last week on Thursday I was told by an er doc that my son had croup. They gave me a persciptionfor a steriod and I gave it to him as perscribed. I also sat with him in a steamy bathroom when needed and I run a humidifire at night. His cough has since gone from sound very dry and horse (almost like sa siren) to now its really wet and flemmy sounding. My question is is this nolrmal or does it sound like somting other then croup...he seems just fine during the day he may cough a few times but last night he woke up twice coughing. He doesn't have a runny nose which he did have a few dayss ago. He atcs like his normal self so I am not too concernedbut would like someone who has had experience with croup to let me know what they think. Tia
Croup does not produce a wet cough. It is possible that your child was misdiagnosed or that another illness is presenting itself. I would try a medicine that helps to expel the phlegm and not restrict the coughing since your son needs to cough out the phlegm.
from a mom who's had to deal w/ croup in 2 kids, i feel your pain! croup is a virus that in a larger person would not be a big deal. but b/c it gets in our kids, their windpipe swells and constricts, thereby producing that awful barky cough. this constriction causes them breathing distress. you can tell b/c the baby's whole stomach/abs will contract to breathe, so it is NOT by sound alone. on the phone the ER nurse had me lay him on his back and watch him breathe and listen. his whole stomach caved in w/ each breath, and there is a wheeze, even heard over the crying. they cry b/c it hurts, they can't breathe, and by crying the body actually is trying to gasp. it is a form of respiratory distress. see if baby is blue around lips or has very cold fingers/toes. we've had to deal w/ croup at home, on vacation, middle of night, you name it. i have small kids, so my son didn't outgrow it till age 5; my dtr is only 2, so she is still "eligible". ugh.
Fortunately, by the time a child sounds "croupy" there are only 3-5 days of virus left to run its course. Our Dr. was VERY specific that he does not recommend giving babies steroids and gave us only enough for 3 days, would only give more if he didn't clear and he was re-examined. The steroids we used were liquid; some kids have to be on a nebulizer in the ER or be given a shot of steroid. The improvement was immediate. such a relief to know your baby can breathe! B/c it is a virus, there is still a cough and yes, it did get "wetter", but coughs change during the course of any illness.
Hang in there mamma, your baby will be fine, and you'll know what to do in the next round. good luck!
It's normal. The cough sounds like it's getting worse before it gets better.
A loose cough allows you too cough up more mucus and get rid of it and then they can breathe more easily. A tight dry cough is a lot harder on you.
Croup is famous for being worse at night.
If it were whooping cough - you'd know. Whooping cough is such that you cough so much you can hardly catch your breath. In between coughing fits you fight to take as big a breath you can (and that makes for the signature whooping sound). It's exhausting. It can break ribs. It's not like croup at all.
Additional: Croup (or laryngotracheobronchitis) is a respiratory condition that is usually triggered by an acute viral infection of the upper airway. The infection leads to swelling inside the throat, which interferes with normal breathing and produces the classical symptoms of a "barking" cough, stridor, and hoarseness. It may produce mild, moderate, or severe symptoms, which often worsen at night. It is often treated with a single dose of oral steroids; occasionally epinephrine is used in more severe cases.
I remember having croup when I was about 4. I'd had a cold for several days then woke up in the night and felt like my throat was swelling shut. I couldn't breathe. I woke up my Mom and she sat me on a stool in front of the stove while she put the kettle on and got a steam going. When we went to the Dr they gave me a vile thick yellowish licorice tasting cough medicine, but it kept my throat from closing up again. I was fine within a few days.
Stick his face in the freezer, or take him outside (if it's as miserably cold there as it is here)... if it's croup, it will help almost instantly. If he has something in addition to croup (a cold,virus, pnemonia, or bronchitis), he will still have that wet cough and/or crackly chest, and you should take him back to the doc, preferably for chest xrays to make sure it's not something really bad. Hope the little guy feels better!!
my daughter used to get croup alot. she would have really bad coughs for at least 2 weeks at a time. we would try many different medicines and nothing seemed to work. the doctors recommended sitting in the steaming shower for a while... maybe 5-10 minutes then taking her out in the cold for 5 minutes, to open up the airways. althought you are in texas i am not sure how cold it gets out there at night. its pretty cold out here in chicago! hope he gets well soon!
My daughter would have croup on a regular basis. It got where she could tell me it was coming on as she got older. It last usually 3 nights (my daughter was the over achiever so it went on usually for 6 nights). Nights are always worse. For some reason it is milder in the days. Many children don't even have it during the day. The thing to remember is croup is a cold virus. Some children will just have the bad cold, while others end up with croup. After the croup attacks have stopped most children do have a terrible cold but it can turn into something else. Children tend to cough more at night when they are sleeping because it is all draining into their throat. I would keep an eye on him but sounds like he has the cold that goes along with it. Don't hesitate to call the doctor if you have any concerns or if he starts running a fever with it. Best of luck. Hope he's feeling better soon.
Croup is diagnosed by sound and sound only, the problem witht hat is croup should be gone with in 24 hours if not there is more issue, call pedietritian. My son sounded as if he had croup and 3 weeks later, blue lips, and blue nailbeds later to find out he has food allergies, causing reactive airway. The pediatritian ignored my pleds that something was wron that is why we went 3 weeks, switched pediatritians and now he is doing great (3 years later)
Please take him in to his doctors soon.
Well, not croup, but have had experience with ER docs. If you can, take your son to a peditrician who is more current on childhood illnesses. It could be pertussis (whooping cough) which is different than croup or pneumonia.
If you have ran the course of the prescription and have seen the symptoms persist, change or different symptoms emerge all together, time for a follow up exam.
Hang in there!
