Anyone have experience with croup?

[Alex Franke]

My son just woke up with a nasty seal bark-like cough. We had him in the bathroom with the hot shower running for a little while, his temperature seems fine and he's calmed down, stopped coughing, and breathing fine -- so I think he's going to be OK.

My question is this: Anyone know if we should stack pillows behind him so his head/chest is elevated when we put him back to bed? This is our first experience with it so we don't really have any experience to go on...

I'd read about the seal-like cough, but it really is quite an amazingly accurate description when you hear it for real!

Thanks!

[Red88chevy]

Sorry your son is sick. Never had to deal with croup, but did put a vaporizer in the kids room when they were stopped up or had trouble breathing. Seemed to help. Would check with a doctor/nurse about the pillows.

[cgallery]

One of my kids had a mild case. It went away rather quickly. Here is some more info in case you didn't check WebMD yet:

http://www.webmd.com/search/search_r...Type=undefined

[DonHo]

I'm not a Dr., I haven't slept in a Holiday Inn Express either but I have had croup when I was a kid. My mother used to give me granulated sugar (about a 1/2 t.) to clear it up. I don't know how it works but it does, at least on mild cases. But by all means if you feel your child needs a Dr., see one.

DonHo

[DTG]

My 2.5 year old son has had several bouts with croup, the best thing to do is to see the doctor. They can give medicine that can clear it up. Croup can get bad enough to require a stay in the hospital, we had to do that twice. There are things that can be done at home like make a home-made croup tent. Take a beach umbrella or something like it and put it over your son's bed and put a cool mist vaporizer so it points to the umbrella and directs the moisture to him. One of the nurses at the hospital told us to do this.
Also, croup always gets worse at night. If it is cool outside and he gets real bad, take him outside and sit with him. Somehow the cool damp air helps a lot.

[Mrs. Wallnut]

As most of the guys on here have said a vaporisor works great in this case. Also another thing to think about is bronchitis. Our oldest had that a couple of years ago and the cough from that sounded like the croup. I would suggest if the cough doesn't get better then take him to a doctor. They will be able to tell you what it is for sure. The other thing that I know of with a cough like that is RSV, which I don't know the proper name of that but our youngest had it when he was about 2 months old and he had a bad cough and no fever with it. We set his bassinet up in the our bedroom with a sheet over it and the cool mist vaporisor sitting under it. With in a couple of days he seemed to be better.

Better to have it be something that isn't too serious then to let it go and have it become something very very serious down the road.

[Alex Franke]

Thanks for all the great input. We did talk to the advice nurse first thing this morning, and the consensus is that he probably has a mild case. It's kind of strange because other than the obvious signs of a head cold he's had for several days (sniffling, sneezing, and occasionally coughing), he really doesn't seem sick at all. We weren't even able to get him down for a nap...

Now we're half expecting our daughter (~11 months) to wake up coughing tonight. She seems to be affected a little more by these bugs and has the same kind of symptoms as my some, only about a day behind.

All this and we totally forgot to ask the nurse if his head/chest should be elevated when he's sleeping! We're doing it anyway -- just in case. Right now he's doing fine. I hope tonight goes smoother than last night, though -- We're all pretty tired...

[MilDoc]

If he woke with the characteristic seal-bark cough, then after a while the "bark" was gone and just the usual cough from a cold, then he does not have croup. Just the same sounding cough any child can get at night from a simple cold. No bark day, bark night = not viral croup if there is also a cold.

True croupers have the barking cough for days. It is caused by a virus that causes swelling just below the vocal cords. The only thing that truly clears it up is nebulized epinephrine, a treatment you can not do at home, and it wears off quickly. Other aerosols (albuterol, etc) have been shown to have little to no benefit. Of no use at all are antibiotics (which do not kill viruses), cough syrups, decongestants, etc.

And we (pediatricians) gave up on croup tents years ago for the same reason.

Some kids do respond better in the bathroom, while others respond better to cold night air. Try either. And try not to make the child more upsets which aggravates the blockage.

Go to the ER if: there is visible retraction between the ribs with each breath, there is stridor (a high pitched sound) with every breath in or out when at rest, the child starts "looking blue," or starts to become lethargic. With these signs the "croup score" would be high and ER treatment would be needed.

Otherwise, with true croup, it is often worse on day 3 and gets slowly better over the next week or so.

Oh, BTW, since with croup the swelling is below the vocal cords, elevating the head if it bends the neck is not a good idea! Lying flat is better!

[Red88chevy]

That's pretty handy having a doctor on the website!

[cgallery]

That's pretty handy having a doctor on the website!

Just thinking the same thing. And a pediatrician no less (kids are more mysterious than adults, or perhaps we are more concerned with them than ourselves).

[Alex Franke]

Wow, thanks for the great info MilDoc!!

If he woke with the characteristic seal-bark cough, then after a while the "bark" was gone and just the usual cough from a cold, then he does not have croup. Just the same sounding cough any child can get at night from a simple cold. No bark day, bark night = not viral croup if there is also a cold.!

One episode of barking at night that lasted on/off about 15 minutes, I'd guess. A couple random coughs during the day. We thought he had a mild cold before the barking (a bit of arunny nose, etc, but not too bad).

We calmed him down and sat in the bathroom with the hot shower running for 15 minutes or so.

No more barking since then, though. So either way (croup or not) I think he's doing better, which is a relief. I've never heard a cough like that before!

Oh, BTW, since with croup the swelling is below the vocal cords, elevating the head if it bends the neck is not a good idea! Lying flat is better!

Ah, good to know! We were starting him with his entire upper body elevated (not bending the neck), but after a while he's scoot off the pillows and turn to his side anyway...

That's pretty handy having a doctor on the website!

Yeah, No kidding. This is the best forum on the planet.

[MilDoc]

No more barking since then, though.

Then he did not have viral croup. Perhaps the "spasmodic" variety that simply occurs with colds, drainage into the throat, and irritation. Clears up quickly.