Croup Croup and more bloody Croup!

[Bunglemom]

So my DD age 4 has had more than 4 bouts of Croup in the last few months and im at my wits end!

Everytime she gets it she has to go to the local hospitals walk in centre (no GP appointments or its closed!) where they give her oral steroids and then she is ok again but is left with a cough and full on snotty nose... this then goes on for another month and back to the walk in we go as she has Croup again!

All the drs say is that its something she will grow out of and its nothing to worry about... so my question is has anyone else had this and does it just stop or could there be underlying issues that i can explore?

My son had croup from 6 months and is now 9 and still suffers a bit (sorry!). It has improved and he now knows when it’s coming on so, if necessary, we can go to OOH and get steroids to prevent it getting bad. At one point, probably same age as your daughter, it felt like he was getting it far too frequently, but it did calm now. We saw the croup specialist in ENT who did the relevant tests but said nothing was amiss, it was just one of those things. I think it is “just one of those things” like some kids are prone to ear infections, tonsillitis etc, and ours are prone to croup. She will grow out of it without a doubt. I absolutely hated it and feared it every time my son coughed or got a cold, but it’s way better now. Maybe try to get a referral to ENT if it’s concerning you but I’m sure you’ll get the same result we did, although this may reassure you. I understand it’s extremely rare for croup to be caused by an underlying issue, and is rarely serious although can feel alarming at the time. I feel for you and wish you the very best.

Solidarity...... Looking forward to any answers! I've been told by a GP friend to get him looked over by his own gp particularly in terms of asthma or other allergies.

Yes my ds had it from about 1 years old till 9, he did grow out of it eventually, I was always told the same.
He's now an adult and fine.

My 5 year old has had croup since 1 but she gets it a lot less now. We spoke to the Gp and explained the amount of times she was getting it and they gave us a blue inhaler with a spacer to give her when it starts. If we catch it quickly she will only have one bout then will only have the normal cold cough the next few days. They also gave us steroid tablets to give if the blue inhaler does not help. This means we haven't had to go to put of hours or a and e since we got the above and it's so much easier. My DD initially struggled with the inhaler but is really good at it now

My 13 year old had it regularly from about 14 months old until he was 6. We were told he'd grow out of it by 5, so 6 seemed too long never mind 9!

I could usually stop it getting bad enough to need steroids by reading to him all night and napping with him as and when he slept - I had to keep him calm and it usually stopped it escalating. it was hard though obviously as he was otherwise my good sleeper and during the later croup years he had a non sleeping little brother!

I could predict in advance when he'd get a bout of croup because it always happened if he had a slight sniffle and did any dport or running around - but he was miserable if not running around so I resigned myself to it rather than wrap him in cotton wool.

We were given steroid suppositories to take home when he was a toddler, so didn't have to do middle of the night hospital dashes after the first time - we were only given two at a time and had to go to the paediatrician to get a repeat prescription if we'd used one. Not in the UK though.

I’m sorry, but I’m strangely reassured by this. My 6yoDS had his first ever croup last night. I genuinely thought he was dying - his breathing was so bad. I’m now listening to him cough while waiting for a PCR result and seeing others discussing croup is strangely reassuring.

Hope all ill DC are better soon

Both mine were very prone to it and one was blue lighted to hospital because he passed out from lack of oxygen and was then in hospital for a few days. It is terrifying and you have my utmost sympathy.

But yes, both grew out of it!

My ds is 7 next week and last winter was the first that we haven’t been in resus with croup yet does have an primary immune deficiency though so we know why he gets it so often but he generally look like he may have outgrown it I know how scary it is though you have my sympathy’s

Thanks so much for all the replies, its reassuring to know im not on my own... strangely my mother in law mentioned that my DH had it lots as a child too so i wonder if its hereditary?

My son had it regularly. Also blue lighted to hospital before when it got really bad. It may be total coincidence but since we have started giving him daily Sambucol he hasn't had a bout or really been unwell at all. I promise I don't work for Sambucol. It's quite expensive to be giving daily but seems to be helping him so might be worth a try?

Solidarity here too, DS 1 had croup so many times right up till his last bout age 12 😱 the Drs at A&E were totally bemused by a 12 year old presenting with croup, they'd never seen it before.

Like pp, he had an ENT referral but nothing was found- the Drs always say some kids are more prone than others and as he's got older, there's definitely been less croup and less trips to A&E cos it's been mild enough to manage at home.

He's 2 1/2 years croup free now, I wonder whether going through puberty and his voice breaking may have had an impact?

His brother has only ever had it once!

Thats why i find it so strange, my eldest DD has never had it! like i say its quite reassuring to know that im not alone and actually its more common then i realised.

Bunglemom its not strange really - only one of my 3 ever had it, but only one has curly hair (not the same one ) which is also hereditary... The one who used to get croup is the only one with hayfever, which the poor thing inherited from me and I feom my parents, but the other two don't have it... Two of mine have DH's eye colour and one mine, etc.

@UntilYourNextHairBrainedScheme

Its so strange isnt it?! Also have the same with one blonde and one brunette so no idea how thats worked lol!