Anyone else's child suffered this badly with croup?

[lulupop]

My DS is nearly 3. He has suffered from croup since his first attack aged 7 months. Every time he gets any kind of cough or cold, it always results in a croup attack at night. Our GP now prescribes enough Betnesol so that we always have some in the house and can give the emergency dose as soon as a croup attack begins, so we don't have to hang round A&E in the dead of night. Normally within half an hour of the first dose, DS' breathing is much easier, and often if we dose him at the very first sign, we avoid the full-on breathlessness.

Tonight he went to bed with a slight cough, woke at 10.30 sounding a bit croupy, and we gave him the Betnesol then. His coughing became increasingly agitated until he was crying, vomiting, and practically unable to breathe. DH has taken him off to hospital (I have to stay at home with DD) where no doubt he will remain for the rest of the night.

The Betnesol we gave him had absolutely no effect whatsoever. Are we going to end up having to have a nebuliser at home for this? Our GP assured me DS would grow out of this croup but he seems to be just getting worse and worse. Anyone else experienced this?

oh god your poor ds,and how terrifying for you.

I don't know much about it but it sounds like you are pretty near a hospital which is lucky.

hope he settles tonight and you all get some sleep,your poor dh will be sitting up all night I expect won't he?

Yes, he will. Hope he can take tomorrow off work. Unfortunately we have this ridicukous arrangement whereby the A&E is in one hospital, but the paediatrics ward is in another. You cannot just present yourself at the paeds ward without a referral from A&E. So we end up going to the first place, where DS is invariably terrified by the drunken nutters in there at this time of night, wait for ages to be seen, then just get sent to the other hospital anyway and go through the same rigmarole there (minus the nutters).

This is the first time he's had it since DD was born so I've always been with him before and it;s horrible being stuck here at home knowing my baby's distressed and probably crying for me.

I haven't experienced it, but I did the exact same thing when I was a child. I had to go to the hospital many times, and remember horrid nights spent in the bathroom, running a hot shower for the steam so I could breathe. I outgrew it, but not till I was about 7 or so. Sorry to hear about your DS, and hope he gets better.

Yes, in the past the steam has helped relieve it a bit, but last night he just seemed almost hysterical. In the end they got back about 3.30am - he'd been on a nebuliser and was feeling much better, though still had the cough. Then DD woke up so I've had 2 hrs sleep and am feeling a bit ropey today!

DS seems in good spirits this morning but still coughing a lot so think I will keep him home from nursery this afternoon.

I had terrible croup and breathing troubles every time I got a cold as a child. My mother eventually found that giving me some sort of an antihistamine every night before bed (brand name no longer exists so we're not quite sure what was in it...but it was a liquid child's thing...maybe similar to piriton or tixylix?) at the first hint of a cold helped enormously. I think the idea was that the throat/lungs get extra sensitive when you're ill and it kept the "over reaction" at bay.

My ds had a few episodes of croup and many episodes of terrible coughs with every cold, but this has improved drastically as he's gotten older (he's almost 4).
Good luck...I know how scary it is. The last time my ds got the croup, although I knew exactly what it was and what to do, I called nhs direct anyway so they could listen to him on the phone and reassure me that he was not dying...of course by the time I was done being on hold with them (25 min. i think), my ds was practically better as we'd had him in the bathroom with the steam and outside in the cold air.

My eldest 2 have had regular croup attacks up to the age of about 7. DD1 was in hospital for 2 nights when she was about 2 as she had great difficulty in breathing but they didn't do anything for her except give calpol and monitor her oxygen levels. Since then we could see when an attack may occur and give calpol, sit in the bathroom with the bath running and reassure them that if they calmed down then their breathing would get easier which is easier said than done! Also use a vaporiser in the bedroom whenever they get a slight cold in the hope of warding off an attack.

sorry havent read all posts but a friend of mine has a ds who got croup when a baby and regulary gets it now, hosp told her that the first and second bowt of it weakend something in his throat(technical term i cant spell!) and as a result any time he gets a cold or cough the virus heads straight for this area causing worse problems. her new doc prescribes her something to help clear the throat instead o having to run to a&e all the time?and has said as his immune system strengthens, he will grow out of it.hth