Croup help 😓

[mummyl2013]

Our 3 year old has been ill for 4 weeks now guess back to back cold and cough. Whenever he gets a cough it’s hell. Non stop coughing all night. I only took him doctors a few days ago and because he seemed fine in the day he said oh he must be allergic to dust. 🙄Gave an antihistamine. Did nothing. Last night he was awake at 1am coughing and choking non stop nothing was helping it. We just got him in the car and went straight to a&e. Straight away diagnosed croup. Gave steroids. He’s still coughing but not as bad but how can we help him at night we all need sleep 😭

Try taking him into a steamy bathroom. I used to boil the kettle ( with the lid off) . Obviously keep it well away from your little one. Steam used to really help my son

Not for croup...steam makes it worse. Cold air is best. I opened windows at night and put them in double pyjamas with extra blankets.

But also, that level of nighttime cough after colds is a pretty typical asthma presentation. They won't call it asthma at this age, but you should be able to get a blue reliever pump and if he has had a few bouts of viral wheeze they'll prescribe a brown preventative inhaler which has made a big difference to my son. He got both when he was three.

I was advised steam by my GP and it worked for us - maybe the guidance has changed recently

They told us in a&e not to do this

Hey thanks for your reply. Dr did say about asthma last time. We have a blue inhaler but I have to be honest it does absolutely nothing apart from make him scream. I remember taking him to a&e for a cough a year or so ago and the blue inhaler made the cough stop!! I was amazed. They noticed in a&e last night he has eczema and said it could be asthma as they go together. Fresh air didn’t even help last night. It’s so horrible😓

strange how they said not to now?! Everything we try seems to not do a thing or make it seem worse. Calpol plugins seem to be a definate no no when everyone else raves about them

As someone else said, steam / heat doesn’t work for croup. It’s inflammation in the upper airway narrowing the passages, so you don’t want it to be warmer / more inflamed, you want cold air which I’ll reduce the inflammation.

My child has had croup a lot, sometimes the Calpol plug in helps with the cough after, but mainly you just have to wait.

How long does it usually go on for for your child?

The steroids normally help for the first 24 - 48 hours, then it’s usually about a week of a horrible cough? Sympathies!

Ok thankyou! I feel like he’s had this forever already 😓x

How many puffs are you doing with the blue inhaler? Are you using the spacer and counting slowly to ten for each puff and then shaking the inhaler and going again? Also how old is the inhaler? Sounds stupid but it took me a while to realise they only have 200 doses in them, and after that you're just getting a puff from the mechanism without any drug!

Hey, we were told to do 2. We have the spacer. It’s very hard work because he hates it so we have to do what we can. We do count to 10 when we do it etc. it’s a new only got a few weeks ago x