Anyone know about croup (sp)?

[Chloe55]

Ds (18 weeks) started with a really hoarse cough yesterday which has continued through the night and throughout today. He sounded dreadful last night - I usually give him a dreamfeed which he takes fine normally but he would only have a couple of ounce which took him an hour because he was struggling to breath really. I had in on my bed with me and when he eventually went into a deep sleep he was breathing ok but as soon as he woke or stirred he started really bad with the cough and bad breathing again. I was so worried at one point I nearly took him to casualty but dh convinced me I was overeacting (it's just so heartbreaking to see your baby distressed).

Also, I started him on solids last week and he has gradually started rejecting his milk but loving the food. Today he has hardly had 4oz of milk, I thought it might be due to a sore throat but thought I would try him on his baby cereal anyway which he guzzled so maybe not - any suggestions on how to get him to take his milk? He has only gained 10oz in 4weeks, I am worried. (He was 9lb 10oiz at birth and is 15lb 10oz now) so he is not a tiny baby but I have always been used to him being quite hefty.

Any words of advice gratefull appreciated.

The triggers for croup and brochiolitis are usually viral so the virus itself is contagious but not everyone would develop the same symptoms as they will most likely have been previously exposed to it. Hence why this is most common among young children and babies.

no , no epidemic chloe just wondering if you were local. i was going to offer to come and look at his breathing! as i'm such an old hand!!
but you are not local so hey ho.

seriously though. when you check him look at his chest and if his chest is pulling in under the ribs or at the base of his throat when he breathes , then go staright up there.

Have just checked him - he is asleep asleep and seems fairly settled at the mo - thanks for the offer though

came to this thread late - our dd1 never had croup whilst we lived in England but has had a number of bouts here in Aus. The first time it happened dh and I did not know what it was and so called an ambulance ( dd1 was about 21/2 or so - has a heart defect and down syndrome) We felt silly calling the ambulance but our a and e is about 30 minutes drive in the middle of the night. They told us it was better to call for breathing issues especially for little ones than not to be cautious. She has had it quite badly and has been to hospital three times. Since she was getting it recurringly - we actually have a steriod that was can give her that helps ease the swelling and prevent another attack.

But just wanted to say - will babies especially - you just don't take any chances and A+E staff will think no less of you. Dd1 was so bad the first time she went in ( via ambulance) that we skipped traige altogether and she went straight onto adrenalin and a nebuliser to help her breathe.

Not trying to scare you but wanted you to know that croup can and is very serious. Unfortunately for us - humidifier/steam or taking out into the night air do nothing for our dd1.

glad to read however that all seems better.

For anyone who is interested and for the ladies who gave their advice:

Ds started to improve on the sunday, he began getting a snotty nose and the barking cough began to turn into a rattly cough so I was thanking my lucky stars he was probably just coming down with a cold. He was still not taking his milk though so first thing monday am I took him to the doc. He confirmed that it was probably just a cold and that his chest sounded fine. He suggested giving ds his milk using a cup as the reason he probably wasn't taking his bottle was due to the fact he couldn't breath clearly. So, lots and lots of mess and milk later I finally got ds taking some milk (and learning how to use a cup ) He seems much brighter today, still bad cold but happy enough now.

So thank you for all your advice and in future I will not hesitate to get him to a&e if my instinct tells me too. The doc also said that a&e would not have been bothered about seeing him if I thought it nec.