Anyone hwith an older child who's had severe croup (requiring hospital)?

[Catherinedeneuve]

My DS is five and a half and on Saturday night frightened us to death by waking up unable to breathe properly. Had to call 999 and went off to hospital, where we stayed for two days. To cut a long story short, they said it was croup but had something called stridor, which is a particular sort of wheeze, and he had to have steroids and oxygen and all sorts of other stuff for breathing diffs. Had a rocketing temperature the second day, even though the stridor was gone, and now just has horrible cough. Have read croup can strike up to six but got the impression it was unusual and unlucky for such a big child (he's physically big for this age too, looks older) to have this so badly. Just wondered if anyone else had any esperience of this...

Just wanted to do a little bumpette...

Wow, how freaky....just googled subject and this thread came up! Don;t know if everyone knows these threads come up in search engines...

No advice sorry, but DD1 was hospitalised with croup at a much younger age (11 months) and that was scary enough. It does sound unusual and unlucky for your DS to have got it so badly at 5 and a half. Hope he's on the mend now.

Thank you, B. Was really horrible when he was struggling to breathe. Have been told that I have to take him straight back in if temp rockets or noise repeats.
Was watching TV last night with dh and we thought we heard it, ran like the wind upstairs and was just a combination of a noise next door and ds snoring! Phew!

It gets more unusual as you get older because of the size of the tubes. In an adult it would go down a lot lower and probably it wouldn't be much more than a cough or mild chest infection, but with a child it doesn't go so low and settles in their throat, closing it off in the same way the chest infection would in an adult.

I don't know why it would have hit your son at his age, I'm no expert, I've just been through a few bouts with Tink. I've probably not given the best explanation but that's how I understood it from how the hospital explained it to me.

I find almost anything I Google comes up with an MN thread!

That sounds very nasty Catherine. My dd1 had croup last year, not serious enough for hospital though. I had an attack of croup at age 31 (for the first time) -it was very scarey, and my mother had it in her late fifties - I think it's sometimes just down to the physiology of the airways.

Hopefully he will grow out of it.

Thank you all. Am hoping 'just one of those things' although he does seem prone to chesty stuff.

My DS1 is prone to croup. The last time he ended up in hospital he was 4 years 4 months. It was March and the idiot doctor in A+E told me it was too late in the season for croup. AAAAAAGH.

My friend's son had it for the first time ever in July aged 5 and he's a big lad for his age.

Sorry. I know this doesn't help. But just wantd you to know that you're not the only one. They should grow out of it but some still get it at 5 / 6/ 7. Good luck.

Oh thank you, scramble. That really is a comfort.
But does it tend to re-occur then? Am wondering if I can so anything to stave it off in future. But really, I know that's very unlikely.

ds2 gets it - i think a bout is brewing now
he was last in hospital around april aged 3

We've had about five bouts of croup and bronchiolitis (which often come together but just as much separately) and that's not counting the times the paediatrician said "we don't diagnose croup/ bronchiolitis more than once"

Hi Catherine, five and a half is on the old side but I have seen Croup cases up to 7, it really is dependant on the size of the tubes and there is a link to having had it before ie if you have had it once it is more likely to re-occur. Steriods are the way forward, you can ask your GP to have some in the house just in case there is a next time - fingers crossed for you there will not be - it is something they just grow out of literally...HTH.....

We've had lots of croup in our house. We have a nebulising machine (something that continental families all tend to have - we're in Italy) that vapourizes liquid medicines and you breathe them in through a face mask. There's a steroid drug for croup - does the trick with ours and saves trips to A&E. Could ask your GP for advice about such a thing. It's actually quite cool - you use it for all kinds of colds and coughs with less drastic medicines and it's quite effective.

Thanks everyone.
He had the steroid drug twice in hosp, but they did say they're reluctant to give it if can be avoided....never suggested me having some in. But is a very comforting thought, that I might be able to administer something if he couldn't breathe. Might see how we go and mention to GP next time.

Thanks everyone.
He had the steroid drug twice in hosp, but they did say they're reluctant to give it if can be avoided....never suggested me having some in. But is a very comforting thought, that I might be able to administer something if he couldn't breathe. Might see how we go and mention to GP next time.

Oops

I had to cut short my mnetting last night to take ds to the hospital because of yet another bout of croup. He's 9, the doctor said the vast majority of children grow out of it but some don't. The oldest child she had seen was 10 but said it's normally less severe in older children. ds gets about 2 episodes a year.

My dd got croup up to the age of about 8 (and she was not smal either)but it was no where near as severe than when she was little. Horrid to hear that barking cough and the wheeze.

SHe also had asthma from about 9 months but grew out of it.

Thanks so much, everyone, for your replies. It really helps to hear that it's not so unusual. Thought he would back to school today but had a temp of 38.8C this morning, which isn't good. He sounds so full of cold today and has those red rimmed eyes again, which had gone yesterday
Seems to be taking its time, this lurgy.

ds is off too so lets comiserate together. He's been coughing and sneezing all night so didn't get much sleep.

I hope your little one's feeling better soon. It's horrid isn't it

Yes, really horrid. You wish you could just ease the misery somehow, don't you?
Sorry about your little chap too, Phantom.

Must admit, am getting a bit antsy with boredom now! Had two days in hospital and this is the third at home...one, two, three, ARGHHHHHHHHH

Two days plus three, I meant!

Argh! He wants the laptop!!!

I wish I could get rid of his cough. Medicine isn't working, inhaler isn't working. Ah well!

I'd stick your little one on the sofa with a blanket and pop some cartoons on. Hopefully he'll fall asleep and have the rest he needs. I'm trying it too but ds is too old to fall for it now.

I'm afraid we have exhausted the telly already. I had to work this am and he watched it for hours!

Have you tried one of those karvol inhalers that you plug in? They can be good overnight for snotty coughs.