Croup - help

Adrienne522 wrote: Does anyone have experience with Croup. My daycare just called me and told me that Scott has a deep, barking cough. It had to just start up today because I have never heard him cough like that. Anyway...I am trying to get him into the doctor today. My daycare lady was a nurse for 17 years and she seems to think the it may be the start of croup. HELP!!!!

TheOaf66 replied: could very well be...Tanner had it, it lasted for like 2 weeks. It sounds a lot worse then it is but it does keep them from sleeping real well.

mckayleesmom replied: You also might want to look into a vaporizor for his room at night....it helps break all the gunk up.

mom2my2cuties replied: My nephews get this pretty frequently... Sorry if this is what he has. It does make it hard to sleep -but like Brianne said - a humidifier helps.

mummy2girls replied: I havent read the other posts so im sorry if i repeat anything...

My daughter jenna has had mild and severe croup before ... What helps is taking your child into the bathroom, shut the door and turn the shower on really hot and the stema helps open the airway. Also if you put them near a window if its cold out that helps, cool mist humidifier as well at night. A trick my mom told me that she used on my brother when he had bad croup is this... You made a tent out of sheets or whatever you can find and put a cold mist humidifier in there and put your child in there and let him sleep all night like that. That helps. I have a child size tent so i used that for jenna. she camped in the living room floor with me inside the tent ... i had a rough sleep but she woke up alot better... if you see he is having a hard time breathing after everything you have tried then take him in to the er or to his ped and sometimes they will give the child a shot of steriods( if you are ok with that) and they dont use a needle its a syrup they take... jenna had to have that a few times.

redchief replied: Shelly's advice is spot-on.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
Yes, my son has had this several times and I have dealt with daycare kids who have had it in the past. It may take up to 4 weeks for the cough to go completely away. I usually tell parents that they have to be fever free for up to no less than 24 hours (without the aid of meds) and the barking like sound has to be gone before they return. The barkiness may be around for 2-5 days, but once the barkiness is gone he still may have a cough. If they still do have a cough upon returning, I ask them to bring in a cough suppresent so germs are not as easily spread. Has he spiked a temp recently?

Boo&BugsMom replied: http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/ba...iral/croup.html
Here is a link with more information.

MyBlueEyedBabies replied: When Matt had it the only thing that really helped was the steroids the dr. prescribed. holding him up against the mist of the humidafier helped a little but he was having a rough time.
THe one thing I wished the ped would have told us was that if his chest was sinking in when he was breathing that we needed to get him into the hospital for breathing treatments. We watched him get worse and worse all day until eventually I took him in thinking it had to be worse then the dr. said. They told me I should have brough thim in about 8 hours before.

eta. opening the freezer door and holding him there for a minute will help too. Part of the problem is the airway getting swollen so that helps it

holley79 replied: Poor baby. I hope he gets better soon. I have no clue about it but I hope he gets better.


ETA: I can't believe he is 3 months old already. It just seems like you had him yesterday.

kimberley replied:


Jacob had croup at a year old. that was all that helped. hope your little one is better soon.

Swood75 replied: I am so sorry that your baby is sick..Croup is a very scarey thing (or it was for me anyway) when my son was 4 he got it so bad in the middle of the night that I had to rush him to the ER and they had to give him 2 breathing treatments back to back so he could take the meds..then he started to feel better and decided he had to go to the bathroom..well,when he got up and walked to the br he threw it all back up..so they had to give him another treatment and 3 shots in the legs and admit him..I don't think I was ever so scared in my life..I hope your baby is better soon..Btw,the cool mist humidifier and cold air from the freezer or if it is cold outside helps ALOT like some of the other girls have said..good luck

Adrienne522 replied: Thank you everyone for your advice. I took Scott to the doctor yesturday. We had to go to Urgent Care because his doctor worked a half day. Anyway...the doctor said that she couldn't say for sure what it is. She thinks it is a cold, but he wouldn't cough at all at the doctors office. She told me to take him to the ER when a spat would begin. Well...last night was terrible. He did not have the "seal" cough, but he has a cough. It was so hard to hear him fuss. He is not a fussy baby at all. And just hearing the moaning was hard. Dad is home with him today and I am at work. I wish I was home. I am going to be a humidifier. Thanks again everyone

MoonMama replied: Hope he feels better really soon.

hawkshoe replied: My older son used to get croup quite a bit. The thing that helped him the best was taking him outside. The fresh cool air used to help alleviate the barking cough. I did also take him to the Drs. for medication.

luvmykids replied:
This was about the only thing that helped when mine had it. I hope he feels better soon