Croup

[CarlHickbread]

Both my DCs have come down with croup.

Dr was pretty unhelpful, just told me to ride it out.

Is there anything I can do to help them out? Especially at night? They seem really distressed and one of them is awake at any given time throughout the night so DP and I are running on empty now.

Take the dc and stand outside on the front doorstep, the cooler air helps. Don't think there's much else tbh.

Really? DS had repeated bouts of it but all required a trip to the children's hospital in the middle of the night for steroids to fix it. That is the treatment and after the first time (which was frightening, he was gasping for breath horribly) they told us always just to come in. However, he didn't have symptoms during the day - an attack always came on at night. Is it definitely croup and not whooping cough?

bramb is right that cooler air helps. Or steam in a bathroom can do it too. But that's temporary relief rather than actually treating it, and the problem is that then when they lie down it starts up again.

I'm with ScouseQueen. I've heard of a few children being diagnosed with croup recently when they had coughs. My son has had croup twice, the first time he required an ambulance, adrenaline and two types of steroid to control his breathing, the second time was milder as we had redipred at home to ward off an attack before it got too serious. The treatment is a steroid. And yes, cold air can help

Mine used to have spasmodic croup and it usually involved a dash to hospital for dexamethasone.

If there is stridor (using their stomachs to breath in) or any dribbling you need to go to hospital.

Sitting is steam is now not recommended.

If it is less severe you do just have to ride it out.

It's not nice and frightening fur them - I'm hoping mine have finally grown out of it now.

Thank you for your replies.

I'm taking both DCs for a 2nd opinion this afternoon. I wasn't happy with the Dr we saw as she as wrongly diagnosed me on two previous occasions but she was the only Dr available at short notice.

My 3 year old gets croup. I tend to ride it out and do the cold air thing. I'm never sure whether to go to the hospital or not. He sounds awful and you can see his stomach moving as he breathes in but his SATs are 95-96% when I've checked so thought hospital might be a bit over dramatic. I've got pnd and made the mistake of taking my pfb to hospital when he didn't need to be there so I worry I'll get told off again if I take him to hospital with croup.

2nd Dr has said it's croup.

Going to take DD out for a walk tonight before bed. So worried about her and how she's going to be tonight

The steroid really helps so go and get it - maybe an out of hours dr so you can avoid a and e?

Stream isn't recommended anymore

Cold air works wonders

Open the bedroom windows so it's really cold and add a few extra blankets or clothes so they don't get cold

I would get steroids if it gets bad in the night. A trip to A&E with croup is common and the drs will be fine as it can be dangerous if left untreated.

Also just call an ambulance if the are really struggling to breathe as travelling with a child like this might make them worse.

Both mine get croup.

I don't find a change in air temp helpful at all. I tend to try to distract mine with television if they start barking in the middle of the night as it's usually exacerbated by crying/wailing.

We called an ambulance for DS1 a couple of years back as he'd already had steroids at OOH GP earlier that evening and still couldn't breathe properly. If you're at all worried about breathing, don't hesitate to get to A&E.

Get a steamer for their rooms! My dd suffers massively with croup and this has been a god send; it pumps out a "mist/steam" kind of thing that really helps with breathing; it's not hot; and you can put essential oils,albas oil etc in too.will try and find mine and send you the link.i swear by ours. X

My DS has croup too! We were up all. Hint with him last night, it was awful. Hoping tonight will be easier. High pillows, steam, calpol and Vicks seemed to have helped tonight

DS was in hospital last night with croup. He was gasping, barking, dribbling, sucking in stomach and throat, blue lips etc. He's on steroids now.

You do just have to ride it out. Hospital if they're struggling. Keep them propped up and calm if possible.

We rang 111 and the OOH dr rang us back after an hour by which time it had improved, probably just from sitting up and calming himself down as he was quite panicked. The ooh gp said it was a mild case of croup.

Hi all
My dd, now aged 12, was very prone to croup and croup-like infections up until the age of 5 or 6.

Cold air IS better - it helps the blood vessels and airways contract back to a more usual size. In a croup attack, the airways narrow thus making it more difficult to breathe. Sometimes, steroids are necessary to aid airway recovery.

If the lungs are clear, get them to check your child's trachea - tracheitis can be very dangerous if left untreated correctly.

Children DO grow out of it. As children grow, their airways also get bigger - hence the much, much smaller likelihood of a re-occurrence of croup.

Another croup patient here. He is on day 5 now. The barking cough is gone but he is still miserable and his appetite is poor. Revisited dr today (as advised) and they said he is just taking time to recover. Croup is horrible and always comes with the Autumn/winter.

I believe neither steam nor cold air are reccomended nowadays by paediatricians. My godson was hospitalised last week with croup and that was what they were told.
Ds had croup several times from age 2-5 each autumn/winter and never needed hospital. Check oxygen levels by pressing on the nails- they will go white then pink up again. If they don't pink up then get checked as this can indicate low oxygen sats. And dribbles and sucky chest walls are also a danger sign. Trust your instinct.

Mines a bit likethis
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