Nine year olds CAN get croup after all! ~ Or Maybe Whooping Cough?

[Magpie]

My son got croup a lot as a little guy - waking up in the middle of the night barking like a seal and turning blue. The doctor assured me he'd outgrow it. Then we started homeschooling, he stopped getting sick, and I didn't think about it again.

Fast forward to this year. He's nine and he's just started grade five in the public system. Loves school. And the very first time he catches a cold... he starts wheezing again! Friday he had a barky cough and a fever. Yesterday afternoon we found ourselves back in the shower breathing in the steam, while he wheezed and gasped and gagged on phlegm. When it's really bad (like right now, actually) he has to hold his breath even just to speak.

I took him into the clinic and the doctor checked him over, nodded and said, "Yep, that's croup!" Nothing to do for it, but just wait for him to get better.

So my poor boy has missed two days of school, he's probably going to miss more, and right now he's sitting in the bathroom breathing in more steam, and crying because he thinks he's never going to get better (and because tomorrow's his birthday, and he's still too sick to see his friends). He's also reading Matt Groening's "Big Book of Hell" a Life is Hell collection, which is strangely appropriate.

I really thought this was all behind us! Somehow my sick nine year old looks even more pathetic than he did when he was four...

What was the oldest your kids ever got croup? I'm hoping he can still outgrow it. (Fingers crossed!)

 

[EthansMom]

DS is 6 and still gets croup about twice per year. Some kids just seem to get it.

Did your Dr. prescribe Orapred (oral steroid)? That's what our doctor prescribes for DS and it really does help to open up the throat and keep the strider (barky cough) at bay so DS can get rest. We keep a bottle of it in the refrigerator so I have it on hand just in case, since the strider always seems to make its first appearance late at night.

I hope your son feels better soon!

 

[Magpie]

DS is 6 and still gets croup about twice per year. Some kids just seem to get it.

Did your Dr. prescribe Orapred (oral steroid)? That's what our doctor prescribes for DS and it really does help to open up the throat and keep the strider (barky cough) at bay so DS can get rest. We keep a bottle of it in the refrigerator so I have it on hand just in case, since the strider always seems to make its first appearance late at night.

I hope your son feels better soon!

No, he just told us to use a humidifier at night. My son had a really hard time sleeping last night. Up every couple of hours. If this keeps up, I'll definitely ask.

 

[EthansMom]

 

[Magpie]

Or maybe they can't get croup, after all. Different doctor, totally different answer.

We just got back from the ER. We had to go just after ten, because the boy had started having serious trouble breathing. His belly was sucking right in under his ribs and he was all pale. It was the fastest ER visit we ever had - they got him right in and onto a nebulizer mask. They gave him epiphrin (sp?), basically the same stuff you get in an epi pen, but in a mist. And he pinked right up and was pretty happy for a little while, though it didn't totally clear up his wheezing.

They x-rayed his chest, and the ultimate conclusion was the same. It's a virus, nothing you can do - except make him sit outside in the cold whenever it gets too bad.

THIS doctor says it's not croup. Can't be, because he's nine and nine year olds don't get croup. Instead it's one of a family of related viruses that sound like croup, but aren't. Unlike the last doctor, she doesn't want him inhaling hot steam. Instead, she wants him outside in the cold night air.

Oh, and the kid actually turned ten at midnight. He was not impressed!

I hope tomorrow goes better!

 

[Sleepy]

It has been several years, but I think the last time my son had croup was when he was either 9 or 10. It was the strangest thing. We were in the ER (military) for over 5 hours and they could not figure out what was wrong. THey thought it was asthma, but he was not responding to meds. He was transfered to another military ER where he was finally diagnosed with croup. Even the doc said it was very rare in a person his age.

 

[TrixieBel]

When my 12yr old son gets a cold I STILL listen out for the croup cough - he still gets it. I don't think age has anything to do with it - croup is croup...
It's just the way your airways react to viruses...

Oh, and the COLD air always worked better with all 3 of my kids when they got croup. I used to worry about what the neighbours must be thinking when we started walking the back yard in the early hours of the morning with a "barking" child...

 

[golfgal]

That ER Dr was clueless, sorry. Older kids CAN get croup. It is true that most kids do out grow it but I personally was in the hospital when I was 11 with croup (5th grade)--I had had it many, many times as a child and it wasn't any different at 11 then it was when I was 5--it WAS croup. My boys have both had croup as well. My oldest was in about 4th grade with his last attack, youngest was about the same, so they were around 10 at the time.

You might want to have him see and allergy/asthma specialist. It is very common in kids with allergies/asthma and it wouldn't hurt to get it checked out.

I am also REALLY surprised that the dr didn't give you a steroid or a nebulizer for him. I think you need to see better doctors. I do have to agree with the second dr that the cold air helped calm things down much faster then the steamy shower.

 

[Magpie]

Well so far I'm running two to three against it being croup - the ER doc and the TeleHealth nurse saying it isn't, the Clinic doc saying it is. I don't know what to think, except... if it looks like croup, and it barks like croup, then it must be croup.

And maybe it doesn't matter, since it comes down to the same thing? Wait and see. He had a really awful night, poor kid. Didn't sleep at all, can't lie down, and coughed so hard he barfed a couple times this morning. And he's depressed that it's his birthday and he can't go to school and see his buddies. We're going to have to cancel his birthday dinner tonight as well, and just order in delivery food.

Golfgal: Apparently something to do with how he responded (or didn't) to the epinephrine means he's not having an asthma attack, according to the ER doc. She said that they give the steroid to younger kids, but that it's a trade off because there are serious side effects, and with younger kids with croup, it's an easy choice to make. But with my son, she didn't think that the benefits outweighed the risks, so she wouldn't give us anything. She just wants me to make an appointment for him to see his family doctor in a couple days, assuming I can track him down (long story). Otherwise it's back to the Clinic. I will look into allergies - my mother-in-law was wondering the same thing!

TrixieBel and Sleepy: Thanks for your stories! It's actually reassuring to know that other people have had older kids with croup. Hopefully he'll feel better soon, and we can all get some rest.

EthansMom: Thanks for the hug! I needed it.

 

[wilderness01]

Sorry you are going through this. We have been there many, many times.

I agree with the cold air vs. warm air. Our ped. pulmonary dr. says to never use a humidifer.

Did they give him a shot of decadron to open up his airway? Or just breathing recimick epi? The shot usually goes along with it whether it is a diagnosis of croup or not. Most times, especially with the airway, they need to treat the symptoms first and then figure out what it is later. I would personally bring him to a pulmonary doctor (peds) and see what he thinks. Maybe he is at the start of asthma.

Good luck to you. We have and continue to live with breathing issues for our kids. I know how hard it is.

 

[mickeyboat]

Poor guy! Tell him from the DIS. Hey, call me if you need someone to share the cake with! Hope he is feeling better soon.

Denae

 

[Keli]

Aw, poor fella! I feel so bad for him missing his buddies and his birthday dinner. I hope he gets better quick and that this is the last time he ever has to deal with this whatever-it-is again.

 

[jenwolgey]

Chiming in to say that we just went through this last week with our 8 yr old DS. This was his 4th time heading to the ER for croup since he was 3 yrs old. We are always given a prescription for steroids (liquid form, taken orally), and we have a nebulizer for Albuterol treatments. He was very sick-fever, also upset stomach from the phleghm...the steroids and Albuterol really helped him to breathe. He was off school for a week, really wasn't "himself" for 2 weeks. Hope your DS gets better soon! It is awful to watch them struggle just to breathe!

 

[Magpie]

Sorry you are going through this. We have been there many, many times.

I agree with the cold air vs. warm air. Our ped. pulmonary dr. says to never use a humidifer.

Did they give him a shot of decadron to open up his airway? Or just breathing recimick epi? The shot usually goes along with it whether it is a diagnosis of croup or not. Most times, especially with the airway, they need to treat the symptoms first and then figure out what it is later. I would personally bring him to a pulmonary doctor (peds) and see what he thinks. Maybe he is at the start of asthma.

Good luck to you. We have and continue to live with breathing issues for our kids. I know how hard it is.

No, he didn't get any kind of shot... Just the mask with the epinephrine mist - is that what you mean by "recimick epi"? It was pretty impressive - the first thing he said was, "I feel wide awake!" and then the colour came back into his cheeks. But he was already struggling again by the time they sent us home, and he's gone pale again this morning. He sat outside for a bit, which helped a *little*. He's also leaning forward every few minutes to breathe... I hate seeing this - it's painful just to listen to him. He must be desperately tired, the few minutes he's slept he was making crying noises in his sleep. I've got him watching Monty Python to try to take his mind off things.

But I'm glad at least that his lungs are good! So, I don't have to worry about pneumonia. And it's nice to be able to unload some of my anxiety about it here.

I'm off to see if I can reach his regular doc right now (I'm not sure if this is a morning day, or an afternoon day for him...).

 

[sumrmist]

my 12 yo came down with what we thought was croup when she was 5....after 4 er visits at 3 or 4 am,she was not getting better and I was really concerned and took her to the pediatrician. He took one listen to her and told me she needed blood work They did a finger stick and it was a mycoplasm infection. It has all the symptoms of croup, but it is much more serious. It is a bacterial infection and not a virus. They put her on antibiotics and she was better within days. You might want to think about getting him checked for that. Maybe just call the peds office and talk to the nurse .

 

[mom2rb]

My son is nine and he still gets croup. The doctor told me to put him in the bathroom with a hot shower then put his head in the freezer for ten minutes. It sounds weird but it works. It could be because we live in Texas and it never seems cold enough to take him outside.

 

[MELISAZACK]

My ds9 still gets it in fact we just had it last week!! He has asthmas and allergies and been seeing a specialist since he was two... We never head to the Peds when he shows signs of it.. Our specialist has taught us that if the shower or cold air doesn't work - how to give extra of the asthmas meds and that usually will clear it up with in an hour so he can breathe easier...
But once we did end up in the er with her getting prednisone treatments to make it work.. I agree peds just say let it run its course but that is not a good thing if the child already has asthma on top of it... good luck!!

 

[Magpie]

Well, no luck reaching his doctor, but I did manage to talk to the nurse/receptionist.

She says there's a really nasty virus going around right now and that she's been getting up to five calls a day with symptoms just like my son's. When I said the ER doc said that we should see our family practitioner she clucked and said, "They're just covering their butts!" So, no appointment.

But she did give us the same advice we got before - sit him outside, give him lots of liquids, prop him up, etc... And she gave me one more bit of info! Apparently this particular virus has been lasting up two or three weeks in the kids who catch it. She says we're going to need to be very patient.

I'm going to go buy him some popsicles now. I feel like I have to do *something*!

Sumrmist: If he doesn't start showing some signs of improvement, I'll definitely ask about that. Did your daughter have much fever? Aside from Saturday night, my son's fever has been low-grade.

And thanks, everyone else! I passed on the birthday wishes. I'm just crossing my fingers now that he'll be healthy enough for his party at the movie theatre on Sunday. And that no one else gets sick when we head down to WDW on the fifteenth! Oh boy, and it just occurred to me... between getting sick and the trip, the boy's fall term is going to be shot to pieces!

 

[Magpie]

This made me grin, despite everything.

My son came staggering downstairs all hunched over and wheezing and asked what he could have for snack. Instead of the usual sweet pepper or couscous or cucumber, I offered him a sugar-free chocolate popsicle. (He's hypoglycemic, so sweet treats are few and far between in our house normally.)

He brightened and said, "I like (GASP) being sick (GASP) this way!" And then as he headed back upstairs, he commented, "Makes me (wheeze) feel better. (GASP, wheeze) Even if it's only a placebo!"



I'd love to know where he learned about placebos!

 

[Magpie]

The boy's doing a lot better today, but he's started in on coughing jags. And whooping. (Like this: Cough, cough, cough, cough, GASP, and then he'll be fine for maybe an hour, and then it starts again. Sometimes he throws up.)

The nurse says no way, it can't be whooping cough. It's just a virus. Lots of it going around.



I suppose it doesn't matter. It's not like you can DO anything for either whooping cough or a virus, you just have to tough it out.

And he can breathe again! Yay! That's all that really matters, I think.

But the strength of the nurse's reaction when I asked (really very politely) about the possibility of whooping cough surprised me. I'm wondering if I hit a nerve there, somehow. I didn't know it was a contentious issue. I just know that sometimes the vaccination doesn't take, and also that it can wear off.

I've got an appointment to get him seen by the doctor before we head down to Florida cool1 on the fifteenth. If there's any fluid in his ears I want to make sure the boy's got a good strong decongestant for the flight.