Croup - Help!

[Emerald]

you can by cold air humidifiers from a company called "Air Improvement Centre" based in London. www.air-improvement.co.uk or phone 020-7834 2834. They are quite expensive but the US ones do not work on our electrical system and most do not ship. Hope this helps

[Jac]

Last night my 2 year old woke at around 11pm barking like a dog. Hubby knew straight away she had croup and took her straight in the shower!

I had heard of this before but don't know exactly what it is. It is contagious? as it was her first day at nursery yesterday and was fine all day. When my other daughter first when to nursery she used to pick up some kind of bug nearly every week for a while!

[Sharli]

Jac, My son had croup last October when he was 14 months. I hadn't heard of it either - thought is sounded like something out of a Victorian novel! No it's not contagious and I was told my by GP to go home and give him Calpol - he ended up in hospital a few hours later being given oxygen. It sounds like you did the right thing to get in a steamy environment asapp - funnily enough I have put him to bed tonight and I have just heard that horrible cough again - I hope we are not in for a repeat performance.

[Emmam]

Hi - sorry, but croup is contagious. Its a viral infection of the upper respiratory tract and you can get it more than once.

Our son had it aged 9 months. Typical symptoms, woke in the middle of the night with a barking cough and very distressed. We rang the doctor who advised taking him into a steamy room - eg the bathroom with the shower on full blast, full hot. We kept him in there until he had calmed down. He had further attacks in the night - this time we wrapped him up and stood by the open back door - the night air also works just as effective as steam. He still hadn't improved throughout the day so we took him to the emergency doctor in the next town. He checked him over and ensured that his breathing difficulties didn't need hospital treatment and then told us to go home and sit it out. He told us the infection would last around 5 days, where further attacks could occur, and to keep him away from other children. He also told us that he was probably more susceptible to croup reoccuring. In later colds, his coughs always take on a bark sound, but fortunately have not turned in to full blown croup again. I'm told that croup rarely happens after the age of 3 - apparently the airways are relatively short in babies and toddlers and so they are more likely to suffer from respiratory infections.

My advice would be to take your child into a steamy atmosphere and see how he responds, if that doesn't work, take him outside and see if the night air makes any difference. If your child really looks like he is struggling with his breathing or you don't feel happy with the situation at all then take him/her to hospital without fail. Don't panic, the symptoms respond well to treatment.

[Suew]

Vaporisers - Karvol brought out a plug-in vaporiser last year but withdrew it almost straight away. Apparently some children had managed to get the bottle away from the plug and the liquid is not pleasant when it comes into contact with the skin, like many essential oils. Shame as we had one for my daughter and it was fantastic.

You can also buy vaporisers like the mosquito tablets you use when overseas. You plug the device itself in after inserting a new tablet each night. It doesn't fill the room with the same aroma though (I think Karvol is one of my childhood comfort smells)

I've got a nasty barking cough at the moment and my lungs feel like they are being squeezed when I cough. My chest feels pretty tight most of the time. The pharmacist here (after hearing me have a coughing fit) suggested I buy a ventolin inhaler but I do see that as a bit of a last resort for myself.

[Paula1]

Suew, I have got one of the Karvol ones - didn't know they'd recalled them? Do you just take them back to the shop? Also, the ones like mosquito killers seem to dry the air in the room to me, not particularly helpful.

[Jac]

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions. She has now got a cold and seems to be off her food, but is drinking plenty and the nasty cough has gone.

We opened the window in the night and this definately helped, also with her propped up a bit with pillows.

[Suew]

Paula1, yes you should take it back to the retailer who should give you a full refund. There's a helpline too.

You should be able to find the full recall notice on the the Trading Standards website under 'Safety Warnings'

www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/

My mum found out because she bought it at Boots and used her advantage card - they then sent her a letter as soon as they heard of the recall.

[Sharli]

Emmam, Thanks for letting me know it was contagious - I assumed it wasn't as the GP said it didn't matter if he was in contact with other children, eg his sister. Anyway, it has put my mind at rest that the cough he has now is just part of a cold even though it does sound a bit croupy. It's a horrible experience isn't it?

[Emmam]

Yeah, its not nice at all. In fact, our son starting coughing last night and it sounded very croupy again. I rubbed some Vick's on his chest and back and he settled down OK. I think he is getting a cold and since he has had one croup attack I get paranoid everytime he gets a cough now.

Chicken pox is also doing its rounds in our area, so that's the next thing I'm on the look out for. At least my childminder said she is happy to take him if he does get it, provided he's not too poorly and the the parents of the other children she looks after are OK about it too.

Sick kids eh...

[Mooma]

I was interested to read this board because last night my son (5) had a severe attack of croup, his last and only other episode being at 8 months old. Steam really did alleviate his breathing difficulties, but he was terrified at the time when he woke, unable to breathe, and this morning he asked me if he could have died. Poor little man - I reassured him, but it just shows how horrible he felt while it was happening.

[Mooma]

Thanks, Star, he had a good night's sleep with the Boots Vaporiser going strong in his room (which is quite small so the vapours were very effective). He's still barking well this morning though, and feels very congested and poorly. The pads for the vaporiser contain eucalyptus, peppermint and other oils.

[Jodee]

How do I know if my son has got croup or just a very bad cough? He's had a cold for over a week now and the cough has got worse since Sunday, very hard and rattly. I took him to the docs yesterday and apart from prescribing antibiotics for an ear infection just told me to take him into a steamy bathroom, and never mentioned croup. I've now got saucepans of hot water on the go around the living room/dining room - is there anything else I can do? I do have a Boots vaporiser but I've only been using that at night when his nose was very stuffed up, and that was only the first 3 days of his cold. Would it help for his cough too?

[Bugsy]

Jodee, when our ds had croup he sounded like a seal barking every time he coughed. However, it sounds like you are doing all the right things keeping your ds in a steamy environment. I don't think there is much else you can do & if he has already started on the antibiotics that will clear up any bacterial infections.
I hope he feels better soon.

[Lizzer]

Oh poor thing Jodee, sorry no real advice but loads of sympathy, hope he's better soon.

When I had croup (really badly) I was in hospital in a steamy-tent thing (technical term there!) so it would seem that steam is a good idea for the cough as well...

[Jodee]

Thanks Lizzer and Bugsy, seems like steam is the thing then. He does seem to be coughing less just since this morning when I started with the pans, and the antibiotics are probably kicking in (I'm watching him closely with the antibiotics, it is penicillin-based and I am allergic, I used to hallucinate, seeing hundreds of spiders crawling the walls, my blood runs cold if I see one now! but hopefully ds will be OK).

[Mollipops]

Steam vaporisers are great. They are even more effective if you add a few drops each of eucalyptus oil, pine oil and lemon oil to the water. Alternatively run a steamy bath and put the oils in it (but NOT the child) and close the door so you both sit next to it and breathe in the steam and vapours.
You can also make a chest rub with 1 cup sweet almond oil, 5 drops lavender oil, 3 drops eucalytus oil and 2 drops pine oil. Place in a jar or bottle and shake to mix. Use around 1 tblspn, rubbed in your hands to warm slightly and massage into child's chest. NB Keep bottle/jar labelled and out of reach as essential oils are toxic if swallowed.
Hope this helps

[Jodee]

Mollipops, thanks for that. I might try some of the oils in the bath for myself, I feel as rough as a badger's bum at the moment (cough, splutter, attishooo !)

[AlJa]

My son has been hospitalised twice with breathing difficulties caused by croup.Steam is the first port of call.We also have those little things you can fill with water and hang over the radiators which moisten the room.Another way to keep the room moist is to spray the carpet,curtains etc with a plant spray full of water.Also keep the child cool(windows open,child paracetemol)as whenthe childs temperature rises this kicks off the coughing.Incidently dont let the doctor palm you off with antibiotics as croup is a viral thing and cant be cured or treated with antibiotics(as happened to us when j had his first croup attack)

[rosehip]

My daughter (6.5) has just been diagnosed with croup. She also suffers from asthma and we were particularly concerned in case this bought on an attack. I thought only babies/toddlers suffered with croup. She has been given antibiotics too as I was told croup is an upper respiratory infection. Horrible to watch and must be awful for the child - steamy bath now.

[smartie]

rosehip, ds has had croup every winter since he was a baby, also diagnosed with asthma at 2yrs, I discovered that he had an intolerance to dairy products so avoided them until he was 6, dairy now in his diet and no sign of any asthma.

As for the croup, he had a bout this winter and he's now 8! I also thought they grew out of it at an early age.

It has got easier, the episodes are less violent, certainly not life threatening as they were when he was a baby. In fact he only has one bad night that has always come without warning.

My remedies have always been warm but well ventilated room and steaming bowls of menthol crystals, don't get too close, they're potent!

sorry I can't be of any help, steamy bath sounds good, I hope it helps her.

[PamT]

Children officially grow out of croup by the time they are 5 or 6 but my ds had a bad case when he was 6 and ended up in hospital after he went blue and collapsed on the floor. Fortunately the cold night air reduced the swelling and helped him to breath more easily on the way to the hospital, it often works as well as a steamy atmosphere and can often be achieved much more quickly.

[Nutjob]

I was interested to read your dd was given antibiotics rosehip. When my ds had his first (and worst) attack and was hospitalised, he was not given them as they said it was a virus, and therefore ab's would be ineffective. Why are doctors so inconsistant? As has been said before, a lot of hot steam is the best course of action!!

[willow2]

It must be the time of year - we ended up in A&E last night because ds had two attacks, and he was the fourth child they'd seen that evening. They gave him a liquid steroid.
He's never had croup before and I'm just praying he doesn't have another attack tonight - really distressing. Tried the humidifier thing, we left it on in his room after the first attack but it certainly didn't prevent the second attack. Cold night air did help though. Maybe I should leave window open and humidifier on?

[mieow]

My DS (5) has Croup about 4 times a year. I don't even bother getting the doctor out now. I have a steamer that I put into his bedroom, if he gets really bad then I steam the bathroom and put him into the bath.