4Yr Old with Croup

oh goodness! the tx for croup is cool moist air, not steam, that's why it doesn't work! The best tx is to bundle him up and take him out on a cold foggy morning. A more practical approach is to get a cool mist vaporizer, in as small a place as you can arrange. You can make a croup tent by taking some 2x4's for a frame over his bed and draping a tarp over them, or even make up a little bed under a card table and drape that with the tarp. Make a game out of it, like he's going camping so he won't be afraid.

My SIL's doctor told her that lots and lots of water helps flush it out of the system, to run a humidifier (my SIL just put the humidifier wherever her daughter was spending time and let it run all day and night with her) and to either give a steam bath or let her breathe in cold air (like bundling up and sitting outside in the chilly air) when she had coughing spells.These were not suggested as cures, but to help alleviate croup symptoms. She said that it definitely didn't cure anything, but her daughter wasn't so miserable while the illness ran it's course.

I asked my pedi about this at a well check, a few days after we were accidentally exposed to it. He agreed completely and said we would only need to come in, if my son got it, IF his breathing became labored or he was wheezing when he inhaled. (My daughter is 2 and he suggested that she be brought in immediately if she wound up with any symptoms as a precaution). Fortunately, we dodged that bullet. GL. I hope you both feel better soon!

My son got this at 3 months in the middle of the night. I have never been so scared in my entire life. It was November, so we bundled him up and took him to the ER. We were so scared we didn't even realize he was sitting in his car seat just looking around and breathing completely normal, no cough. The cold air had really helped him. He;s 4 1/2 now and still gets this cough just about every time he gets a cold, and it seems worst first thing in the morning.

We have a humidifyer in his room and run it all night. If he gets the croupy cough we turn the shower on full blast and hang out in the bathroom for 20 minutes or so. If it's cold outside we bundle him up and take a walk. The cold still has to run its course, but these really seem to help.

coughs are always worse in the morning wait until afternoon and see if he sounds any better. he may just be trying to get up whatever has settled in his chest. maybe put some vicks on his chest at night that might help also.

Croup really only ever shows up at night, you won't hear it during the day. Besides steam and a humidifier the other thing you should try is cold air. Bundle him up and take him outside tonight, it will help reduce the swelling in the airways. Croup is a viral infection that is usually caused by the parainfluenza virus so I don't know why your pediatrician would have given him antibiotics initially unless there was something else there. If there was a bacterial infection of some sort it could be that it may not have cleared and he requires another round of antibiotics. Otherwise if he had a period of being well in between, he/you have probably just caught another virus that has croup symptoms (I have heard there are many this season).

When it comes to anything regarding breathing I always feel best taking them to the doctor, typically croup is just treated with the oral steroid and disappears very quickly. It's hard to stomach another co-pay when there isn't much they can do for it but if it hasn't cleared up by now I would take him in.

my son got it a lot when he was little.. i kept liquid albuterol in the house.. you can call the dr. for a prescription.. it helped and i didn't go to the dr.. i just would have him take some when the cough would sound bad.. and it worked.. good luck also breathing in the air from the freezer.. open the freezer.. let him breath in.. the cold helps..

My 4 year old son ends up in the hospital with croup and lack of oxygen. It drives me crazy. Ultimately we ended up getting him a Nebulizer and inhaler. There are a few things I do to lessen the symptoms because I hate giving him anything or taking him to the doc. I do the super hot steam in the bathroom for about 20 minutes then we run outside in the cold air for a few minutes. Sounds odd but it does help for a while. I also keep a vaporizer in his room when he has flare ups and a cough medicine, neb and inhaler as last resorts if he is really struggling.

Good luck!

My 4 yo had croup last week. Here is what the doctor told us: it is a viral infection 99% of the time so an antibiotic won't help. They can take steroids if they are really struggling to breathe, but they can make them really mean. Use Vicks and a humidifier. croup lasts for 3 nights. She was right on all accounts. He still has a cough but it isn't the same barking. There are a lot of colds running around. With his immune system down, did he catch a new one? You can call the doctor and tell her that the croup has resumed. I think some kids just get it every time they get a cold.

Use a humidifier day and night-if his fever spikes or lasts more than three days-take him to the doctor. Sometimes sitting in a steamy bathroom will help. There are cough preperations that will shrink the mucous membranes and that may help-I do not know the dosage or current standards for OTC cough medicines for a four yr old, however. I had five children 7 and under. When one got a sore throat-everybody got their throat swabbed-including me. We were rarely apart then-and now I miss those times-as back- breaking as they were-at least we were together. When I tell you that I would give anything to have it all back-I am not exaggerating one bit. Relish in this time with your little son-and take him to the doctor when he needs to go-and do it lovingly.

Try taking him out in the cold air. When my daughter had it our doctor said to bundle her up and take her out in the cold air and it helped a lot. Croup is just caused by a cold virus- so you can just treat the symptoms. Honey works great for a cough too. Asthma can also cause croup as well.

Antibiotics don't do anything for the croup. The croup is a virus and needs to run its course. Antibiotics are for bacterial infections only.

Steam didn't help my daughter either, but the bundle up and go in the cold air mentioned below did.

The dr. told me that the croup is a cold that settles on the larynx which is why it sounds so bad. Cool air makes a huge difference by reducing the inflamation. Prop up his bed/matress to help with the drainage and Delsym 12-hour cough medicine helps for us.

I have a 9 year old that gets it at least 2 times a fall/winter. The older they get the easier it is to handle.

The first time my daughter had croup I was worried. It sounds very scary. The younger a child is, the more croup affects them because it causes the larynx and trachea to swell. Thus, their airflow is restricted and vibrates, creating the barking sound I've become too familiar with. The younger the child, the smaller their air pipe and the more serious their croup sounds/is because the inflammation of their larynx and trachea will take up more space.

In the rare case that their air flow becomes too restricted, steroids are used to reduce inflammation and allow normal breathing.

Croup is *usually, usually, usually* caused by a respiratory virus. Antibiotics only have an affect on bacterial infections; they will not treat a viral infection. A viral infection must run its course.

Just as an aside: Was it determined that your son's croup was bacterial? Was there an emergency reason for the steroids? (not an attack, just wondering...)

I've treated my daughters croup in the following ways:
For fever: Tylenol and/or Ibuprofen depending on how high the fever was.
For cough: Lavender/licorice root infused honey.
For comfort and for cough: A bath with a few drops of eucalyptus oil (I've left the room steamy before she goes in. At our house we only have a shower, so I've done the same but with a shower.) I also make herbal teas, sweetened with honey (we are not lactose intolerant so we don't get phlegmy with milk) and cooled down with milk.

The cough gets worse when the child is upset (a natural reaction to being scared and sick) so I try to keep her as calm as possible. Holding her, rocking her, letting her sleep next to me, etc.

Good luck!