Croup

My two year old had croup about one month ago. He would wake up in the middle of the night coughing horribly and wheezing. The pediatrician gave him antibiotics because he also had an infection. The thing that helped the best was the cool mist humidifier and 5 days of prednisolone (a steroid). I was leary of the steroid at first, but it really helped to keep my son comfortable and open up his airways.

My son had it last year. We did all that you are doing and we also would take him into the bathroom with the shower running on hot. The steamy bathroom also helped his cough calm down. We did many breathing treatments and that also seemed to help. Everything you are doing is the right thing so keep it up. They told me it could last up to 2wks...I think his went away after about 7-8days..Good Luck!

My son also has Croup as well. It started as fever on Mon moning w/no appetite and no energy to do anything. He threw up twice Monday night and once Tuesday morning and with a barking cough when sleeping and raspy voice, fever so I took him in on Tues and was diagnosed w/Upper Respiratory Infection and a mild throat infection but it was viral so couldn't give him any medication.
Tues evening he woke up at 11pm crying, barking cough and couldn't breath, throating up phlegm. It scared the day lights out of me. We took him to the ER and they immediately gave him a breathing treatment and diagnosed him w/croup.
They xrayed his chest to make sure it was clear which it was and they also gave him 2 doses of steroids(oral) which helped him tremendously and gave him a prescription for 4 days (once a day)
He is still coughing but not near what he was and it's not the barking cough and is eating well and bak to his self again(playful, happy, active) He also had RSV but it was when he was 7 months old and he is now 27 months old. He is also highrisk for asthma. He has a vaporizer in his room, steam showers helps too.

Good Luck and I hope this helps.

My daughter never had croup but my son gets it all the time. Per my pediatrician's office, the almost sure fire way to nip it in the bud is to expose them to 15 minutes of warm steam, then 15 minutes of cold and then repeat. Every time we've done that except once, the croup was gone. It's an arduous process as our bathrooms are either too large to get real steamy or they are open to the bedroom so it's hard to get a steamy room in our house. We have to drape a blanket over the shower stall and stand in there with him for 15 minutes, which he cries the whole time. I will say, just recently, my husband had the bright idea to plug the vaporizer in in the smallest half bath in the house to steam it up rather than the shower stall thing so that's what we'll do the next time it happens. And when it's not cold enough outside, we have to sit on a chair in front of the half open refrigerator/freezer with him for 15 minutes. He loves that as he plays with all the stuff in there while we're waiting.

If it is cold outside, you do have to wrap them up real good. You just want to expose their lungs to the cold, not their whole bodies, so you also need to dress them in something warm when your standing in front of the open fridge as well.

This is the remedy we've been given by the after hours urgent care line at my doctor's office every time we've called about that horrible barking seal cough. I wish there was a medicine 'cause the hot/cold, hot/cold for an hour can be tiring at 2 a.m., or anytime for that matter. But my husband and I have a system where he takes care of the hot and I take care of the cold and before you know it, our little "seal" is sleeping soundly again. Good luck to you!

My daughter has had croup twice and I have one other suggestion that I haven't read in the other postings. My Peruvian nanny suggested this: boil a pot of water and put some Vick's vapor rub in it (just a little is needed). Hold your son and put a towel over both of your heads and the boiling water - it will keep the vaporized steam under the towel and he will get a big dose of it to clear his lungs (you will too!:) ) One other thing, croup IS a big deal. My doctor told me to sleep with my daughter because the night is the worst and if she is asleep and unable to breathe I would be there to help her out or get medical attention. If you read about it on Web MD it will say the same. Good luck!

A.,

Our son had this when he was your son's age (he is now a VERY grown up 2 1/2)...but it was bad enough that when it came on his breathing was erratic and his chest was doing weird things. This prompted an immediate call to the PEDI at 11PM. Turned into a trip to the ER for some breathing treatments, etc. BUT, out doc told us initially to put his head in the freezer...just hold him up close to it for awhile. Apparently the colder moist air is really good for that. Also, this happened during February or March I believe and it was cooler and crisp outside so by the time he got to the ER he was already much better (we just drove with the windows cracked). I would try the freezer thing a few times it may help alleviate some symptoms. It is viral so it has to run its course. Hope that helps!

my son had the barking cough for only a few days, but then it was the cough afterwards that took a good 7-10 days to clear up. You're doing the right things. The humidifier and steamy baths/showers are helpful. I think Dr Sear's website has a few suggestions if I remember. Your Dr is right about the medicine thing -- it can actually make things worse so as tempting as it may seem, it's best to avoid these.

Take heart in that it does run its course and will be gone. It's more annoying than anything I think. Of course, if he has trouble breathing, get him help immediately. Good luck!

All three of my children are croupy kids-everytime they get even the slightest cough it goes straight to croup. As a matter of fact two of them have it right now-it's just who we are. The only thing different that we do outside of what you are doing is we sit in the bathroom with the hottest shower running and we sing, talk and snuggle while sitting in there. Once we've had about all we can take we walk out into the air conditioner or in the winter outside and you will see a significant change-it helps clear their bronchial tubes. You want to make sure though that it is significantly cooler whenever you walk out. HTH

My daughter had it when she was 3 and it took about 8-9 days for her to get better. She was in the hospital (not because of croup, she has heart problems) and even there, they wouldn't give her anything for it so it sounds like your dr knows what he's doing. It's hard to watch our little ones get sick especially when there is nothing you can do to help. : ( Just hang in there and he will get better soon.

My son had croup as a baby and it can be very scary,they sound so bad... Thank goodness its not. It sounds as if you are doing exactly what I would. Sometimes elevating the head of the bed will help with breathing problems as well. I would give him through the weekend to just rest, don't take him out much or do much with him, even if he seems to be getting better, he will need to rest alot. Good luck and God Bless, S.

My son's had it three times. It's reallllly rough, especially at night and early morn. Since it isn't cold out try opening your freezer door and letting him breathe in the cold air from the freezer every now and then. It helped alleviate his symptoms for a short while. We understand about breathing treatments too- our son was on them, pretty much daily, for over a year. God Bless!

Hi A.,

I am a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine in Coppell, TX. I have a device called a Quantum Physics Biofeedback. I have great results with children with RSV, bronchitis, pneumonia, etc. There are some natural, non-intrusive things we can do to help. Please call me and I will be glad to talk with you over the phone about some possibilities.

Sincerely,

Cindy L. Russell, NMD
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from PERSONAL EXPERIENCE...i had the croupe VERY often as a child. you take him outside in the night air and he'll be able to breathe MUCH better. I had it off and on till I was 8 or 9 in fact. Breathing treatments do help, but get him outside in the night air. it takes about a week to run its course in an infant or toddler, but less time i believe in a child who is school age. I don't really remember when I was of school age, I hallucinated the whole time I was ill, lol. I was on flovent for the entire time, and had to take these pills that were almost as small as the tip of a pen...he'll get through it, it just has to run its course, but it will be back again, if he's prone to it now, he'll be prone to it till he builds up an immunity to it at probably 5 at least. don't pump him FULL of meds, it could ruin him for taking further medication when he's older, my parent's friend's made the mistake of pumping their child full of meds and now the kid has to take stuff I've never even HEARD of for illnesses that are so simple to treat. he's only 2 or 3 on top of that. anyway, good luck, and he'll get better. i did obviously :P

My, then 4 year old, son had it last year. It was horrible, so I know how you feel. The pedi said that it sounds a lot worse than it is and he doesn't feel as bad as he sounds. It was very hard. In the morning, he would wake up sounding better (not nearly 100%). Then, as the day progressed, it became worse. He wasn't completely recovered fro about 2 weeks. Though, he was able to go back to school (Pre-K) about a week later.

It is a mean virus that just has to run its course. My pedi actually gave us Albuterol for it. Which is used for asthma, but contains no steroids. Also, they gave him a steroid shot, which was not a day in the park. He was vicious for a couple of days.

Hang in there! The bright side...you are through the worst part.

S. :)

Hello. My son had croup off and on from 6 months old until he was 4. His prediatrician gave him everything under the sun for it and it never seemed to work. The only thing that did work was a humidifier, vicks rub, and at night going into the bathroom, shutting the door and turning on the shower so hot that it formed alot of steam. This seemed to really work for him with his coughing. Instead of a cool mist humidifier, try putting hot water in it. Something about the steam really worked for my son. It is something that will just have to wear off over time. My best advice is to do what you're doing, pat him on the back at night (helps with the crud buildup) and try the steam. Hope he gets better!...Blessings, L.

My son had it in May and it took about 10 days to clear up completely. I used Motrin and a humidifier. He was older than your son (2 1/2) so it was not as traumatic. I hope he feels better soon. P. O.

Hi A.,
Sounds like you are doing many correct things to help your little man. If you have any questions I would call his pedi since he has a previous history of having rsv. One thing I didn't read was did he have a shot of steroids? Sometimes that can help w/the swelling of the airway...unless there is a reason why your son can not have steroids, feel free to call the pedis office and talk to the nurse on duty and/or to bring him in for another check-up. When my dd has had croup in the past they have given me a hand-out which I have read over and over. (especially in the middle of the night when the brain is not working too well :0} Good luck and call the doctor is he's struggling to breath, or pale of discolored, or if you have any questions.
hth and good luck.

Hi A.,

My daughter had croup as a baby (she is now 5) and the doctor gave her a breathing treatment that really helped. I don't remember what medicines he gave her, but there were some. As I remember, she was really bad for about 3-4 days and then recovered quickly. Is there another doctor that you can check with? It doesn't sound to me like this one is doing much to help.

My 27 month old and 13 month old boys both have had croup (more than once). It's a scary diagnosis because most doctors don't call it that, which makes it seem rare. It's actually very common. It's just like bronchitis, except baby bronchials aren't fully developed... which is way more than many doctors feel is necessary to explain to parents like you and me. My pediatrician assured me that it's no big deal and does take some time to go away, but there is no medication to treat it. The cough sounds much worse than it is inside the little body. Don't panic! It's very common. :)