triggers in a particular region of the country.

http://www.asthmacapitals.com/ there is a link for the top 100 places

 

[golfgal]

Did your kids get fevers with the Coup? Mine never did which was a huge red flag. We also live near one of the areas with the highest Asthma rate areas in the US, the list cites Allentown but the whole Lehigh Valley is bad, I don't know if that has something to do with the severity of the cough of not but my son's cough is indistinguishable from Croup, he would even vomit from it poor kid I was told by numerous Dr's that Asthma often presents as a cough in children, not as the traditional wheezing thing adults do. Again this could just be about the particular triggers in a particular region of the country.

http://www.asthmacapitals.com/ there is a link for the top 100 places

They would get a fever the next day sometimes but not always. Our kids have the cough variant asthma.

 

[ccgirl]

Unfortunately, my DS gets croup often. He is asthmatic so is more prone to it. As others have said, it is a virus. Often after a cold it develops.

We live in the Northeast where we have cold winters. If he has croup during the winter we sit out on the deck all wrapped in blankets. Else, we sit in the bathroom near the shower steam.

My son also has a cool mist humidifier. I know how scary it can be. You want to keep an eye on the chest to see if it is sucking in at all (forget the medical term for it). If it is, you want to get to the hospital.

We were just at the hospital a few weeks ago. Was perfectly fine when he went to bed..not even a runny nose. At 11pm he came down barking like a seal. I brought him outside, gave him his nebulizer and nothing worked so off to the ER we went. They gave him steroids and a cool mist treatment.

When he has croup, I still sleep on the floor of his room even though he gets it all the time so I know about the nervous feeling.

The good news is that since he is on steroids, he will probably be fine tonight. Just make sure you take them as prescribed and finish them.

Good luck.

 

[Magpie]

My kids have had a ton of croup!

My daughter had it a couple times before she turned 2. So I was pretty blase when my son got it at 3 weeks old... BTW, that's actually bad. You should ALWAYS take a croupy newborn in to the emergency room. I didn't know. My baby was fine, but the doctor gave me a piece of his mind when he saw him next.

For us, the cough and the fever always came hand in hand. I could see it coming - during the day the child would be hot to the touch, and lethargic, and their nose would be running with clear watery snot. And then that night, at some point we'd wake up because the child would be barking like a seal. When it's really bad, though, the child doesn't hardly make any noise at all - just sits straight up, wheezing, with the cords of their neck popping out. I don't know what woke me up on nights like that - but somehow I always knew.

We mostly treated at home with Tylenol and steam from the shower and cold air. (During the summer, you can have them sit with their head in the freezer - yes, it works!)

The only time I ever took a child in to Emergency for it was when my son was turning 10. He got croup so bad that I could see his stomach sucking up under his ribs as he tried to breathe, and his lips turned pale bluish/white. I took him right in, they nebulized him... and then sent him home. That was a very scary night - the poor kid couldn't lie down or sleep and ended up sitting up in a chair all night trying to breathe. This time my doctor was angry with the hospital, instead of me! He said they should have admitted the boy for the night, that sending him home was very dangerous.

Don't let anyone ever tell you older kids don't get croup. They do. My daughter even had a little bout of it that year, and she was 12.

Anyway, my point is, croup is definitely something to take seriously. But there's usually no need to rush straight to the emergency room - or even see a doctor, as long as it's just coughing. Look at your child. How's your child's colour? Is your child able to breathe in between the coughing jags? Is your child sucking her stomach in under her ribs and flaring her nostrils, when she breathes? If that's the case, get her to Emergency. Otherwise, wrap her in a blanket and sit outside if it's winter - that works fastest. Alternatively, turn on the hot water in the bathroom and sit on the toilet with her while the room fills with steam. That helps, too, but not as much as cold air. The coughing jags usually come in waves - the child will be in distress for awhile, and then the child will get better and breathe easier. A bout of croupy coughing usually doesn't last more than a half hour, but it can keep coming back all night.

Humidifiers in the bedroom help, just make sure it's clean so you're not filling the air with molds and stuff that might aggravate your child's breathing.

Good luck! I hope your daughter doesn't get it too often.

 

[DISvirgin1]

Ah, this brings back many memories of sitting on our front steps in the middle of the night with a toddler sitting on my lap barking like a seal.

We just took a big blanket and wrapped up in that - it's only the cold air the baby is breathing that helps, not full-body exposure to cold air. I didn't know that the first time I read that advice - lol.

Nothing like waking up to the "seal" bark It's awful.
We found that hot steam from the vaporizer was better in our case than the cold. The first time it happened I insisted on spending the night in her room to moniter her - big mistake. Once she was over the "episode" and breathing well she thought it was play time. I woke up with a finger in my eye (she thought I was pretending to sleep at 3:00AM... ) It happened one other time since then and we were able to quickly get it under control. If she's had a bad cough and cold we will have things set up just in case.

 

[phred52]

I'm told I got croup a few times as a kid. But I have vivid memories from the time when I was 6. To this day I have a fear of suffocating as a result of that episode of croup. It is terrifying, not being able to breath.

My mom got me to the ER, then pretty quickly I was sent for surgery for a tracheostomy. It was weeks before I was discharged back home.

Fast forward to my own kids. I've tried the breathing the cold night air, and steamy showers, but there were several trips to the ER when it didn't clear up quickly enough. For me, croup is a ticking time bomb.