If you have experience with recurrent croup please give me some advice

[RTjoke]

DS is six and a half months. at five months he got croup and bronchyolitis together and was in hospital on oxygen, steroids and inhalers for 3 days. I was told to be vigilant about coughs from then on.

On Friday he started coughing, it was barking but infrequent and no wheeze. I took him to doctor who said he was fine and not to be paranoid about every cough.

Today he is coughing with a bark quite frequently but no wheeze and no struggling to breathe. I'm not clear whether I should take him back to the doc or wait and see how it developes.

How do others judge when to take a croupy child to the doctor?

I would wait and see how he goes but give them a call if he starts to wheeze.
With ds2 we've mainly been able to deal with it at home with lots of steam, raising his head for sleep and stuff.

Dd has had it a few times (from age 2 to now 4). I treat at home - steam, inhaler if needed - but take her to the doctor if she has a wheeze. Took her to hospital once when she was struggling to breathe & she was given steroids etc.

I hate it, hope he gets better soon. It may well be a barky cough & not croup IYKWIM. Does he have a temp? Is he otherwise well?

it is urgent i.e. a and e immediately or 999 if struggling to breathe and look for rapid breathing
and chest recessing between breaths meaning he is struggling

olbas oil and olbas steam can help.

ask for referral to paed respiratory docs and see if you can get somerescue steroids to give at home via spacer if he starts coughing with croupy sound.

take him back - he is only little .

also ask for "passport" or letter to a and e explaining he ahd this already before and who saw him. in case doesnt come up on the computer when you next have to go in...)

did he not get a follow up to outpatient paed clinic after the hospitalisation? if he didnt, ask gp to do thereferral

The barking cough by itself is not a worry, and doesn't need checking out on its own.

I would say when he's very little if you can hear a wheeze then yes. DS got it much later, from the age of 2-4 3 years in a row, so I was advised with him only if there was respiratory distress.

Recurrent croup can also be a symptom of asthma, if it continues or you notice other symptoms then it would be worth getting that checked out too.

Thank you everyone. He is still coughing but otherwise fine so I've not taken him to be checked again.

I didn't get a follow up appt when he was discharged from the ward. I asked whether I should follow up with the ZhO and was told I didn't need to. I was surprised as DS had been so poorly (02 stats in the mid 80s for 48 hours) and I was told he was extremely young for croup.

Ds3 (7) had recurrent croup from about a year until he was about 5. We had one speedy trip to A&E, in an ambulance, in the middle of the night and several in taxis. He was born with bilateral pneumothorax and was in neonatal HDU when he was born so when I mentioned that he was treated with extra care and I was not made to feel so paranoid. He probably has a "floppy larynx". He has never had an official diagnosis but his brother has and he has the same symptoms. GP said highly likely and did nothing else!

He has outgrown it completely but still makes grunty noises if he has a cold.