Ok my son was diagnosed with croup today and I read on the little hand out (and others have told me) that a cold mist humidifier will help out a lot. Well I have a humidifier, but it's a warm one. I bought last season and I only had enough money to get a warm one. My son is MISERABLE and I want to make sure what ever I'm doing will make him feel better.
If I get a cold one, will it make that much of a difference? My doctor told me hot showers will help along with going out in the cold to open his airways. So it's pretty much conflicting advice.
The steam from a shower did NOTHING for my son's croup when he was little. Cold mist humidifier was the only thing that helped (aside from prescription medication). You can find them for under $30 and they will work fine.
You will get much use out of it over the years... I've never used a warm one, only cool mist. I even used it when I was pregnant with #2, because my sinuses were so stuffy. :)
http://allnurses.com/pediatric-nursing/warm-mist-vaporize...
http://children.webmd.com/tc/croup-home-treatment
http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/childhood-illnesses/croup
My son had croup once.
Observe your child closely. It constricts the airways.
If he gets worse, you need to take him back to the Doctor.
My son has reactive airway disorder so we bought a nebulizer and give him albuterol treatments as needed. He will get that croupy cough too. I have always used a warm air humidifier and it has helped him fine. I hope he feels better soon. I know how awful that croupy cough sounds. :-(
A.
It's the change in temperatures, I think that's the reason they say to go from a steamy bathroom to the cold night air.
Both cool and warm mist will equally humidify the room, but the cool mist is better for someone with breathing issues.
Cool mist is almost always recommended because it's safer for children.
From what I understand, warm air can cause a person with breathing difficulty feel like they're being suffocated....
Try looking on criagslist, etc. You can get them for about $15.
Dollar for dollar (and they're only about $40 new) a col mist humidifier was O. of the essentials--my son is 8.5 and I still use the cool mist in his room when he has a cold.
Hello,
My son was diagnosed again this past Tuesday with croup. He is 9 yrs. old. His pediatrician said that most kids outgrow this by 3 or 4 yrs. old simply because their airway passage grows enough to allow more air to get through. She prescribed a liquid steriod medicine for him to take for 3 days to bring down the swelling of his vocal chords down. She really stressed that a child bundle up and go outside and breath in some cold air for 10 or 15 minutes. She told me that we didn't need to use his nebulizer for croup since she said that's for when he's all congested. This time she didn't hear the wheezing in his chest. He used to get that when he got croup when he was younger.
My son is doing much better since yesterday! YAY! I hope your son will feel much better soon!
Be very careful if you use a warm humidifier since your child is very young. We used to use a cool mist humidifier. I gave it away since my kids seemed to not be needing it for a couple of years now. Anyway.... I bought an inexpensive warm mist vaporizor and used it this past week for my son. He liked the warmth that it created in his room, but the steam sure gets hot! The best cool mist remedy that my son's pediatrician recommends is to get outside and breath the cold air.
Here's something I copied and pasted from the website iVillage.com:
One of the most effective things is for the child to breathe cold air. Since croup often occurs in the winter and at night, just going outside for 10 to 15 minutes can do wonders. The cold air decreases the swelling of the windpipe much like ice dereases the swelling of sprained ankle. Bundle yuor child up really well, and let her breathe the cold air.
Mist caused from a steam bath may help. Go into the bathroom, shut the door, and turn on the hot water in the bathtub full blast, being careful not to let the child near the water.
Use a vaporizer to let your child breathe in the moist air.
Read More http://www.ivillage.com/croup-what-it-and-how-help/6-n-13...
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My 3 1/2 year old got croup last year...and again this season...the cool outside air helped a bit...as did making sure he was slightly propped up. My brother had croup when we were little and the warm air humidifier made him worse :/. I know how you feel...I felt so bad for my little one! Talk about miserable!!
