Questions About the Croop Cough

N.,
When my kids had croop I would open the freezer door and stand close so that they could breath the cold air. It seemed to ease the cough.
S.

Croup is the irritation of the upper respiratory system accompanied by a "barking" cough. A humidifier with cool mist, and cool air help with breathing. There are no medicines that help, unless you use motrin/tylenol for discomfort.
Keep their room cool, and let them drink cold liquids or eat popsicles to ease the sore throat. Good Luck!

My son has gotten this a lot. Fresh air is good and lots of fluids. Also Robitussion for infants or depending on the age could help.
Before my son would go to sleep I would prop up his pillows and then apply vicks vapor rub for toddlers to his chest that seems to give him a lot of relief. Putting a humdifier also helps. 'Hope this helps
V.
Mother of a wonderful 2 yr old

I have two boys who were croopy for years and the best thing that worked for us was to bring them outside into the cold air - I have spent many nights sitting out on my patio bundled up in blankets with my son to get his lungs to open up and it always worked - you can also open up the freezer door and stand by that. We have done the steamy shower thing but it always made the kids get hysterical so the outdoors worked best - when we lived in the city we should just open up the windows in his room and let the cold air in for awhile. Try it!

My youngest - we would put him in an umbrella stroller, put him in the bathroom with the shower running on hot and let him sleep in the steam for a couple of hours . . .

Hope this helps

cold air, like leaving the window open, or steam from a shower help. An MD should see to ensure that there is no wheeze, you do not need orapred (a steroid) unless there is a wheeze that an MD feels needs it. They usually want to start with an albuterol inhaler or nebulizer first unless your child has an asthmatic history - trust me, the side effects of orapred are NOT fun!

I found that when a steamy bathroom does not help - we started sitting outside in the cold. I bundle her up and sit outside for 15 or 20 minutes and that ususally takes care of it.

My daughter had it so often I had the Dr. give me some cough meds to have it home for the next attack.

Both my youngest brother and my son get croop. When my son first got croop my mom had me runn the hot shower, so that it filled the bathroom with steam, and then sit in the stemed bathroom for 10-15 minutes with my son. The steam breaks up the congestion that he usually gets with the cough. Also keep a humidifer in the bedroom. Hope that this helps. Just so you know if the baby gets croop once then, he/she will get croop everytime he/she gets a cold.

you need to get a prescription for orapred
from your dr. if it is, indeed, croup.
if your child has a croup attack, take them
outside to breathe the cold night air or take
them into the bathroom with the shower running-
breathing the steamy air will help too. be
sure to visit the pediatrician & good luck!

Both my son and daughter have had the croop. My daughter once and my son a few times. The only thing you can do is if the cough is really bad you can put them in a hot steamy bathroom or you also can take them out into the cold. But its not that cold at night anymore. You have to watch for signs of wheezing. My son has asthma so sometimes I need to nebulize him when the croopy cough starts. I just had my son at the doctor last week because of a croopy cough and my niece had it as well. The pediatrician said he has seen a lot of cases during the past few weeks. The doctor said there is not much that can be done unless the child is wheezing then they might need a steroid. My son gets a steroid in his nebulizer. I hope this helps you a little.

Don't freak out although it is hard not to. My son started having croup around age 2. Turn the shower hot and let it run so the bathroom fills up with steam. Sit in the bathroom with your child until they calm down. I would sit with my son and rock him, sing, do anything I could to get him to stop crying and coughing. Eventually he would stop. As he got older, he would resist the bathroom and it would take my husband and me to keep him in the bathroom and calm him down. However, if it seems like they are really having trouble breathing, call doctor or 911! Also really cold weather helps, so if you live in a cold climate or it is winter, you can also take them outside. Hope this helps.

When my 9yr. old daughter was about 2 she had croup for the first time. It scared the heck out of me. We rushed her to the hospital, she also had a very high fever. The best advice they gave me was when it happens again, bring her outside into the cold air. It calmed it every time. They no longer recommend steam. Hopefully, it is cold where you live.(I live in NY) She out grew it by the time she was about 3. I would suggest leaving a window open in her room, as well.

You got alot of good advise so far on this but there are a few things that other people have left out. If the steam from a shower doesn't help and the weather isn't cool enough you can stand in front of the freezer with the door open and let your child breath the cold air that way. If your child is stridorous (vibrating sound when breathing) or wheezing get to the ER immediately. I would also contact your ped. everytime your child has croup. My now 12 yr old got croup alot until he was 6-7 and was diagnosed with Laryngomalacia(fancy for recurring croup) and was seen by a ENT specialist who found out that my son's larynex(sp) was loose and wiggly(corrected itself as he got older) which helped cause the croup. Not all children get croup due to the virus. My son was put on a daily preventative medication(like a child with asthma), given albuterol via a nebulizer and steroids at home when he flared up and also was given a script for a cough medication called Cardac(sp) to help ease his cough. My son became striderous and wheezy several times and had to be admitted to the hospital. While there he was in an oxygen tent, given steroids, breathing treatments etc. Definately use a humidifier in your childs room even when not croupy cuz the added moisture in the room is always a good thing.I know that croup can be very scarry but hang in there cuz it will get better.

I had excellent success with the homeopathic remedy spongia when my son was one. He had a severe case of croup with a fever, and within 24 hours of administering spongia (probably 3-4 times throught the day) he was completely better- as if nothing had ever been wrong with him. I know spongia is not the only remedy to try, there are one or two other good ones for croup (since every child is different they may respond differently to remedies) but I can't remember off the top of my head... you could probably google it.

The best thing for a croupy cough is to bring your child outside in cool moist air. The doctors used to recommend bringing your child into a bathroom with a hot shower running, but now they say cool moist air.

Please make sure you take your child to the doctors immediately if they develop a stridor. It will sound like the child is snoring when they are breathing. Croup can progress to this point especially if your child has any underlying asthma/allergies or a family history.

My son had a nasty bout of croup last fall that progressed to a stridor, when I brought him to the doctor they had to give him a shot of solUmedrol (steroid) to relax the muscles and Zopenex treatments 3 times a day for a week until he became healthy again. Since then no treatments or steroids. Croup can progress to this point quickly so make sure you monitor the cough/breathing patterns.

Hope this helps!

I know this is going to sound crazy...but Vicks Vapo rub on the bottom of the feet and put their socks back on when you send them to bed. Do a search online and you will see scores of moms who do it and it works. The Canadian Research Council did a lot of research on it and it even helps kids sleep better at night. Although they haven't come up exactly with a reason why it works yet. Some say it is because the feet are a conduit for many things (hence reflexology etc) so that's what makes it work so well.
We use the cold humidifier for it and the outside air too. My daughter has a nebulizer and we have steroids at home too as she is border line asthmatic.

N.

My son has had this a few times and the doctor has always said cool mist, not warm. If it's really cold out then take him outside during an attack and the cold air will help clear the passageway. The croup causes the airway to become swollen which is why the cough sounds like a barking seal and the child may be gasping for air. A good dose of cold air will help shrink the inflammed tissue. Also a cool mist humidifier at night and try to have them sleep propped up as much as possible.

Both of my daughters would get croup. For us the best fix was cool or coldish air the steam didn't seem to help much. We would try steam, stand with the baby in the bathroom as the steam rises, and put the shower on high,hot and sit in there for about 20 minutes. Alternately, you can try either cool night air (which helps calm down the throat, which is why by the time you get to the emergency room at 11 at night they usually sound fine and they look at you like you are insane, but wait till the baby cries and starts to cough again and they will understand)or standing infront of the freezer with the door open.

My doctor prescribed a steroid for me to keep iin my fridge and when it got bad i would start her/them on that medicine, but your best bet is a pediatrician who will keep track of the baby's croup and treat it properly. If it sounds bad to you, DO NOT wait to get to the emergency room, please realize that croup CAN get very bad very quickly, try an calm the cough with the cool air before transporting but don't be afraid to get the baby to the doctors or emergency room or even call 911 if the baby is having a hard time breathing and/or turn blue.

The soft area in a baby's throat is what gets inflamed and causes the croupy cough (very like a seal bark) and went it gets inflamed and the child coughs alot they can't breathe. I am not saying that every child with croup gets a serious, dangerous case, but I am saying that I never regretted an ER trip or emergency Dr's visit when they had it. Better to be safe than sorry. After age 3 or so this part of the throat firms up so that is why they stop getting croup, tho my 7 year old stills get a very nasty croupy cough sometimes.

Good luck

L.

The suggestions you've already received are great. The only other thing I would do would be to get a dose of the steroid to keep at home in case the croop becomes extremely bad. I don't remeber what it is called but I remember that it was just 1 dose the dr. prescribed. Good luck.

A.

Hi N..
I just went through the croup with both of my sons (5 & 2). My 5 year old had it first...woke up "barking" like a seal. I brought him in the steamy bathroom with me and then we put the humidifier so that it was almost right on his face. ha. it really helped. His case was 2 nights of doing that. You knwo it's frightening when they wake up coughing like that, but his case was pretty straightforward. Then like 4 days later my 2 year old woke up "barking" but he was completley out of breath and it was HORRIFYING!!!!!!!!!! He actually threw up I guess cause he was choking or whatever. We tried teh steamy bathroom adn it did nothing. The ONLY thing that helped with him was bundling him up in a blanket and letting him breathe outside air. Then we put him to bed and he had a second attack where he couldn't breathe and at that point we had to get emergency treatment which was a nebulizer and steroid treatment.
So I had 2 cases, both different and neither fun. But it happens I guess at this time of year. If you do a search online there is also lots of helpful info. Hope I helped some.

That May Be A First Sign Of Asthma Take Your Child To The Doctor's .

It is really important to visit your pediatrician. There are varying degrees of croup and some require steroids to help your child breathe better. In the meantime putting them in the bathroom with the water running HOT will help. After they breathe in the steam for awhile, bring them in the cold air to open their breathing passage. Good luck!

Dear N.,

My son is 2.5 and never had Croup. My daughter is 9 months and has had it 3 times! I think that different babies' bodies react differently to the virus that causes the barky symptom. The first time she got it we were panicked. She did get to the point where she developed a stridor (vibrating sound when breathing) and she was gasping desperately for air. According to her doctors, the Croup will peak on days 3 or 4 and is worse at night. Keep the room humidified all the time even when baby is healthy. During spasmodic Croup (attacks that come on suddenly-usually at night) what would work for us was putting the bouncy chair in the bathroom, turning on the shower to the hottest setting, and sitting with the baby in the closed steamy bathroom. We would do this every two hours during the night. We also had the baby sleep in a swing so she was upright. Motrin will help keep the baby calm. When they feel like they cannot catch thier breath they cry and then makes them gasp for air even more. If the breathing becomes very strenuous and if they will not drink or eat and if they start looking purple in the lips and eyelids, take them to the ER for steroids and Oxygen. GOOD LUCK!

R.

I always tried the hot shower thing myself. I just closed the door to the bathroom and let the water run as hot as I could. Then the steam would build up in the bathroom. I think it worked a little. Really croop is a pain in the butt. There really is no specific thing that works for everyone. Croop is one of those many viruses that just has to run it's course. I think I have tried all remedies out there and every one of my kids responed differently. Good luck!!!!!

both my daughters have had this as they are asthmatic..
steam from the hot showers work..humidifier...warm is best not a vaporizer..works like a charm

Cool/Cold outdoor air, or a very steamy bathroom, door closed with the hot water of the shower going. If it gets very bad in the middle of the night, keep your little one as calm as possible and go to the emergency room. They give O2 and a liquid steroid to help open up the larynx.

Hi N.,

I realize this is a bit late, but I wanted to add anyway. Several people mentioned stridor - and what's important to look for, if you don't know what it is, is a pulling in the skin when your child is inhaling air. Look at the base of the neck - at the collar bone - if the skin looks like it's being sucked in when your child is breathing, then you know he/she is in some pretty moderate distress.

I have two boys, 2 1/2 and 6 1/2 months, and both have had croup multiple times. Like many of the moms who've responded, we also have the Orapred dose and nebulizer at home.

Never feel weird about calling your doctor or making an ER run with croup. It's better to get your child looked at sooner, rather than when he/she is blue! Trust your intuition. If you've tried the steam or cold air and it's just not providing any relief, go for help.

I wish you the best!

To relieve the inflammation of their vocal cords, a blast of cold air...wrap them up and take them outside is an IMMEDIATE relief. Also, a cool mist humidifier works well. We have also had good luck with Delsym cough syrup at night...allows them to rest and not cough so much. Did you take to doc...our doc has always prescriped OraPred..which is oral Prednisone(steroid) to reduce the inflammation. The side effects are very hyperactive but it works. Hang in there...Croup has been a thorn in our sides (kids ages 4 and 2) for a while! but it gets better

My kids used to get this a lot. I put Vick's Vapor Rub on the soles of their feet before bed, then socks. This cuts the coughing and sooths them as well.

I have a son that gets Croup once a month. Depending on the severity you should always have your baby seen immediately by a doc. It is always worse at night so be prepared for that. All suggestions below are good - the cold night air, steam showers, humidifier. If it starts to sound like the baby is wheezing at all you have to get him/her to the doc ... or ER if at night. They will give the baby a shot of steriods to help the inflammation in the throat as well as a nebulizer treatment. The steriods are usually given for two days.

My son has it so often that we have the nebulizer and steroids at home but if the wheezing is present we always take him to the ER as the throat can close with this illness.

Let me know if you have any further questions.